Full Answer
What is a Fife in music?
A fife /ˈfaɪf/ is a small, high-pitched, transverse aerophone, that is similar to the piccolo. The fife originated in medieval Europe and is often used in Fife & Drum Corps, military units and marching bands. Someone who plays the fife is called a fifer.
What is the pitch of a Fife?
The pitch of the fife lies between that of the concert flute and piccolo. The fife, like the flute, is an open pipe, for although the upper end is stopped by means of a cork, an outlet is provided by the embouchure which is never entirely closed by the lips.
What is the shape of a Fife?
fife, small transverse (side-blown) flute with six finger holes and a narrow cylindrical bore that produces a high pitch and shrill tone. The modern fife, pitched to the A♭ above middle C, is about 15.5 inches (39 cm) long and often has an added E♭ hole covered by a key.
What is the difference between a whistle and a Fife?
The primary difference between any MODERN thing called a fife and any modern thing called a whistle is that the whistle is end blown and the fife is a side blown "traverse" instrument. A whistle uses a fipple, or block, to guide the airstream across the blade, or lip. A fife doesn’t have a fipple.
What sound does a fife make?
fife, small transverse (side-blown) flute with six finger holes and a narrow cylindrical bore that produces a high pitch and shrill tone. The modern fife, pitched to the A♭ above middle C, is about 15.5 inches (39 cm) long and often has an added E♭ hole covered by a key. Its compass is about two octaves.
What is the difference between a flute and a fife?
The fife, most accurately described, is any cylindrically bored transverse flute, usually in one piece (but sometimes two), usually somewhat longer than the piccolo and having only six fingerholes with no keys.
Is a fife a tin whistle?
Like the Irish flute and the tin whistle, the ancient fife is a six-hole simple system flute. These flutes are unable to play all chromatic pitches, while many of the chromatic pitches which they can play are grossly out of tune.
What is the difference between a fife and piccolo?
fife is the structure. A piccolo has keys, while most fifes simply have holes. This applies to cheap fifes, like the Yamaha fife, and other models.
Is a fife a woodwind?
The fife is a small woodwind instrument known especially for its high pitch and loud, piercing volume. It closely resembles a recorder in that it is typically made of wood and utilizes open finger holes instead of levers like the piccolo or flute.
What is a fife players drum called?
The type of drum used in the classical fife and drum corps is called a rope tension snare drum. There can also be limited use of a bass drum in the modern units; however, this drum is typically used only in shows where the drummers remain stationary.
Is a penny whistle the same as a fife?
The fife is among the oldest flutes that still get some use, and the fingerings are identical to the tin whistle (a.k.a. pennywhistle, Irish whistle). It has six holes operated by three fingers of each hand.
Why is it called a penny whistle?
As the penny whistle was generally considered a toy, it has been suggested that children or street musicians were paid a penny by those who heard them playing the whistle. However, in reality, the instrument was so called because it could be purchased for a penny.
Is a penny whistle the same as a tin whistle?
Known also as the penny whistle, the tin whistle is a woodwind instrument most commonly heard in Irish music. This small instrument has six holes, a mouthpiece, and is played by blowing air into it and using your fingers to cover different holes to produce different notes.
Does the Fife have the same fingerings as a flute?
The Fife Book has a lot of tunes which are all on the notes which have exactly the same fingerings as the flute. All the C fingerings are directly transferable to C flute with the exception that the little finger has only one hole to worry about instead of C/C#/D# keys.
What key is a fife in?
The key of a fife is the coffee-spoon looking metal bit at the narrow end. Actually, most fifes, cheap or otherwise, don't do keys: Most fifers likewise!
Is a fife and a piccolo the same instrument?
In the same way that the piccolo and flute are transverse instruments, the fife is also a transverse instrument. Unlike a piccolo, it is loud and piercing, but not in the same way. Due to the fact that the fife has a much smaller bore than the piccolo, it has a very different tone quality.
How many octaves are in a fife?
The modern fife, pitched to the A♭ above middle C, is about 15.5 inches (39 cm) long and often has an added E♭ hole covered by a key. Its compass is about two octaves.
What is a Fife flute?
Fife, small transverse (side-blown) flute with six finger holes and a narrow cylindrical bore that produces a high pitch ...
When was the Fife invented?
Antedating the orchestral transverse flute, the fife is first attested in Europe during the 12th century. From the time of the Crusades it has been played with cylindrical side drums as an infantry instrument, notably in Switzerland and Germany.
What is a fife in music?
And how is it in comparison to the Flute/Whistle? A fife is a small, high-pitched, transverse flute used primarily to accompany drums in a military or marching band. The pitch of the fife lies between that of the concert flute and piccolo.
What is a fife?
A fife is the mezzosoprano member of the flute family. Any transverse flute with a bell tone ranging from A to C is pretty much a fife. The Bb ones are most often used for martial music. In the North of Ireland they call them ‘band flutes’ Fifers tend to play in the 2nd & 3rd registers, with lots of tounging.
How does a fife player change the pitch?
A fife player, like a flute player, can change the pitch by directing the air higher or lower across the blade.
How many keys does a fife have?
The modern fife has, in addition to the six finger-holes, 4, 5 or 6 keys. Mersenne describes and figures the fife, which had in his day the compass of a fifteenth. The fife, which, he states, differed from the German flute only in having a louder and more brilliant tone and a shorter and narrower bore, was the instrument used by the Swiss with ...
What is the old English spelling of "fife"?
The Old English spelling was phffe, phiphe orffyffe. The fife was in use in England in the middle of the 16th century, for at a muster of the citizens of London in 1540, droumes and ffyffes are mentioned. At the battle of St Quentin (1557) the list of the English army employed states that one trumpet was allowed to each cavalry troop of 100 men, ...
When did the fife and drums become part of furniture?
In 1585 the drum and fife formed part of the furniture for war among the companies of the city of London Queen Elizabeth (according to Michaud, Biogr. universelle. tome xiii. p. 60) had a peculiar taste for noisy music, and during meals had a concert of twelve trumpets, two kettledrums, with fifes and drums.
What instrument was used as a bass?
The sackbut, or serpent, was used as its bass, for, as Mersenne explains, the bass instrument could not be made long enough, nor could the. hands reach the holes, although some flutes were actually made with keys and had the tube doubled back as in the bassoon.
