Fife (musical instrument) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A fife is a small, high-pitched, transverse flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

that is similar to the piccolo

Piccolo

The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...

, but louder and shriller due to its narrower bore. The fife originated in medieval Europe and is often used in military

Military band

A military band originally was a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Director of Music...

and marching band

Marching band

Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...

s. Someone who plays the fife is called a fifer. The word fife comes from the German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

Pfeife, or pipe, ultimately derived from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

word pipare.

The fife is a simple instrument usually consisting of a tube with 6 finger holes, and diatonically tuned. Some have 10 or 11 holes for added chromatics. The fife also has an embouchure

Embouchure

The embouchure is the use of facial muscles and the shaping of the lips to the mouthpiece of woodwind instruments or the mouthpiece of the brass instruments.The word is of French origin and is related to the root bouche , 'mouth'....

hole across which the player blows, and a cork or plug inside the tube just above the embouchure hole. Some nineteenth-century fifes had a key pressed by the little finger of the right hand in place of a seventh finger hole.

Fifes are made mostly of wood: grenadilla, rosewood, mopane

Mopane

The mopane or mopani tree grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern Africa, into South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Angola and Malawi. The tree only occurs in Africa and is the only species in genus Colophospermum...

, pink ivory

Pink Ivory

Pink Ivory , also called Red Ivory, umNini or umGoloty, is a very rare African wood used to make luxury products . The Pink Ivory tree grows predominantly in Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa...

, cocobolo

Cocobolo

Cocobolo is a tropical hardwood of the tree Dalbergia retusa from Central America.Only the heartwood is used: this is typically orange or reddish-brown in color, often with a figuring of darker irregular traces weaving through the wood. The sapwood is a creamy yellow, with a sharp boundary with...

, boxwood and other dense woods are superior; maple

Maple

Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...

and persimmon

Persimmon

A persimmon is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros in the ebony wood family . The word Diospyros means "the fire of Zeus" in ancient Greek. As a tree, it is a perennial plant...

are inferior, but often used. Some Caribbean music

Caribbean music

The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. They are each syntheses of African, European, Indian and native influences, largely created by descendants of African slaves...

makes use of bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

fifes.

Military and marching fifes have metal reinforcing bands around the ends to protect them from damage. These bands are called ferrules. Fifes used in less strenuous conditions sometimes have a lathe-turned, knob-like decoration at the ends for similar reasons. Some fifes are entirely made of metal or plastic. Some modern fifes are of two-piece construction with a sliding tuning joint

Musical tuning

In music, there are two common meanings for tuning:* Tuning practice, the act of tuning an instrument or voice.* Tuning systems, the various systems of pitches used to tune an instrument, and their theoretical bases.-Tuning practice:...

similar to some recorder

Recorder

The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...

Key and range

Marching fifes typically play in the key

Key (music)

In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...

of B flat folk, which is the equivalent of A flat concert pitch. Instruments were once named after the lowest pitch created by that particular instrument. The lowest tone made by the standard marching fife is a B flat (read as a D to a fife player), thus the typical marching fife is referred to as the "B flat fife." Fifes in the key of D and C are also common, and fifes in various other keys are sometimes played in musical ensembles. Fife music is commonly written in the key of D, and played as though the fife played in that key (playing notes D, E, F#, G, A, B and C# as finger holes are uncovered in succession) regardless of the key in which the fife actually plays. The fife sounds an octave above the written music.

Like the Irish flute

Irish flute

The term Irish Flute refers to a conical-bore, simple-system wooden flute of the type favored by classical flautists of the early 19th century, or to a flute of modern manufacture derived from this design...

and the tinwhistle, the fife is a six-hole simple system flute. These flutes are unable to play all chromatic pitches, and many chromatic pitches that they can play are grossly out of tune. This tuning irregularity is part of the unique sound of the fife. Because of these restrictions on available notes the common six-hole fife is really only capable of playing in the keys of G, D, maybe A, and their relative minors

Relative key

In music, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures. A major and minor scale sharing the same key signature are said to be in a relative relationship...

.

An experienced fife player can play 3 full octave

Octave

In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...

s although the fingering patterns necessary for playing in the third octave can be daunting to a beginner. Marching bands typically play only in the second and third octave since these are the loudest and most penetrating. It can make very high pitched shrill noises.

In folk music

They are small and high pitched. In medieval Europe, it was used in some folk music

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

traditions to accompany dancing

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

by all social classes.

The fife was one of the most important musical instruments in America's Colonial

Colonial America

The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...

period, even more widespread than the violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

or piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

. The fife can still be heard in some Appalachian folk music, playing lively dance tunes. American slaves

History of slavery in the United States

Slavery in the United States was a form of slave labor which existed as a legal institution in North America for more than a century before the founding of the United States in 1776, and continued mostly in the South until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in...

adopted fifes in their musical traditions, which derived from African music

Music of Africa

Africa is a vast continent and its regions and nations have distinct musical traditions. The music of North Africa for the most part has a different history from sub-Saharan African music traditions....

