Yamaha Fife

[ChrisCracknell]

Completely forgot that I had one of these things - never really got to grips with it and ended up forgetting it with other things to play.
Just pulled it out and realised that it is perfect for Julia Delaney - with which I still have serious problems on my wooden flutes. (No problem on the Boehm, but I don't take that to most of my sessions)

This little thing, because it plays a scale of C but has the same fingering for all the notes as a D flute or whistle with the exception of the F Natural is a cinch to play in c major. Try it with e.g. Julia Delaney. It even has the thumb hole like my other flutes!

Chris.

[I.D.10-t]

(But, shhh! Apparently this little flute is known to be a training tool for another, larger flute, but not a six-holed flute!)

Strange, it doesn't look or play anything like a shakuhachi or the quena. (although they all have thumb holes, so I guess I can see some similarities)

[sbfluter]

If someone wants a fife with fingering like an Irish flute, get a fife. Sweetheart has 'em. Even little ones in D (which I guess would make them more like piccolos.)

'Course you're supposed to play them in octaves 2 and 3, but nobody's stopping you from playing octave 1 in the privacy of your own home.

I have a Bb fife. I don't play it much though, but it is good for embouchure. I guess my embouchure is worse because I can barely play it now.

[Cork]

The older Sweetheart High D was a fife, but the newer Sweetheart High D is actually a little, conical bored flute, and it rocks!

[I.D.10-t]

Sweetheart currently makes two D fifes.

Renaissance Fifes
A simple, straight-bore, one-piece, non tunable fife.

His Professional model
A two piece, contoured bore fife that played the upper registers better than his older D fife.

His older D fife design was similar to his folk fifes in D.
Also a two piece fife, contoured bore, and tunable by the tenon.

[Cork]

Right, I have one of his older, two-piece High D fifes, with a thread wrapped tenon (folk fife style, but with cylinder bore), and I have one of his newer, two-piece High D flutes, with a cork wrapped tenon (professional style). The newer one is really nice, but it prefers smaller hands, for it ain't all that big.

[Sillydill]

Here's a pack of piccolos.



Top to Bottom:

Old Aulos (No Longer Made) - Boehm style with cylinder body and taper head, pretty good player.
Yamaha - I'm not very impressed, but I never got used to the fingering.
Project (I'm sure it will sound wonderful when I finally get around to drilling the holes. )
Mark Hoza (Largest Bore Piccolo I've found with 12.8 mm in the head) Very nice tone, but you really have to kick it hard to get it up to the top of the 2nd.
Sweetheart Pro-Fife - Diminutive body for my fat fingers, but plays very nice once you get the hang of it. {On loan from Jim Stone}

[groxburgh]

Why not attack the Yamaha with a drill or file to change the F natural to an F#? The file would work best because you can then attack just the upper edge.

[Cork]

Why not attack the Yamaha with a drill or file to change the F natural to an F#? The file would work best because you can then attack just the upper edge.

That wouldn't work due to the fingering pattern of this flute. Yes, you could ream out the F to get an F#, but that would also sharpen the G, among other things.

[Aanvil]

Hmm... I have on of those white plastic Yamaha.

I think it cost me all of 2 bucks.

I thought it was icky and I tossed into the flute firewood box.

I'll have to go look for it and give it another try.


At least the could have made it black.

[groxburgh]

Why not attack the Yamaha with a drill or file to change the F natural to an F#? The file would work best because you can then attack just the upper edge.

That wouldn't work due to the fingering pattern of this flute. Yes, you could ream out the F to get an F#, but that would also sharpen the G, among other things.

It's even easier to flatten the G back again, just a bit of wax on the upper edge of the G hole should do it. What other things were you thinking of?

[Cork]

Why not attack the Yamaha with a drill or file to change the F natural to an F#? The file would work best because you can then attack just the upper edge.

That wouldn't work due to the fingering pattern of this flute. Yes, you could ream out the F to get an F#, but that would also sharpen the G, among other things.

It's even easier to flatten the G back again, just a bit of wax on the upper edge of the G hole should do it. What other things were you thinking of?

Basically, the same F hole reamed out to get F# is the same hole G vents from, due to the fingering pattern of this flute, so what you are suggesting is to ream out a hole, and then fill that same hole back in.

I'd bet Yamaha took extra effort to get all of the holes just right, especially as this same design has been for sale for many years.

[Cork]

Hmm... I have on of those white plastic Yamaha.

I think it cost me all of 2 bucks.

I thought it was icky and I tossed into the flute firewood box.

I'll have to go look for it and give it another try.


At least the could have made it black.

Not to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but this little flute does have its merits, oddball fingering excepted. And, should your flute get lost, stolen or broken, don't worry, as not only do they cost small money, like, pocket money, but the next one you get should be a virtual duplicate, as Yamaha apparently hasn't changed the design in many years.

[I.D.10-t]

Chiffed has tried this

Note the enlargement of the rh2 hole. Now it plays like a D+ tinwhistle. I do hate the reform lipplate, and the cork was too close so I moved it with significant force. Now it's a good $8 piccolo.

The F nat (without thumb and pinky) is fingered XXXXoO

To expand the hole to get F# you would Get XXXXOO
and G would be XXXOOO I don't know how much the extra venting would effect the G one hole back.

I should really try one of those things again....

[mutepointe]

Learning different fingering isn't as challenging as it sounds once you get into the right mindset. I play the pennywhistle and irish flute left-handed and the silver flute and now this fife right-handed. I'm getting to the point where I can play the irish flute right-handed but not the pennywhistle.