I try to play the fife. Does anyone else play the fife as well as the whistle? I own a Model “F” B flat and a Sweetheart colonial style C fife.
Sure, I play a few fifes. First one was a Cooperman Bb maple fife. The bottom note was very flat till I cut the end of the fife off a bit. Also play a DIY cpvc D fife. What I like about fifes is they sound close to a pan pipe. Oh, and they don’t break or bend when carried in the back pocket. 
lol
Hi tin-titan,
I Played fife for many years when I lived in Belfast. There is a huge fifing tradition in Northern Ireland.
What sort of music do you play on the fife? American civil war style of fifing? I play mainly the Ulster Scots tunes that have been played for generations in the North. There is a very distinct form of modified hornpipe timing that is played that is basically a jig turned into a hornpipe. The ‘real’ hornpipes themselves also have a very different swing to them than what is heard in ITM.
I used to have a boxwood fife of unknown maker origin, (which I left in Belfast, I regret that 
) I still have my a ‘Miller Browne’ Bb, but the springs and pads on the keys are stuffed.
Hey Jemtheflute, fancy doing a little fix up job for me? 
I did exactly the same thing to my Cooperman Bb for exactly the same reason.
I also had a pair of Sweetheart fifes in G and A, but I sold them a while back as I never played them.
Funny, I think they’re rather panpipe-ish too. But I also have panpipes. A very different kind of flute to play.
There are a few fife players around here. You’ll maybe find more over on the flute board.
I play selfmade fifes, Sweet folk fifes and a Healy ten hole Bb.
Feadoggie
Hello Tin-titan:
Another long time fifer here in the midst, thus the moniker 
Play on.
I play a McDonagh ten hole fife originally made by Roy Seaman. I also have a couple made by Wilson Woods. They are now being made by Cooperman though I haven’t seen or tried any of those yet. I was taught by John McDonagh in St. Benedict’s Fife and Drum and then later joined the NY Regimentals. I think the McDonagh ten hole is the best fife made out there though I haven’t had the chance to try a ten hole Healy. A few of the guys I play with have tried the Healy and still swear by the McDonagh.
John, now approaching 81 I believe, certainly left his mark on the world of fife and drum. If anyone is interested I have a few MP3’s of John’s arrangements played by the Regimentals and a couple of John playing flute at his 80th Birthday celebration.
Just PM me and we can work it out.
I was in the school fife and drum band well before my 10th birthday. I still have my 4 key Bb and a matching Eb that I picked up later at an auction. When I discovered that a whistle has the same simple system fingering as a fife I’m afraid that was the end of the fife.
One of the Martin Scorese videos in his blues series features blues fife players. That was interesting, has anyone else seen that?
Yes. I think that was Othar Turner. There were also good blues fife recordings done by Napoleon Strickland in the 1960s. There appears to have been a solid tradition of African-American fife & drum music in the deep south, going back well before the Civil War. Not particularly melodic stuff, but high-energy and good for dancing.
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Yes. I think that was Othar Turner. [/quote]
And he played a homemade cane fife with 5 finger holes. This clip shows him making one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngQMhUOoL-8&feature=related
Hi CWM! I like to play American Colonial pieces to pieces from the Civil War. I’m not in any organized group. One year of high school band marching and hot wool uniforms in the humid hot weather here in the East US was more than enough marching for me. Is there a site that might have any Ulster Scots tunes? I would like to learn more about them. My fife is keyless with short brass ferrules on the end. I really like the music that the Fife and Drum corps at Williamsburg in the US play. Makes me crazy. LOL I love living in MD because we had Civil War skirmishes all over the place and VA and the Northeast States are not far away. I live about 1/2 hour from Fort McHenry famous in the War of 1812. Thanks for asking CWM!
Yep! Otha Turner. From that documentary came the curious cross-cultural experience of Otha Turner’s music being used as the fife and drum background music in the Scorsese film “Gangs of New York” about famine Irish immigrants in the US and all the fun that ensued.
Feadoggie
Well, I would, save that I think the return P&P would be prohibitive! Try Terry McGee!
BTW, you are talking about Bb band flutes, colloquially often termed “fifes”, but not true fifes like the American Colonial ones the others are on about - different bore etc. See old threads on the Flute Forum! (Just search for “fife” and “band flute”.) There are true fifes used in Northern Ireland, in the (mostly Catholic, I believe) Lambeg tradition, but not in the Protestant flute bands. Damn all that sectarian nonsense!
Hi Tin-titan: I’m a long-time alum of the Colonial Wmsbg F&D so feel free to PM me with any questions about their music. Also have some friends in the 2nd Maryland Civil War unit. A bunch of them are also heavy into ITM, and incidentally, the 2nd maryland in the civil war was a local “Irish” unit. They’re always looking for new members. Happy to make an introduction for you. See http://www.2ndmaryland.org/ Great bunch of folks dedicated to preserving the history.
Cheers,
Russ
ADDENDUM: Forgot to mention, for anyone interested, the Deep River Ancient Muster DRAM (Deep River, Connecticut), July 17 and 18th, with over 70 Fife and Drum Corps in attendance (take yer earplugs). http://www.moxiecomp.com/dram/
The man who sold me my Model F said it is based on the Ferrary, which is based on the Cloos. It’s a very fine instrument for both AmRev and Civil War era music. It’s very simple. It’s a piece of Grenadilla wood turned on a lather so that it is tapered down at both ends. There are no keys and you blow pretty darn hard to the point of almost spitting out the notes. I guess this is sort of the tonguing method. The fife and drum corps are very passionate about what they do and seem to be very generous with their time. They also strike me as very inclusive and welcoming. Flutes, fifes, whistles, and other instruments involved traditional kinds of music are a blast to play. I have really learned alot. I’m glad we can play without getting shot at like AmRev and Civil War fifers and drummers. Peace with freedom is the best. One other thing, I have been told to avoid inexpensive maple fifes often found in gift shops. The plastic ones are playable and worth the eight dollars you pay for them.