Just got my first instrument - a fife

[Awoooo]

this is precisely what my fife looks like.

fifes are known for their poor intonation across the octaves and often play rather poorly in the first octave

Could you elaborate on this? I'm new to musical vocabulary and music in general, and don't quite understand. How many octaves can a fife play in? And is the 'first' the highest of the notes?

[Denny]

ya start from the bottom, it is a bit more absolute

3 octaves, more or less (see above)

Making a flute to play in two octaves isn't too bad,
three octaves requires sacrificing one of them a bit.

So the bottom, first, octave is a bit dodgy so that the second is good and
the third is better than it would be if the bottom were good.

This kinda ties into the "Irish flute" discussion.
Irish flutes have been optimized for the bottom two octaves.

[I.D.10-t]

I think I have had that flute in the past. If I recall it was "American Fife" and was in the key of C. I purchased two to see what the quality control was like. Perhaps you found a good one, but the two I had were barely playable. I am not an instrument snob and enjoy a bargain instrument, but in my experience, this is not it.

This flute will play in the first two octaves like a C penny whistle. If I recall correctly it had a fairly wide bore and so it will not sing properly in the third register.

[plunk111]

Awooo:

I have this exact instrument in my "stable" - I just checked it against a tuner and it is actually pretty good except for the E (index finger of right hand down). Sound is nowhere near as nice as any of my other instruments and it's a little breathy, but nothing really wrong with it. I would definitely NOT recommend it to a beginner!

Pat

[Sigurthr]

Well good news is it looks like it is at least functional and somewhat tuned! Embouchure to bore ratio looks decent as well (unlike the Dixon fifes which are horrid).

The next step should you decide to pursue on this instrument (or one like it) would be to read up on how to form an embouchure. The videos on youtube from Sir James Galway's masterclass on embouchure helped me tremendously when I first started. Basically you want to gently frown, never let the corners of your mount point up (smiling embouchure really is NO good), and say a word like "pew" or "pyooo". From there on it is practice!

If you wanted to get another fife/piccolo/flute be sure to get one from a well known and respected maker. Tipple and Hammond come to mind as the most bang for your buck, but Sweetheart has some good inexpensive fifes as well.

[MTGuru]

I have this exact instrument in my "stable"

Pat, do you have any clues as to the maker ... labels, marks, etc.?

[Awoooo]

I've mostly been experimenting with embouchure rather than reading about it.

The last three holes, the lowest pitches, are the easiest for me to get a nice(although like someone said, it is 'breath'-y)sustained sound out of. The highest notes are mostly unattractive noises at the moment. I have in mind to purchase or rent a flute someday soon, and I don't mind the practice this is giving me. Because I am noticeably developing better sounds, as the days go by. it feels very natural to play, and i pick it up and put it down as i go about my business at home.

i need to quit smoking, also. haha.

[I.D.10-t]

I have this exact instrument in my "stable"

Pat, do you have any clues as to the maker ... labels, marks, etc.?

If it is the same one that I had, it would be "American Plating 150CN Metal Fife"

[MTGuru]

If it is the same one that I had, it would be "American Plating 150CN Metal Fife"

Oh how funny, I love it. Thanks, ID. Oh for the days before marketing ruled the earth ...

The same company makes band instrument lyres and ligatures, and the infamous "Song Whistle" slide whistle:

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMERICAN-SONG-FLUTE ... 0576519553

The thing is ... This says "Professional", but my slide whistling is really more intermediate. I wonder if I need a more basic instrument ...

[plunk111]

No markings on mine - sorry. No idea where I got it, either. I've had it for over 20 years (I think).

[Awoooo]

Oh, right. There was a post-it note stuck to the bag that held the fife that said "150CN"

thanks a lot for reminding me, that must be the maker then.

[jemtheflute]

I rather suspect "150CN" has something to do with the materials - CN = Cupro-Nickel, at a guess. it surely isn't a maker's name. It does (FWIW) look as though it should play reasonably within limited expectations, as in, has been properly made for what it is, isn't just a "looks like" toy. The breathiness will probably remain, however good an embouchure you develop, because of the lack of chimney depth in the embouchure hole. They have added another thickness of metal, so it will be a little better for tone-generation than blowing at one like the finger-holes, but it is still way to shallow for good, rich, clean sounds.

[Denny]

hows about chromed nickel?

[I.D.10-t]

1) The maker is American Plating.
B) From what I have read it is nickle-plated brass. It was not cupronickel or chromed nickel to my knowledge. Don't guess.
III) I have been trying to find out what 150 means, but I don't think it has anything to do with Hz.
δ) I've had two.

I found the flute to be a contradiction. Nothing wrong with a narrow chimney. It seems to work with the higher notes on other fifes, but the wider bore didn't work with it. I cannot give you the dimensions since I recycled them. Of the two that I had, one of the embouchures was poorly shaped. It looked like someone tried to either re drill a hole or try to make an oval embouchure with two holes and left a point in the center (I think the latter). The better of the two seemed quiet.

If Awoooo has a good one, then I am happy for Awoooo. However, I think there are more consistent options in Bb (for a fife) and D (piccolo) for about the same price.

[MTGuru]

Here's a good page about APM, with a brief (but interesting) history:

http://www.themusicden.com/m-2660-americanplating.aspx

Looking at the catalog designations, it's pretty clear that the 1. the number is arbitrary; 2. N = nickel color (as G = gold color, LQ = lacquered, etc.); and 3. C = the key of the instrument.

This is one of those funky little companies like Trophy and Herco and Generation that have been around for a long time as sources for the odd little items. When I was a buyer for Sam Ash they were handled mostly by jobbers (wholesale consolidators). Need a gross of ligature screws or bassoon staples? They've got 'em.

My guess with items like this fife or the Song Flute is that they were probably created at the request of a particular customer at some point in the distant past, then kept in the catalog because they fill an odd niche. And as with Gen whistles, the details may be long lost in the mists of time.

As I recall of the Song Whistles (which I used to sell), the quality control is spotty at best. Some were good, some not. The manufacturing process may be unchanged for 100 years, and not really up to consistent embouchure/fipple tolerances. But they are what they are.