Fifes and Whistles?

My daughter very much enjoys fifing. She plays a b flat model F with our fife and drum corps.

I would like to get her a D fife so she may play along with her brothers when they are on fiddle and banjo. They play Old Time, Irish and traditional fife tunes. Because she already knows the fife tunes, I am thinking jumping to the D fife will be a relatively easy experience?

Does anyone have experiences with specific D fifes that they could recommend? Wood type? Manfacturer? Or should I not consider this an option?

Because I have never seen a fife played at a session, I am wondering if it will be something that will transition from the battlefield. I was also considering getting an entry level tunable wooden whistle, but they do not seem to exist. Is a D recorder a possible stand in? Was thinking a tunable poly whistle would be a nice place to start?

Thanks for your consideration and feedback.

I have a Ralph Sweet D fife (www.sweetheartflute.com/Barn/ralph.html) I’ve had since 1989.


Allan

I am not too familiar with fifes, but I don’t think they would be very welcome in a session. I know some fife players that play whistle at a session though. Fifes just have a different feel at an Irish session.

Do not get a recorder, as they are probably more shunned than fifes. There are plenty of good wooden whistles out there. As Allan said about Sweet making a good fife, he also makes a good wooden whistle. Wooden whistles cost a lot though. I play an Abell wooden whistle. You probably won’t find a wooden whistle for under 250 USD.

For poly whistles, Dixon makes a great one, Susatos are nice, and Freeman tweaks Generations to be awesome. Those are all very affordable and great for starters.

Good luck in choosing an instrument!

You might consider a conical d piccolo. New or antique, keyed or not.

http://irishpiccolo.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

Jem Hammond makes a great plastic tubing one piece cylindrical piccolo for a great price.
You can’t go wrong.

Piccolo takes a lot of work. Fluters moonlighting who’ve not put in the embouchure work give it a bad name but they can be played sweeter than a whistle.

I have heard a fife demonstrated at a session. It was much too shrill to blend in easily with other instruments.

Thank you all. I appreciate your responses.

Also, if I remember, Sweet makes a wooden whistle that can take the head off and replace it with a fife head, which is neat.

Ralph Sweet’s son Walt also makes a whistle/five combo, which I have. It’s made from delrin, a polymer which has similar properties to wood and is pretty much indestructible. I have his Shannon flute as well and it’s well crafted, well in tune, and great for a beginner or a kid. I’d highly recommend the whistle/ffe combo, she can play around with what she likes best.

http://wdsweetflutes.com/black-pearl.php

A few things to keep in mind:

1. Fifes are often made to play in the 2nd and third octaves, making the first a bit out of tune to compensate. Just make sure whatever you get has good tuning in the 1st and 2nd octaves, that’s where pretty much all of the tunes will be played.

2. The piccolo has a longer history than most might think in Irish read, check out the Irish piccolo website above, or search for “Irish piccolo tunes” on youtube, you’ll find some good resources.

3. Some people might bristle at a fife/piccolo at a session, both for political and volume reasons. That’s why a combo might be best, she can decide which to use in a given setting while using essentially the same instrument.

“Irish piccolo” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-DKnWjN4x8

play video

thomas judge : < Because I have never seen a fife played at a session, >
I have, one of these.
f4
http://angusfifescom.ipage.com/index2.html

I might be confused about the terminology here, but wouldn’t a “D Fife” actually be a piccolo in the first place?

Just for my understanding, as I come from the Netherlands and have no idea whatsoever, why would people
“bristle at a fife/piccolo at a session, both for political … reasons”
Is there any baggage associated with a piccolo?

In general Fife would have a narrow cylindrical bore designed for 2nd and 3rdoctave (mostly )playing.
Keyless.

Piccolo would be conical bore 1 to 6 (8) keys.

The following is a good explanation.

http://www.oldflutes.com/articles/fife/index.htm

Many instruments fall in between like slightly conical 1 keyed french fifes or cylindrical “folk piccolos” for lower octave playing.

Look for info on the flute band scene in Northern Ireland , Scotland, and elsewhere for information on political associations.

On the Continent the association of ‘band flutes’ and fifes is strongly associated with the Napoleonic era. There’s a great party/bash at St Tropez of fifers and fife bands from all over Europe. The videos show a great three day party.

dunnp : Dont’ forget these guy’s !
Although in fairness, we likely took them over there 😉
f4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8epv1Y25XA

play video

There are some very good “D” whistles in the $125-$185 range. Gene Milligan’s whistles sell for $185.00. Alex DeWilde of Hermit Hill Folk Instruments has whistles available in the $150.00 range. And finally, Charlie Tarrio of Whorfin Whistles has just listed a batch of wooden whistles on the Chiff and Fipple Forum in the $125.00-$150.00 range. All would be excellent choices for someone interested in a wooden whistle.