. The tradition developed into fife and drum blues

Fife and drum blues

Fife and drum blues is a rural derivation of traditional country blues. It is performed typically with one lead fife player, often also the band leader and vocalist, and a troop of drummers. Unlike a drum corps, the drum troop is loosely structured. As such, a fife and drum band may have any...

, a genre that continued throughout the 20th century, but is dying out. One of the most famous artists in the tradition was Othar Turner

Othar Turner

Othar "Otha" Turner was one of the last well-known fife players in the vanishing American fife and drum blues tradition...

, a musician from Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

who played Blues on homemade cane fifes. Turner died on February 27, 2003.

There remains an active and enthusiastic group, primarily in the northeastern United States, that continues to play fife and drum music in a folk tradition that has gone on since just after the American Civil War. The center of this activity is in eastern Connecticut. There is a loose federation of corps, though not a governing body, called The Company of Fifers and Drummers, which maintains a headquarters and museum in Ivoryton, Connecticut

Ivoryton, Connecticut

Ivoryton is a small village in the town of Essex in the state of Connecticut in the United States. It was known for its production of pianos in the early 20th century and takes its name from the ivory industry that imported tusks. In the beginning combs, buttons, toothpicks, billiard balls, and...

.

Fife alone, or fife and drum, is also used in numerous European countries, especially in the South of France (Occitania): Languedoc and the county of Nice, and in Northern Ireland where it is played as an accompaniment to the lambeg drum

Lambeg drum

A Lambeg drum is a large Irish drum, beaten with curved malacca canes. It is used primarily in Northern Ireland by Unionists and the Orange Order traditionally in street parades held in the summer, particularly on and around 12 July...

.

Modern players of Celtic music

Celtic music

Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...

, including folk-rock, sometimes include fifing in their arrangements. The Junkanoo

Junkanoo

Junkanoo is a street parade with music, which occurs in many towns across The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos Islands every Boxing Day , New Year's Day and, more recently, in the summer on the island of Grand Bahama. The largest Junkanoo parade happens in Nassau, the capital...

festival of the Bahamas and Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

includes the music of bamboo fifes.

In northeast Brazil, on the rural lands, people use a bamboo fife named Brazilian Fife (in Brazil its called Pife Nordestino or just Pife, and pronounces like Peef). This fife is a mix of Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

flute traditions with European fife traditions. The groups that use this instrument use only flute and percussive elements in their music, in a profusion of Native American, African and European traditions.

In military music

When played in their upper register, the fife is loud and piercing, yet also extremely small and portable. By some reports a band of fifes and drums can be heard up to 3 miles away over artillery

Artillery

Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...

fire. These qualities made it useful for signaling on the battlefield by European armies beginning in the Renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

period (See also Early modern warfare
Gunpowder warfare
Early modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including artillery and handguns such as the arquebus and later the musket, and for this reason the era is also summarized as the age of gunpowder...

). Armies from Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

and southern Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

are known to have used the fife (Soldatenpfeife) as early as the 15th century. Swiss and German mercenaries

Mercenary

A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

were hired by monarchs throughout Western Europe, and they spread the practice of military fifing. By the 16th century, the fife was a standard instrument in European infantries

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

.

The fifer also gave signals at camp such as the call to arms. While the infantry company marched, the drummer and fifer set the cadence. During marches, the fifer improvised

Improvisation

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...

tunes, creating variations on a theme while keeping the rhythm of the march. While the unit rested, the drummers and fifers played music to entertain the soldiers.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the protocols of the Fifes and drums became intricately associated with infantry regiments only. They were never used as signaling instruments by the cavalry or artillery. These units used trumpets and/or kettle drums. Each company of a infantry regiment was assigned 2 fifers and 2 drummers. When the Battalion (5 companies) or Regiment (10 companies) was formed up on parade or emmasse movement, these musicians would be detached from the companies to form a 'band' from which the term band rises. Detached to their individual companies, the signal duties included orders to fire, retreat, advance, and so forth. By the 18th century, the military use of the fife was regulated by armies throughout Europe and its colonies. The rank of Fife Major was introduced, a noncommissioned officer responsible for the regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

's fifers, just as a Drum Major

Drum Major

A drum major is the leader of a marching band, drum and bugle corps, or pipe band, usually positioned at the head of the band or corps. The drum major, who is often dressed in more ornate clothing than the rest of the band or corps, is responsible for providing commands to the ensemble regarding...

