The Musicians and Instruments

The first time that the fife and drum were used together in a combination that we would recognize was in Switzerland. The Swiss had won their freedom in 1291, and had become famous for the bravery and excellence of their military. The needs of extended marches and camp life encouraged the development of fife and drum music in the 1400’s. The rest of Europe took notice of this military music form and was used by the Germans in the 1500 and 1600’s, the French utilized it in the 1600 and 1700’s when they used Swiss mercenaries, and when George I succeeded Queen Anne, he reorganized the British army in 1714 and required the troops to march in step with “proper” military music.

The use of the fifes and drums during the 18th century for the military served multiple purposes. The fifers and drummers were the timekeepers of the camp. They told the soldiers when to wake, when to eat, when to gather firewood and water, and when to retire for the evening. They alerted the troops when to take up arms and perfomed for ceremonial reasons, such as trooping of the colors, promotions and punishments.

In the military pattern, a company of 80-100 men would have one or two fifers, and one or two drummers. When 8 or 10 companies were gathered together to form a regiment, their fifers and drummers were “banded” to form a regimental band. Thus a fife and drum corps is the musical unit of a regiment of 800 to 1,000 men. The regiment is traditionally the largest military unit “commanded by one voice,” and so the fife and drum corps of 8 to 40 men (typically 16-20) is the largest size this military form historically achieved.