English School 18th Century, Portrait of a Young Fifer in Military Dress Possibly from a Yorkshire Militia Band

English School 18th Century, portrait of a Young Fifer in Military Dress possibly from a Yorkshire Militia Band

oil on canvas

21 x 16 in. (54 x 41 cm.)

Master of Music york. Regimental Band Uniforms were traditionally white with the collar, cuffs, lapels, etc in the regimental facing colour. It was, however, not at all unknown for musicians to wear uniforms which were in very different colours to those of the rest of the regiment’s personnel. If they have a connection with a particular location, they are more likely to belong to the Militia regiment/battalion of that area than to the Regulars. Apart from London, cities in Great Britain did not really have their own units, but the various Ridings of Yorkshire certainly each had one or more battalions of Militia troops. I would date these to the mid-1790s.

A fife s a small, high-pitched, transverse flute, that is similar to the piccolo, but louder and shriller due to its narrower bore. The fife originated in medieval Europe and is often used in military and marching bands. Someone who plays the fife is called a fifer. The word fife comes from the German Pfeife, or pipe, which comes from the Latin word pipare.

The fife is a simple instrument usually consisting of a tube with 6 finger holes, and diatonically tuned. Some have 10 or 11 holes for added chromatics. The fife also has an embouchure hole, across which the player blows, and a cork or plug inside the tube just above the embouchure hole. Some nineteenth-century fifes had a key pressed by the little finger of the right hand in place of a seventh finger hole.

Fifes are made mostly of wood: grenadilla, rosewood, mopane, pink ivory, cocobolo, boxwood and other dense woods are superior; maple and persimmon are inferior, but often used. Some Caribbean music makes use of bamboo fifes.

Military and marching fifes have metal reinforcing bands around the ends to protect them from damage. These bands are called ferrules. Fifes used in less strenuous conditions sometimes have a lathe-turned, knob-like decoration at the ends for similar reasons. Some fifes are entirely made of metal or plastic. Some modern fifes are of two-piece construction with a sliding tuning joint similar to some recorders.

When played in its upper register, the fife is loud and piercing, yet also extremely small and portable. According to some[which?] reports, a band of fifes and drums can be heard up to 3 miles away over artillery fire. Because of these qualities, European armies from the Renaissance on found it useful for signaling on the battlefield. Armies from Switzerland and southern Germany are known to have used the fife (German: Soldatenpfeife) as early as the 15th century. Swiss and German mercenaries were hired by monarchs throughout Western Europe, and they spread the practice of military fifing. The fife was a standard instrument in European infantries by the 16th century.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the protocols of the fifes and drums became intricately associated with infantry regiments only. They were never used as signaling instruments by the cavalry or artillery, which used trumpets, kettle drums or both. Each company in an infantry regiment was assigned two fifers and two drummers. When the battalion (5 companies) or regiment (10 companies) was formed up on parade or for movement en masse, these musicians would be detached from the companies to form a "band". This is how the term band first came to refer to a group of musicians.[1] In their individual companies, the signaling duties included orders to fire, retreat, advance, and so forth. By the 18th century the military use of the fife was regulated by armies throughout Europe and its colonies. The rank of Fife Major was introduced, a noncommissioned officer responsible for the regiment's fifers, just as a Drum Major was responsible for the drummers. Books of military regulations included standard fife calls to be used in battle or at camp. During t