Fife
date: label: associated date
content: 1861 - 1865
notes: label: Description
content: Physical Description
label: Description
content: Wood with white metal inlay.
label: Description
content: General History
label: Description
content: A fife is a small transverse flute, pitched to B flat. There are six holes and no keys. Without keys, the fife has a rather limited range, usually played in the keys of D, G or A. 1863 regulations allowed recruiters to enlist those, “such as the recruits as are found to possess a natural talent for music, to be instructed on the fife, bugle, and drum, and other military instruments...care should be taken to enlist those only who have a natural talent for music." Young musicians were trained at Governor’s Island in New York. George Bruce served as Principal Instructor at Governor’s Island. Bruce, along with Daniel Decatur Emmett, the composer of Dixie, authored The Drummer's and Fifer’s Guide. Their guide became the standard for military musicians. Many of the fifers were young boys, age twelve to sixteen. Most fifers would have been accompanied by drummers.
topic: label: related event
content: Civil War
label: related event
content: Civil War and Reconstruction
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: Exhibition
content: Price of Freedom
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AF.67943M
label: catalog number
content: 67943M
label: accession number
content: 246767
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Fife
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 16 3/4 in x 3/4 in x 3/4 in; 42.545 cm x 1.905 cm x 1.905 cm