was responsible for the drummers. Books of military regulations included standard fife calls to be used in battle or at camp. During the American Revolutionary War, the British and Americans used the 'Scotch' and English Duties (particular melodies associated with various military duties). American martial music was influenced by that of the British Military throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Beginning in the early 19th century, warfare was changing and fifes were no longer practical as combat signaling devices. The fife was gradually replaced by the infantry bugle. They were still used as signaling instruments (opposed to musical instruments) by American units during the Civil War but gradually phased out by the 1880s. A similar regime occurred in the British Army. The US Marines were the last American units to drop fifers from their rolls. However, the British have an unbroken tradition of using fife and drums corps attached to their regiments. They still parade regularly with the regiments. Germany also continued with an unbroken tradition of fife and drum corps until the end of World War 2. They were not a mere function of the Hitler Jugend but integral to the Regular German Army. The bands of fifes and drums were regularly at the head of regimental parades and ceremonies of the infantry regiments.
Today the fife's military legacy lives on in marching bands, particularly in Great Britain where they are as integral to the English, Welsh and Irish military units as are the pipes and drums to Scottish regiments. Others examples are fife and drum corps

Ancient Fife and Drum Corps

An Ancient Fife and Drum Corps is a traditional, typically American fife and drum corps that plays fifes and wooden rope tension snare and bass drums.-History:...

in Switzerland, and the United States 'Old Guard' which has a ceremonial fife and drum corps. The best place to see real fife and drum bands in action is in Britain. The Trooping of the Colour, for instance, is one of the best places to see how they were used traditionally. Outside of Britain, excepting the Old Guard in the United States, modern fife and drum corps tend to be amateur historical reenactment

Historical reenactment

Historical reenactment is an educational activity in which participants attempt torecreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire...

groups and dedicated civil bands rather than dedicated military units sporting period military costumes from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War and the American Civil War.

Germany is also where everyone can also catch military fife and drum bands, all under the Bundeswehr

Bundeswehr

The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...

. The Bundeswehr Central Band and Bundeswehr Headquarters Band all have fifes and drums, and so too are the bands attached to the Bundeswehr Military Music Service in the German Army, German Navy and the Luftwaffe. Fife and drum bands are also active in Chile, where the Chilean Army

Chilean Army

The Chilean Army is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 45,000-person army is organized into seven divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade....

and Chilean Navy

Chilean Navy

-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...

have dedicated fife, drum and bugle bands attached to the main military bands. They are always seen especially during the parades on May 21 and September 18 and 19 every year. This tradition is now adopted by various elementary and secondary schools and colleges in Chile, either public or private, and are always making appearances in public events.

The Russian army also places fifes and drums at the front of major military parades, such as those on Red Square in Moscow. In Argentina, only the Tambor de Tacuari Military Band of the Regiment of Patricians has fifers, in accordance to a 1809 military regulation of the Viceroy of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

which allowed very militia unit in Buenos Aires to have a drummer and 2 fifers for the units to use. The Spanish Royal Guard also has fifers as part of its musical component, wearing the old uniforms of the Guardias de Corps during the 18th-19th centuries.

Modern fifes

The modern era of fifing in America began in about 1880, with the popularizing of civilian fife and drum corps, in a musical tradition that has come to be known as Ancient fife and drum (or simply Ancient). The rise of these corps led to a demand for fifes that were superior in intonation and better suited for group playing than those used during the Civil War. This call was answered by the Cloos Company of Brooklyn, New York, and their Crosby Model fife. These fifes were one piece, cylindrical bore instruments with six irregularly sized and placed tone-holes. Anyone who compares a Cloos to a fife made prior to this time will immediately note how much easier the Cloos is to play, how much better tuned it is, and how much louder the sound produced by the Cloos is.

After the death of Cloos Company founder George Cloos in 1915, the company continued to make fifes under the aegis of his son Frederick until it was bought out by Penzel-Mueller in 1946. Penzel-Mueller continued to make Cloos fifes for another six years after the buyout. The Cloos fife was, and continues to be, a highly respected and sought-after instrument among fife players.

In the late 1950s a new model fife, designed by renowned fifer John McDonagh was manufactured in Germany. This model was used by the three corp's affiliated with John McDonagh. The New York Regimentals, St. Benedict's and St. Anselm's; all located in the Bronx, New York. These fifes were not otherwise available to the public. A short time later a second generation McDonagh Model evolved and made by Roy Seaman, and quickly came into popularity. These fifes were mass produced for sale to the entire fife and drum community. They were two-piece instruments with a dual conical bore - the foot joint tapered down from the joint to about an inch before terminus, where the bore cone reversed itself and opened up again slightly. They used the popular flute and piccolo designs of the 1830s, where "cone" flutes were the rage and most common. The cone flutes had fallen out of favor to the cylindrical flutes designed by Boehm.

