The Fife Group performs on 10-hole B flat fifes in ceremonies, parades, and concerts.
Members of the Fife Group come from all backgrounds, from traditional fife and drum to classical music training. The fellowship of these talents allows for the Fife Group to maintain the best of American fife culture and to embrace the future of this time-honored tradition.
The practice of using fifes as a military signaling instrument is a centuries-old practice from Europe and was also a staple of the American Army from the Revolutionary War through the 19th Century. Not only did these instruments signal commands on the battlefield, they were also used to indicate hours of duty, formations, and to lift morale.
The fife is traditionally a transverse 6-hole wooden instrument. Fife Musicians of the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps play on 10-hole fifes made from grenadilla wood with metal joints and accents. These modernized instruments enable the performance of traditional fife music as well as a wider array of more intricate and chromatic arrangements.