I’ve bought a used cooperman Bb fife. I’m going to talk about it as if it’s in D. I find the ‘Cnatural’ is in tune in the bottom octave only if I have four fingers down (0xxxx0). Otherwise the note is sharp. However this fingering yields a sharp C natural in the second octave. I ‘lip’ it down. I wonder what others do.
I note that the Sweetheart fifes I’ve played responded favorably to standard C natural fingering. However I really like the cooperman.
Also are these (cooperman fifes) made in (high) D? Thanks
Taking a guess because I don’t have a Cooperman, but does 0X00X0 work? Or 0X0000, which might be more stable but sharper?
If not, have you tried every possible combination of open and closed holes below an open T1?
Hi Jim, I’ve played fife since 1970, and only owned cooperman fifes Bb, C and A models. I use oxo xxo for C natural and dependingon the fife if sharp, use oxo xxx.
Cheers,
Russ
Jim,
If you want to play C-natural in tune, you’re going to need a different fingering for the low note vs. the high note. This is true for every instrument I’ve ever tried. I know the traditional fife fingering charts don’t address this issue. I’m of the philosophy that C# and D are important notes to play in tune, and C-natural may require extra attention (i.e., an additional fingering). The placement and size of that top hole (“the C# hole”) has everything to do with the matter. On the Classic Flute (before it was called the Irish Flute), students were taught that a correct sounding of C#2 required the opening of the C-natural key. On the [famous maker’s] fife, the C# hole is so high up the bore that the D-series is stretched, taking A3 with it.
Walt Sweet