As would be expected, these fifes were notably more internally in tune than any previous fifes since the designs of the 1830s fell from favor, and had the added value of being tunable with each other (by sliding the joint). In addition, they gave the player greater dynamic control and could be played even louder than traditional fifes. At first, only six hole (Model J) fifes were made, but by 1960, McDonagh designed and Seaman manufactured a 10-hole (Model L). Two of the holes were used by RH2 - covering only one of the two produced F natural. Some players found this quite difficult, so eventually (c. 1970s), an 11 hole model was introduced, with both the original double RH2 holes and an RH thumb hole to choose from for the F natural. These were actually ideas derived from several makers of the days of the 19th century, including Giorgi.

Around this time, Roy Seaman decided to retire from actively manufacturing fifes. An apprentice, Larry Trout, took over the operation. Without the experienced supervision and oversight of Roy Seaman or John McDonagh, the quality of the instrument suffered.

In 1997, John McDonagh, along with his newly formed fife study group, decided that the time had come to make changes and dates to the 1960 10-hole fife. A new manufacturer, Wilson Woods, with critical oversight from Roy Seaman once again, produced the new fife, called the Regimental Model. Along with this new fife a number of fingering changes were suggested to take full advantage of the improved design. For a number of years, both Larry Trout and Wilson Woods made McDonagh fifes. Note that Larry Trout still produced the original version fife from around 1960. Both makers have discontinued making fifes as of 2003.

Most recently, The Cooperman Company, a Vermont-based maker of fifes and drums for the Ancient and reenacting communities, has taken over the manufacture of McDonagh fifes. Their new fifes most closely resemble the Wilson Woods Regimental models.

The early 1990s saw the emergence of The Healy Flute Company as a major player in fife manufacture. Skip Healy is a champion fife player and well-known Irish fluter from Rhode Island. His fifes are two-piece, six or ten hole instruments with a Boehm style bore (cylindrical foot and truncated parabolic head) and huge tone holes. Tuning is even further refined than on the McDonagh. The Healy also offers a bit more dynamic control than the McDonagh, though perhaps a bit less volume when pushed to the extreme.

Simultaneously with the emergence of the McDonagh fife, a maker named Ed Ferrary assumed the mantle of the now defunct Cloos company, producing traditional 6-hole cylindrical fifes. For those who continued to play traditional fifes, the Ferrary became the fife of choice. After Mr. Ferrary's death, his tooling and equipment was bought by a maker who prefers to remain anonymous, and who markets his fifes through outside sellers under the name "Model F".

The early 1960s saw the founding of The Cooperman Fife and Drum Company, founded by Patrick Cooperman. Cooperman fifes continued in the Cloos vein, with the significant addition of a plastic tube fife available at a very low price (still available and still under $10) and used by nearly every beginning fifer. By the mid 1970s, Cooperman had retired from his previous full time job and dedicated himself completely to making traditional fifes, drums and drumsticks for the Ancient community. The Cooperman Company has remained in operation and continued to grow and flourish under the control of other family members since Patrick's death in the mid 1990s. They make a wide variety of fife models, primarily of the traditional Ancient variety, but also including the McDonagh model (as discussed above).

Other current makers of traditional fifes include The Sweetheart Flute Company of Enfield, Connecticut, founded and run by Ralph Sweet, and the Peeler Fife Company of Moodus, Connecticut, owned and operated by Ron Peeler.

Other manufacturers of modern fifes include Yamaha and Angel. These fifes are plastic, in the key of C, and include a left hand thumb hole to aid in playing in tune. Books are published on playing this fife through Just Flutes and Choral Seas Press.
In the Ancient community, there are those who are also historical reenactors, and those who maintain close ties to their own groups' often lengthy history and tradition. These folks play the traditional fifes - Ferrary, Model F, Peeler, and some Sweet and Cooperman fifes. Groups with lesser ties to history and tradition and greater ties to musicality and competition usually choose McDonagh or Healy fifes. There seems to be a geographic distinction, with New York, New Jersey and western Connecticut groups preferring McDonagh fifes and central to eastern Connecticut and the rest of New England playing Healy's.

External links

Blues and History, a biography of Othar Turner and a brief history of African-American fife and drum music
The Virginia State Garrison Fifes and Drums, a history of the development of the Virginia State Garrison Regiment fifes and drums and their representation today
Fife traditional music in the county of Nice (France)
Fife fingering guide
Ulster Scots and Scots Irish Fifing Music
The Company of Fifers and Drummers, organization of corps and individuals who perpetuate the Ancient (U.S.) fife and drum tradition
Military Music in American and European Traditions, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Plymouth Fife and Drum Corps

www.musicroom.com
www.choralseaspress.com
Iconography of the fife in France. http://www.jeanlouiscouturier.com/content/show/38-Autres+Instruments+-+Other+Instruments.php

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