I just got one of these little gems - it’s a lot of fun even WITH the funky fingering! Anyway, here’s my question… On mine, the thumbhole is offset quite a bit toward the player. Is this normal or is mine drilled improperly?
Thanks in advance!
Pat
That’s how my fife is. It’s that low C note that I would like to be in-line.
I wonder why Yamaha doesn’t make a simple flute.
For the price ($8.99 at Amazon), I’m really impressed with the quality…
Pat
I used to like the Yamaha, then I tried the Angel AF10 - half the price and twice as good (IMHO). I get a much fuller and reedier tone than with the YRF21, and the Angel looks less like a toy as well.
A search for your ANGEL turned up this picture:
It appears identical to my old AULOS. Does it have double holes for every other finger (to play semitones like a baroque recorder)? How many thumb-holes?
The two sources I found for the ANGEL were both in Australia and prices were $9.50 & $16.00 AUD.
My son has an ANGEL Recorder (made in Korea) from school and I was very impressed by the quality for such a modest price! 
I thought it sounded better than the wooden ADLER Recorder I got him for Christman a year aqo.
Thanks a LOT! Now I have to get ANOTHER one!!!
Pat
Because of the other thread I got me one of these. It’s too cheap for not trying it out. It sure is a nice little thing. But can playing this fife improve the embouchure on the “real” flute like the “normal” six-holed fifes?
Yes, the little Yamaha has a real embouchure, and works much in the same way as most other flutes do.
For what it can do, and for the price, it’s a great deal.
The radial position of the thumb hole on the fife (rather more towards the player) is the same place as the thumb holes on my flutes - it is where my thumb sits naturally. So it probably is intentional.
Chris.
My Angel is identical to your picture - so no, no double holes. It has one thumb hole.
Can I ask a fife related question that doesn’t relate to the Yamaha?
I’m interested in the fifes sold by Little Woodwinds on eBay.
Here’s a link to their eBay store http://stores.ebay.com/Little-Woodwinds_Fifes_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ2QQftidZ2QQtZkm
Their feedback is all positive, but I was curious if any C&Fers had tried their fifes.
Scott
Hey Scott,
I had a set of WOSKER’s Little Woodwind pine Fifes about 3 years ago. They did play and were certainly cheap, but not very well tuned. They improved much with a little elbow grease, but ultimately I gave them all away to interested kids (for which I deemed them appropriate).
All the Best!
Thanks Jordan,
That’s just the kind of feedback I expected. The prices seem right, but I hadn’t heard much mention of them around here.
I thought I might like to play around with a fife a bit, but those seemed too good to be true.
Now, if I could find something decent in that price range… It’s too bad those Angel AF10 fifes aren’t anywhere in the States.
Scott
I just ordered the Aulos C21 from http://www.rhythmband.com/ for only $12.
Pat
P.S. I couldn’t put a link to the actual page on the site, just do a search on “fife”…
OK, now I’ve received the Aulos fife… No doubt about it (IMHO), buy the Aulos if you’re looking for a cheap fife. It has a good F# (which the Yamaha doesn’t) and sounds a little better. The only drawback I can see is that the joining of the embouchure tube and the main tube is just a simple slot arrangement whereas the Yamaha has a dovetail arrangement (similar to my Copley flute).
Also, I highly recommend Rhythm Band Instruments - super fast shipping and a GREAT price (roughly 1/2 of what I found elsewhere).
Now, I notice in their catalogue that they have a baroque flute for $215… Hmmmm…
Pat
I had to see what you guys were talking about, so I ordered one of the Yamaha fifes from Amazon, and the fife was mailed from Musician’s Friend. The fife arrived today, and I just finished playing a few tunes on it. As has been said, the fingering is confusing since I am used to playing a six-holed flute. However, that is easy to remedy with a small piece of masking tape over the first hole and the thumb hole. Then you finger the remaining six holes as you would a standard Irish flute or whistle. The last hole is offset quite a bit for me, so I need to rotate the flute body away from me if I want to use the Irish grip with my right hand.
I’m pretty impressed with the design of the fife. The tenon joint is not a simple tenon joint. It is a more complex joint with four surfaces that slide smoothly together against an O-ring to make a good seal and still allow for some tuning. This seems to be a superior joint both in terms of strength and acoustics. There are marks on the underneath side of the fife to help you return to your preferred rotation of the headjoint.
The embouchure hole is a rounded rectangle with straight back and side walls. I don’t find any difficulty with the raised areas on both sides of the embouchure hole. I think that this would help beginners better position their bottom lip for a good embouchure. I notice that the stopper is set very close to the embouchure hole. The stopper itself does not have a flat surface but instead has a deeply embossed letter “N” or “Z” depending on your point of view. However, without a doubt you will not get any Z’s while playing this fife. I do wonder how the irregular surface of the stopper affects the tone and playability of the flute.
The intonation of the fife seems quite good to me, and even the last notes of the second octave are really not that shrill, IMHO. I am not a military fife player, so I didn’t try to push the fife into the third octave. All things considered, I am impressed with the Yamaha fife, and for $8.99 + shipping, it is a great bargain.
Doug:
NOW you have to try the Aulos, too!
I still love my Tipple 8-hole, BTW!
Pat
Hey Doug,
GOOD ONE! By covering the the thumb-hole and first hole with tape - the fife plays as a simple system fife in C! Nice mental flexability on your part. I hadn’t thought of it.
Here’s a picture of my modified fife (left) next to a stock (right):
I have Scotch Tape over the holes on the stock fife, but it didn’t show up very well.
I purchased a 2nd fife so I could try moving the F# hole up higher.
Anyone tried a Linley? Any thoughts?
Thanks for the dandy fife information in this thread!
I wonder if you could “Bondo” over the old holes, rotate the body 90° and
have another shot at making holes if the first attempt doesn’t turn out.