Fife

A fife ( FYFE) is a small, high-pitched, transverse aerophone, that is similar to the piccolo. The fife originated in medieval Europe and is often used in fife and drum corps, military units, and marching bands. Someone who plays the fife is called a fifer. The word fife comes from the German Pfeife, meaning pipe, which comes from the Latin word pipare.

The fife is a diatonically tuned instrument commonly consisting of a tube with six finger holes and an embouchure hole that produces sound when blown across. Modern versions of the fife are chromatic, having 10 or 11 finger holes that allow any note to be played. On a 10-hole fife, the index, middle, and ring fingers of both hands remain in the same positions as with the six-hole fife, while both thumbs and both pinkies are used to play accidentals. An 11-hole fife has holes positioned similarly, but adds a second hole under the right middle finger.