Bruce and Emmett

It never fails, when Independence day follows on the heels of Memorial day, that I remember with fondness time spent with the Utah Fife and Drum Corps, reenacting Utah's small corner of Civil War history in Fairfield and Salt Lake.

I sat on my back deck, playing old march tunes on my fife; something I hadn't done in some time, and something I'm not permitted to do indoors. "Old 1812", "Hell on the Wabash", "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and still others. The tunes washed over me, carrying with it sands of memory I had long since thought were lost at sea.

There on my deck, overlooking the local desert mountains, I thought how great it is to be free. And it is.

Well, as it turns out, I've cherished a tiny goal for the last many years to give some meaningful contribution to the reenacting community. Popular among fife and drum corps nationwide for its healthy repertoire is the Drummer's and Fifer's guide by George Bruce and Dan Emmett. I've started an effort to update the fifer's guide using modern sheet music software. I would hope that by making the guide more readily available that interest in the area could be rekindled.

The first two pages of music (pages 24 and 25 of the guide) are available on my website at http://www.notesoncode.com/sheetmusic/DrummersAndFifersGuide.pdf. It is all public domain, so feel free to download and share. I'll make note of progress on the guide from time to time on this site.

Pages 24 and 25 include scales and introductory exercises for the fife. Unlabeled tunes include:

• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Annie Laurie
• The Star-Spangled Banner
• and others.