A Mouthpiece for Your Fife?
(Do you
really need one?)
I have been teaching people to play the fife for over fifty years. Throughout those years and many hundreds of students, I have encouraged all of them to learn to play properly using a well-conditioned embouchure, without any mouthpiece. In the various 19th century Civil War music schools, particularly when the death toll in battle was high, "cheeters" were sometimes issued to hasten the learning process. They have their flaws: In my opinion, the true tonality of the fife cannot be obtained and tonguing is difficult, or at least quite different.
Since the establishment of Be A Fifer!, I have received a constant influx of e-mails with many questions. Where can I get a good fife bag? I now have one. Do I have to oil my fife? If so, what should I use? I now have a maintenance kit with bore oil and wax. My e-mail is a suggestion box for me. The hardest question has always been in regard to mouthpieces. If it is a new student, I tell them to keep on trying; learn to play the instrument the correct way...without a mouthpiece. It usually takes no more than a few days or weeks of diligence and practice to develop a proper embouchure..
However, I am also contacted by people with dentures, dental braces or no teeth at all! Although I still have most of my teeth, I can understand the problem. Some messages deal with emphysema, asthma, and other lung or breathing problems. In these cases, I simply didn't know what to do. I suggested that they visit eBay and other on-line auction houses. Even then, I later heard that the authentic (and often expensive) Civil War relic that they bought wouldn't fit on their fife or didn't work properly. If you have all of your own natural teeth and can breath normally, read no further!
For
those of you who have dental or respiratory problems, I rounded up a collection
of "cheeters" from my friends and selected one that would fit a broad
range of instruments. It looked like it was made by George Cloos, but it had no
name imprinted on it. I then contacted a first-rate pewter forge and had a few
cast in lead-free pewter. (This should provide food for thought among those
who use genuine 19th century mouthpieces. Lead can be toxic!)
The
device will fit on fifes ranging from 3/4 inch outer diameter at the blow hole,
down to 11/16 inch; maybe smaller with a bit of shimming. For example,
the original Ferrary is a slender fife and would require a bit of tape to tighten
it up. Many original Civil War fifes had a quite large diameter. This is why they
often had two grooves cut into the wood in order to fit a mouthpiece, as was done
with very old Cloos and Cloos/Crosby fifes. It will fit on the later ones, like
those made by Penzel/Mueller. As near as I can figure, at 13/16 inch diameter,
it will not fit some Cooperman fifes I have, even with a longer screw. Be sure
to measure the fife at the blow hole. Many fifes taper out from the ferrules.
The mouthpiece will fit the Model F fife perfectly. It will also fit the classical Bb plastic fife, although it may be tricky to get it over the ferrules. It will fit a lot of fifes, but definitely not all. Please bear in mind that the mouthpiece is made from pewter, which is a soft alloy. It is held tight with a heart-shaped screw, just like the original. The screw is made from steel which is harder than the pewter. The pewter threads cannot take a lot of wear and tear. Install it on a fife so that it works, and leave it there! If you can play without it, please do so.
The cost? $44.95 plus shipping.
In stock and available for immediate shipment.
or order by mail.
Click on the fife
