So I finally sorted out My D flute, with the help of some suggestions from around here… and that’s great… I’m now at least 12% less awful and gaining!
Only… now I’m finding that switching between my little Yamaha fife and my 6 hole keyless D flute is… well let’s just say my brain doesn’t do that as well as I’d like.
So I’d love to get my hands on a 6 hole D Fife which would use the same fingering as my flute, just an octave higher.
I have found a Tony Dixon 6 hole “piccolo” which looks reasonable, but unfortunately isn’t imported into Canada. Heroic measures may be possible.
WD sweet used to make a 6 hole polymer D fife, but these seem to be discontinued and out of stock.
Carbony makes something that looks great but which costs way too much for a beginner like me.
I’d really prefer Plastic so that I can throw it in the day hatch of my kayak, or in my backpack without worrying too much, but I may have to settle for what I can get.
Does anyone have any suggestions for places I might look for such a creature?
Ideally I’d prefer to avoid importing things from outside North America right now since Canadian customs seems to be going through an unusually officious phase (personal opinion based on two data points which clearly don’t constitute enough evidence but I’m going with it anyway)
If I can’t come up with anything else, those would likely work, and I certainly wouldn’t need to worry much about durability!
I am in the same boat, but need to put a word of caution here.
A few months ago I did get a “Fife” in Bb, from a seemingly popular maker. However, I was hugely confused when receiving it, and after a back and forth email chain, I realized that Fife was to be played in one more octave above a whistle, so 2 octaves over a flute instead of 1…
The second octave of a flute was rather weak to unplayable on the fife.
I have since politely returned the fife and looking for another solution. Maybe it’s called “piccolo” more commonly.
I have a keyless, blackwood with sterling rings piccolo in D by Peter Worrell in D. It is the same pitch as a whistle, same fingering as a keyless flute. I am in BC, so contact me if you are interested.
Generally fifes are to be played in the 2nd & 3rd octaves, piccolo usually in the 1st & 2nd, occasionally 3rd, octaves - that is where they are tuned to play.
I cant be much use here bit I have a D flute by David Angus (fife and drum shop) and its nice. And seeing that hes mainly known for his fifes and not flutes, I’d expect his fifes to be really nice.
Thanks, Hugh.
The Piccolo arrived safely and I am enjoying the sound. I would almost describe it as a traverse blown penny whistle, but better. I play the fife and flute and the piccolo definitely plays with flute fingering and not Fife. But what can be played on the flute and fife can also be played on the Irish Piccolo. Fife tunes need to be transposed, you can’t play with fife fingering.
Jos Morneaux makes an awesome Irish Piccolo. I have one.
I also wanted to get my hands on a Peter Worrell piccolo, I like the aesthetics and have heard and seen good things about this instrument. So, I had to have one and I’m not disappointed. It’s a wonderful little instrument.
I also have an aluminum piccolo from Accordianstu who is a C&F member. That was my first piccolo and its a quality instrument.
It’s an instrument that I would say falls between a fife and a flute, with flute fingering.
Just a note: I finally ended up getting a polymer D fife from the fife and drum shop. What follows are this beginners comments:
First off This turned out to be exactly what I need and I’m very happy with it. It’s perfectly good in the first and second octaves to play with my kids. I am a beginner so I’ll likely get even more comfortable with it over time, but even when I first picked it up it felt very natural and easy to play. I found the six hole fingering as comfortable as I’d hoped, but more than that, the instrument just felt “happy” to change direction quickly if that makes any sense. The notes seem in tune enough to play with my kids instruments and an app on my phone suggests they’re pretty close in the first octave, less so in higher octaves but that’s likely just me at this point.
As an aside It is somewhat louder than I realized it would be in the bottom of the third octave and the top of the second octave (insomuch as I actually play there which again, at this point isn’t much at all) but even that can be useful for signalling the kids to kayak back from the other side of a lake. I’m hopeful that as time goes on I’ll be able to play the few notes I might need there in a more controlled way, but I have to admit, I’m not in any rush.
I guess in short, if you’re looking for a fife like this, I’d strongly suggest considering what I chose.
Which Dixon would you recommend for a beginner - the ABS one piece or Brass w/ ABS head? I have been playing whistle for a while and own a couple Dixon High D whistles (including the Brass Trad, which isn’t made anymore but is a fine instrument despite the low price) and think well of the brand. I want to try piccolo as a lark… and if I can develop my embouchure I can use that as an excuse to drop a few hundred on a good flute. On the other hand if I don’t…