Question

[talimirr743]

Being abslolutly the best whistler there is :roll: , I have never really tried the flute or the fife, and I was just wondering what is the difference between the two?

[Bretton]

Do you mean between a flute and a fife?

Flutes are genereally low whistle sized, fifes are high whistle sized.

Fifes are also usually, though not always, played in the 2nd and 3rd octaves while flutes are played mostly in the 1st and 2nd octaves.

-brett

[ChrisA]

Being abslolutly the best whistler there is :roll: , I have never really tried the flute or the fife, and I was just wondering what is the difference between the two?

The fife is typically a Bb instrument, played in the second and third octaves of its range
(the first and second overblown notes). It is typically cylindrical or tapered at each end.

The (irish) flute is typically a D instrument, played in the first and second octaves of its range (the 'normal' notes and the first set of overblown notes). It is typically conical, slightly tapered from head to foot.

Both instruments can be made in any key, and the simple-system flute has been played across three octaves (generally this involves a different cork position and strong lips.)

The modern (boehm) flute is played across at least three octaves, possibly more, and is different from either the simple system flute or the fife.

[bradhurley]

On the off chance that you were really wanting to know what the difference is between a whistle and a flute (or fife), the most obvious difference is that the flutes you'd use for Irish music are blown sideways and don't have a fipple. Nor do they have chiff, as far as I can tell.

The fingering on an "Irish" flute is exactly the same as on a whistle, so you might think you could just pick up a flute and play all the tunes you play on a whistle, no problem.

You would be wrong.

The fingers will work, sure, but the challenge with the flute is all in making it sound good and learning how to blow it without falling faint on the floor every five minutes. That takes time. You can pick up a whistle as a rank beginner and make it sound reasonably good after a week or two of regular practice. You can pick up a flute and still sound like sh*t after a year or two of regular practice.

I went from whistle to fife to flute (interrupted somewhere along the line by a seven year misadventure with the uilleann pipes). I played the fife like a flute, in the first two octaves rather than the customary ear-splitting fifty-eighth octave range, and it was a good practice for learning the flute. Plus I could get a not-terribly-bad fife for $10.00 rather than shelling out $1,000 for a decent flute. Which is another difference between the flute and the fife: the fife is usually cheaper.

[ShadowBG625]

Personally, I play both flutes and whistles. I like flutes for the fact that I have more control of the tone with it being side-blown. I'm talking about when you come to songs with pianissimos and fortissimos and such. Granted, you use more air with a flute...Try it and see what you think!

[I.D.10-t]

From
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php ... band+flute

I will probably be contradicted on this but this is the way this debate goes because historically the words flute and fife have been used differently by different groups.

In England they played the “band flute” that was in the Bb pitch like the American fife. However the Band flute was typically a two piece instrument that had a conical bore, where the fife was a one piece instrument with a cylindrical bore.

My instructor never played the fife but I chose him because he played a baroque piccolo and flute. He has what he calls a renaissance flute that is in the key of A (one flat under my fife’s Bb) It is definitely not the same build as my fife. I guess even back in the renaissance finger holes were undercut to bring the octaves into tune with each other (He even mentioned that some makers scraped out the bore so that it was not always cylindrical). I do not believe that this was common for the fife.

It seems that fife is used to describe an instrument within a certain time period in much the same way people use Baroque, Renaissance, and Bonham to describe what kind of flute.

To confuse matters some people have modernized the fife in order to bring the tuning up to today’s standards (Much like having a Baroque piccolo with modern pitch). To do this, the makers have had to either use the Boehm taper or the conical body.

The key of the fife has been D, C and Bb. Of the fifes that I have seen none had keys (unlike Baroque and Irish instruments). The fife was played up into the third octave for signaling day to day activities, but officers often had the fife players play music for entertainment, and I think that it would have been played in it’s lower range on such occasions.

I think that the real question of the submitter is whether this would be a suitable starter instrument. In this case I do not think so, with some exceptions. For the most part fifes would not play the right key (and probably not sound in tune) for the majority of music that you have already learned on the whistle. You could always transpose the key of D to Bb but then you would not be able to play with others at a session. I do not know of any fifes less expensive than the tipple flute that are in the key of D, however Sweet makes a two piece fife “Professional Model Folk Fife” that has received good reviews and is designed to play in tune and is not as expensive as other piccolo's. Hamilton and Healy also make high D instraments and Bb fifes, but these would be more expensive than you seem to be looking for.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dcmhtml/fife.html

Just my thoughts.

I like the fife. The reach is less than a low D whistle and much of the “shrill sound” can be brought under control. Oh and earplugs.