Fife Major using "cheater" mouthpiece

[joewhitney]

Re: Fife Major using "cheater" mouthpiece

If Ed's cheaters work well, that may be a great way to get people involved in fifing, like training wheels get people involved in bike riding. But of the 20 or so cheaters I have, including some original flute cheaters, most don't sound very good, although they may have become accidentally malformed over the years, since the are made of lead.

With a cheater, anyone can make notes come out of a fife. The only drawbacks are 1. because the air is limited by the diameter of the mouthpiece, it's quieter than an experienced player with developed lips can make a fife play, and 2. the notes are more recorder or whistle-sounding than a fife played without one.

C fifes are definitely louder and better heard over the drums than Bb fifes, first because there is less internal volume in the instrument to fill from the lungs, and second because the higher pitch rings out better over the drums. However, they're also screechier and more annoying to many people. But waddya want, it's the music of war, not love!

Joe Whitney
2nd SC String Band
Liberty Hall Fifes and Drums
Md Line Field Music

[Hardtack Herring]

Re: Fife Major using "cheater" mouthpiece

"C fifes are definitely louder and better heard over the drums than Bb fifes, first because there is less internal volume in the instrument to fill from the lungs, and second because the higher pitch rings out better over the drums. However, they're also screechier and more annoying to many people. But waddya want, it's the music of war, not love!"

That pretty much says it all right there.

I find them annoying, but the thrill of playing original fifes kind of off sets that.