When is a piccolo not a fife?

[The Laughing Imp]

OK, I must admit that I have come up to the boundaries of my knowledge. I cannot crack this conundrum. What the heck is the difference between a fife and a piccolo?

At first I thought, "Hey, fife's don't have keys like piccolos!" Then I found some keyless piccolos.

Then I thought, "Hey, fife's don't have that Boehm style headjoint like piccolos!" Then I found some piccolos without a Boehm style headjoint.

I even found a site that listed fifes and piccolos for sale as separate instruments that used the same pictures. The only difference on that site between the two was that the fifes were in the Keys of D & Eb and the Piccolos were in A, Bb, and C.

So size is the difference? Or does it have something to do with which type of moon they were created under. I'm partial to the idea that fifes are piccolos made under a gibbous moon.

What do you think?

[Wanderer]

to the the best of my knowledge, fifes have narrow bores, making them louder and shriller. A piccolo is more like a tiny flute. They're both pretty similar, though piccolo is usually in C, and the fife is usually (though not always) Bb.

My knowledge is admittedly sketchy on the subject

[MTGuru]

Also speaking from ignorance ... My impression is that fifes are meant / designed to be played mostly in the 2nd and 3rd octaves, and have a weak 1st octave. While piccolos have a robust 1st octave and are played mostly in the 1st and 2nd, with the 3rd octave as an extended range, much like a whistle or flute.

[jemtheflute]

fifes were in the Keys of D & Eb and the Piccolos were in A, Bb, and C.

Other way around! The piccolos would be D and Eb (folk or military band terminology - C or Db respectively in orchestral/museum terms) and the "fifes" would be the A, Bb and C ones. FWIW as a generalisation, piccolos would be higher/smaller than fifes, but we are bumping up against that old and much discussed vexed issue of terminology regarding "soprano" band flutes (cylinder head, conoid body) being colloquially and inaccurately known as "fifes" because they share the same pitch range as true fifes usually did/do.

True fifes have a (somewhat narrower) totally cylindrical bore. The presence or absence of keys is not a determinant factor, though the majority of true fifes are keyless. It is of course perfectly possible (but unusual) to have true fifes in the same registers as piccolos are normally found. "Piccolo" is short for "flauto piccolo" = "small flute", and as such should properly only be used to describe an octave flute with either cylinder head + conoid body or Boehm head + cylinder body, with whatever key/fingering system. One often sees Bb band flutes misdescribed (e.g. on eBay) as "piccolos" by (not necessarily their fault other than that they are too lazy to research properly) people who assume that any small flute must be a "piccolo".
It is more excusable to call a Bb band flute a "fife" as there is considerable (but unhelpful and confusion-causing) precedent for so doing.

Incidentally, lower pitch transverse flutes with fully cylindrical bores (e.g. Renaissance flutes, Doug Tipple's flutes etc.) have relatively wide bores in relation to their lengths and are not fifes just because they are cylindrical. The term "fife" has never really been used for alto/tenor range instruments (fundamental F above middle C and below).

Have a look at these links and try a subject search on fifes ......
Ulster fifes
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php ... ht=#705576.

[peeplj]

Also speaking from ignorance ... My impression is that fifes are meant / designed to be played mostly in the 2nd and 3rd octaves, and have a weak 1st octave. While piccolos have a robust 1st octave and are played mostly in the 1st and 2nd, with the 3rd octave as an extended range, much like a whistle or flute.

This fits with what I've read about fifes being used as a military signalling instrument.

Also there is apparently a significant difference in the volume of the two instruments; I've read that on a cold morning, the sound of a military fife can carry for miles.

--James

[The Laughing Imp]

I just realized that I forgot to comment and thank you guys for all the great information. But it's OK, because going over it a second time helps me see it clearer now.

So, if I understand correctly, the phase of the moon theory is out, which is good because saxophones are made under the moon, too, and that was just confusing things.

The conical bore versus a cylindrical bore makes the difference, with fifes having cylindrical bores. And looking more fifey than piccolos, which have a more flute-like feel in their design.

I think.

Well, it's all good. I know for certain I have an Irish folk fife in the key of D by Sweetheart flutes. It has a cylindrical bore. Our keyless Sweetheart flute in D has a conical bore. I don't own a piccolo, but I have a student who does, and I'll be sure to check out it's bore this Saturday.

Thanks a ton.