Origin of the term "cheater" for fife mouthpiece

[Quickstep]

I’m curious about the origin of the word “cheater” as used to describe a mouthpiece for the fife. Is this a reenactorism or is there any historical evidence that this term was actually used? I’ve heard conflicting stories from reenactors regarding the mouthpiece for the fife:

“They were used in the military music schools during the war because they had thousands of new musicians they had to train up quickly, and they called them cheaters because if you used one when learning, you were cheating at playing the instrument.”

“They were invented after the war so toothless old veterans could still play and needed a way to cheat at playing the instrument.”

However, I’ve seen ads for fife mouthpieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and none of them use the word “cheater,” nor does a 1904 patent for a fife with a mouthpiece I found. I can't find a reference to "cheater" in any of my books about the Civil War.

I keep coming across pictures of Civil War soldiers holding fifes with mouthpieces attached and can’t help but wonder if they really called them “cheaters,” which holds such a negative connotation, given their presence and apparent acceptance as an accessory for the instrument.

If someone could point me to some historical references regarding this topic, where the term is actually documented as being used, I’d appreciate it.

Thank you.

Claude Bauer, Fifer

[Quickstep]

Re: Origin of the term "cheater" for fife mouthpiece

I’m curious about the origin of the word “cheater” as used to describe a mouthpiece for the fife. Is this a reenactorism or is there any historical evidence that this term was actually used? I’ve heard conflicting stories from reenactors regarding the mouthpiece for the fife:

“They were used in the military music schools during the war because they had thousands of new musicians they had to train up quickly, and they called them cheaters because if you used one when learning, you were cheating at playing the instrument.”

“They were invented after the war so toothless old veterans could still play and needed a way to cheat at playing the instrument.”

However, I’ve seen ads for fife mouthpieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and none of them use the word “cheater,” nor does a 1904 patent for a fife with a mouthpiece I found. I can't find a reference to "cheater" in any of my books about the Civil War.

I keep coming across pictures of Civil War soldiers holding fifes with mouthpieces attached and can’t help but wonder if they really called them “cheaters,” which holds such a negative connotation, given their presence and apparent acceptance as an accessory for the instrument.

If someone could point me to some historical references regarding this topic, where the term is actually documented as being used, I’d appreciate it.

Thank you.

Claude Bauer, Fifer

At this point I think it’s safe to say that “cheater” is not a period correct term. I have been unable to find the term in lists of CW slang or CW terminology or in a dictionary defined in this context, and have never seen it in decades of reading about the CW and historic music. If the term “cheater” was around at the time of the CW and accepted as common usage in regard to the fife mouthpiece, someone surely would have recorded it somewhere.

It also appears that some fifers at the time don’t appear to be the least bit shy or embarrassed by the fact that they had them and used them. As a result, I don't think reenactors should be telling the public these mouthpieces were called cheaters during the CW unless some evidence surfaces to the contrary. Don't want to contribute to the pool of misinformation floating around out there.

- Claude Bauer