A corps of drums, sometimes known as a fife and drum corps or simply field music, is a traditional European military music formation. Historically, a Corps of Drums' primary role was communication. Today, the primary role of a Corps of Drums is ceremonial, performing in parades and military ceremonies. Besides drums, this formation may contain a variety of instruments, including trumpets, bugles, and fifes.
Drummers of the 57th Regiment of Foot at the Battle of Albuera. They are depicted in their distinctive yellow uniforms, which was facing color of the 57th.
Corps of Drums of the Moscow Military Conservatoire at the Victory Parade on Red Square, 2010.
Corps of Drums at a tattoo (Großer Zapfenstreich) in Germany, 2002.
British Corps of Drums.
A fife 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.
Crosby-style fife made by George and Frederick Cloos
A fife with six finger holes and a lead "cheater" or fipple mouthpiece attached with a brass screw, c. 1850s.
Édouard Manet, The Fifer, 1866. Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
