Fife (instrument) - Modern Fifes

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 1958, a new model fife, designed by renowned fifer John McDonagh was manufactured in Germany. This model was used by the three corps 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, designated 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 Healys.