1862 Fife Manual by Weller

[33rdaladrummer]

Because I haven't figured out how to work Adobe, and since much of it isn't really fife music, I just uploaded the cover page, index, and the camp duty. I'll sort out some of the non-odd ball tunes later.

[joewhitney]

Re: 1862 Fife Manual by Weller

Wow, cool stuff, Will! When combined with the other manuals that were widely published by Howe, Ditson, Vaas and others, this shows just how off-base Bruce & Emmett's versions were from what was actually widely available and played. This version of the Old Queen Dutch, for example, is the one found in all the other manuals, except B&E.

With the 150th coming next year, there's one last chance to make sure the music that was heard the most then is heard the most now. But to not take the easy way out and go with the crowd that learned B&E or modern beats, and can't or won't get them out of their heads, takes a lot more courage and effort than you can expect from most people. The fact that this stuff is not prohibited at teaching venues, and that most CW corps put them on their CD's, doesn't help.

So I predict we'll hear B&E duty calls, Paddy on the Handcar, Some Distance From Prussia, the Harriott, the Old Guard's Corn Cob Clog beat and Old 1812 at Civil War events for a long time to come, especially at the big farby mainstream ones.

Joe Whitney
2nd SC String Band
Liberty Hall Drum & Fife Corps
Md Line Field Music

[Silas]

Re: 1862 Fife Manual by Weller

I was sufficiently interested that I looked online for a copy of Howe or Weller. No such luck. I tabbed Tattoo for banjo, and it sounds pretty good. I was wondering of some of the morning fife and drum music might also work well.

[33rdaladrummer]

Re: 1862 Fife Manual by Weller

Joe, if people would actually take a look and compare the material in the various manuals, they would realize that B&E is the odd ball when it comes to the camp duty. The problem is that people assume that fifers and drummers actually acquired the manuals in large numbers during the war and utilized them as training tools. Using this reasoning, one can say that it is possible that regiment XX had a copy of manual Y so it's okay to play music from that manual.

I think one can make an even stronger case against B&E if everyone were to realize that some of the compilers of the manuals had to get their music from musicians in the first place. That way, for some of the manuals, you can think of each of them as a record of what one fifer played. In other words, it is possible the authors of the manuals learned more music from experienced fifers than beginner fifers learned from the manuals. Don't ask yourself "what manual did fifers most likely use?" but "which tunes and versions of the camp duty were the most common?" Today we have to use the manuals to answer this question but back then they didn't have to look in manuals for the answer. They just needed to listen to what experienced fifers played. I am willing to bet that much more was learned from Mexican War vets than any manual.

I suppose these things can be argued in several directions, but if you take the tactics manuals like Scott's, Gilham's, and Casey's into account the simpler versions of the camp duty win hands down.

Getting back to Weller, I wonder where he was getting his material. He has three Dutches in his Reveille: The Slow Dutch, which is actually a version of the Slow Scotch, The Dutch, which is the older version from around 1812, and The Quick Dutch, which is the slightly newer version from Scott's tactics. What he calls the Quick Scotch is actually the Fifer's Delight, and what he calls the French Quick Step is really the Quick Scotch. Then he has Peas Upon a Trencher followed directly by Breakfast Call, which is the same tune notated differently. And the American Quickstep is Larry O'Brien. Very sloppy.

Silas, Howe's is here:

http://www.nationalcivilwarbrassmusic.org/NCWFMS_Forms/Resources/Howes_Fife_and_Drum_Instructor.pdf

[33rdaladrummer]

Re: 1862 Fife Manual by Weller

Here are some of the other pages. The highlights are probably The Girl I Left Behind Me, Garryowen, and Bonny Doon. Home Sweet Home and Annie Laurie are two tunes that I have found accounts of being played by fifers during the war but are seldom heard today.

[joewhitney]

Re: 1862 Fife Manual by Weller

That's the typical Girl of the period, which of course is different from what everybody plays today. He also calls Fisher's Hornpipe Sailor's Hornpipe. Maybe he would have called Sailor's College Hornpipe. Typical of the floating titles of the period.

Interesting that he has the Fifer's Delight as the Quick Scotch whereas it traditionally was a Tattoo tune.

As for the Dutches, generally the slow versions were probably for students, and the quick versions were often used to wrap things up quickly during inclement weather.

I don't think calling Larra O'Brien the American Quickstep makes him necessarily sloppy, since it has had many titles. During the Revolution it was called the New Jersey Quickstep.

Similarly, the different versions of Breakfast Call don't surprise me. It wasn't uncommon for publishers to include different versions of the same duty tune in their manuals--trying to appeal to the most people probably. Howe has the regular version of the Assembly, and a dotted note jazzier version as well.

What's called here the French Quickstep wasn't actually THE Quick Scotch, but a tune that was commonly used as A Quick Scotch. Better known as the Fairy Dance or Jones' Frolic. Still popular today in Celtic music circles. Boys of the Lough play a blindingly fast version.

Like to see that Yankee Doodle Schottische! When they used to say it was played "with variations" maybe that was one of them!

Joe Whitney
2nd SC String Band
Liberty Hall Drum & Fife Corps
47th PA Band
Md Line Field Music

[33rdaladrummer]

Re: 1862 Fife Manual by Weller

That's the typical Girl of the period, which of course is different from what everybody plays today.

What makes matters worse is the Girl drumbeat used almost universally by reenactor drummers is the equivalent of everyone wearing jaguar skin trousers. You have one of the most commonly played fife tunes of the war played in the most uncommon manner.

I put all the 1860s fife versions together in one document and uploaded it in case anyone is interested.

Weller's Girl I Left Behind Me is almost identical to Howe's, and Nevins' is almost the same as Hart's. Then there's the fancy Bruce and Emmett version with the drumbeat that 'was composed expressly for Mr. G. Bruce's Quick Step, "Empty Pockets".'

Compared to B&E's version, the other drumbeats for Girl are not unique at all. They are still played today in slightly different forms known to modern rudimental drummers as Army 2-4 and The General. Also check out "Clog Dance Quickstep" in Howe's. It has a fancier version of Hart's Girl drumbeat. That's more evidence that it was widely known.

I prefer Hart's or Howe's drumbeats for Girl since they represent drumbeats that were probably commonly known as opposed to a unique beat that wasn't actually published until 1862. If drummers needed a manual to find a beat then chances are it wasn't well known.

A good thing about Hart's beat is that he even lists 3 additional tunes that can be played with it: My Love She Is, Roving Sailor, and Soldier's Joy.

Joe, do you know of any other versions published, say, 1850-1865 for fife, fiddle, or any other instrument?

I always wondered which fife version the vets are playing here. You would think they would play the version most of them knew during the war. The drumbeat is definitely the old Army 2-4.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqcN3YZs8rw

[JKfifer119]

Re: 1862 Fife Manual by Weller

Will

thanks for sharing this , this is really great. I'm starting to love those western manuals.
Well you know me, anything that isn't B&E is okay by me
though I have long since given up trying to convert the masses. I will give these scans a good looking over and hope to include some of these tunes in in the ole rep. thanks again Will

[33rdaladrummer]

Re: 1862 Fife Manual by Weller

Here's some more selected tunes, Joe Korber. I don't have your email. Otherwise I would send you the whole thing. Still can't figure out how to reduce the file size enough to upload here.

Most of the stuff I left out is either flute music or is in 3/8, 3/4, or 4/4.

Joe Whitney, I included Yankee Doodle Schottich, but as you can see it is flute music. It seems much of this manual is "filler," or either Weller was ignorant to the fact that fifers don't play that junk.