I bought this fife at amazon.com. I slipped it into a purchase without my wife noticing until it was delivered. It was less than $15. I like it and I bought it to keep in my car. My only complaint is that it’s so shiny that it’s slippery and i have to change my hand position to hold onto the thing. What do folks do to remove the slipperiness?
Well, I have another complaint. Because the holes were in-line I assumed that I could play this both right-handed and left-handed. The embouchure is offset, so it’s strictly a right-handed instrument. I can live with that.
I usually do not have the slippery whistle issue. Still, many folks do.
A lot of dobro players I play with have issues with their tonebar slipping from their hands (which can be a risk to their feet or their guitar’s finish.). I’ve seen a few strategies. One dobro player sticks bits of non-skid tape meant for stair treads on his bars. Any many have followed his lead. Works for them on those highly polished steel bars. YMMV
Thanks for the advice all of you about the Gorilla Snot. Do you think my local guitar stores (there are at least 3) sell that stuff?
It plays well. It sounds OK to me but I haven’t played with anyone else nor have I compared this with a tuner. I’ll compare it tomorrow and get back with you. It looks pretty indestructable and requires minimal to no maintenance which were the big selling points to me.
Mute, just huff a bit of breath moisture onto your fingertips (and thumbs) before placing them on the fife. It should stick just fine. Repeat when needed. Or moisturize your hands with a drop of hand lotion. With a slick-surfaced instrument, moist and supple skin is the key.
A warning about Gorilla Snot: It’s rosin paste, and it’s very, very sticky. If you use it, put it on your thumbs only, or it will really screw up your fingering. I find that once it’s on my fingers, I can’t touch anything else without making a sticky mess until I wash it off. If you’re a guitarist holding nothing but a pick or a slide for a set at a time, that’s fine. But it doesn’t work for me otherwise.
Moleskin, which you can cut to fit, works, too. It has a strong adhesive on one side. I put one piece on the flute where it sits on my left hand, and another to the rt of the bottom hole (for my pinky to rest on). Sometimes a square of the stuff for my rt thumb. This can be made still more rough by putting a few streaks of superglue on the OUTSIDE of the moleskin.
P.S. Buying Gorilla Snot has led to interesting conversations, especially when people have never heard of it.
Begins: Me: Do you sell Gorilla Snot? Them: I beg your pardon?
Moleskin is available at drug stores/pharmacies. No moles are harmed in making it.
Adapting MT’s advice, I licked my fingers and that was a solution that worked for short intervals. I have lotion everywhere, so that should be a no cost solution.
I like the feel of moleskin. I have some little gum bands (rubber bands) that may work too. Now if I can just find them.
I wish I would have known about Gorilla Snot when I first started playing the guitar. I tried all kinds of home made stuff, including gluing emory board chips to picks.
