Field Music and Camp Duty

[HangarFlying]

I understand that fifers learned the music by rote, but unfortunately I do not have that luxury. If Scott's or Casey's manual is used as a basic guideline for what songs should be played during reveille and tattoo, where does one look for the complete songs listed? At the present time, I have a very limited fife library; which manuals should I invest in that would provide the fife and drum music to play the proper songs for camp duty.

Regarding B&E, I know the pit-falls surrounding this manual but, the actual music aside, it provides a clear guideline of when reveillie, breakfast call, dinner call, pioneer call, etc should be played. Generally speaking, does B&E provide an accurate guideline of what songs should be played when?

I have Ashworth's manual, which appears incomplete, especially when trying to compare it to the drum beatings (ie. three camps). I also found Hart's manual on-line. I know I have a long way to go. I'm currently focusing on the music for the Camp Duty, and will expand the repertoire from there.

Thanks,

[27thNCdrummer]

First of all, what is your portrayal(i.e. confederate or federal)?

One downfall of B&E is that it was written by a master drummer and fifer, so as you get through the manual some of the music becomes quite difficult.

Also, what do you mean by complete songs listed?

Remember that the reveille was not always th official one, sometimes musicians would play there favorite tunes. Delvan S. Miller states in his diary that some units would play The Girl I left Behind Me, while others would play OH Sussana for reveille.

[HangarFlying]

Sorry, I should have clarified in my first post: I plan on focusing on a Federal Field Musician impression. Regarding B&E, I understand the difficulties of this manual's music. My question regarding this manual does not involve the actual songs played for camp duty, rather the actual organization of the Camp Duty. Is B&E a good reference to know when to play the various calls. (Reveille played at 6 a.m., Pioneer's Call played 15 minutes after, Drummer's Calls played 15 minutes prior to the associated song, etc etc).

Regarding my "complete songs listed" comment: there was a previous thread talking about the music in Scott's and Casey's manual as being incomplete songs. Those authors only put the first few bars of a particular song in order to list what song they intended to be played, a guide for what they wanted since those musicians who were learning the music were not learning it from paper but learning it by listening to more experienced players.

I don't have the ability to learn from a mentor, I need to have the sheet music to learn the song. Since I am on a limited budget, which manuals should I invest in that will provide the complete songs.

Going back to Scott's manual, in his tattoo he has bars with no music. Is he indicating that he wants those types of songs played but is leaving the actual song up to the individual?

I understand that there were many variations and that many field musicians played "non-standard" music. For right now though, while I'm learning, I want to stick to the basics and get the standards down before changing things up.

Thanks,

First of all, what is your portrayal(i.e. confederate or federal)?

One downfall of B&E is that it was written by a master drummer and fifer, so as you get through the manual some of the music becomes quite difficult.

Also, what do you mean by complete songs listed?

Remember that the reveille was not always th official one, sometimes musicians would play there favorite tunes. Delvan S. Miller states in his diary that some units would play The Girl I left Behind Me, while others would play OH Sussana for reveille.

[27thNCdrummer]

My suggestion as far as manuals would be Howe's 1862. This was used pretty much universally by federals and confederates. I would also recommend you getting Keach's manual. It should have the info regarding times of calls, etc.

One thing to remember is that Howe essentially copied Keach's manual and then added on a LOT more to his manual.

[HangarFlying]

Thanks for the input!

[RJSamp]

The times for the calls are based on your commander's/the events schedule. Be prepared to rock and roll based on a bugled camp schedule. don't let me catch you staring at an event schedule calling for Sick Call at 9AM when you are reporting to your command staff.....go on their orders, not the event organizers....and be prepared for a change...If I had a buck for everytime some field musics started playing whatever "because that's what was posted on the internet site a few months ago" I could retire.

doesn't matter what the manual's say (they are guidelines).....when your CO orders something to happen....then hop to. and ALWAYS know when Reveille is before you go to sleep, get it straight from the horses mouth, not from a lowly Sergeant or mess mate.....they'be been know to steer newbies wrong...... "I though Reveille was at 5AM?!!) yea right.

[33rdaladrummer]

Tattoo (Scott's, Gilham's, etc.)

3 Cheers
Doublings
Quickstep
Doublings
Common Time
Doublings
3/4 (a Waltz, Dutch, or Troop)
Doublings
Double Quick (Single Drag)
3 Cheers
Doublings

The above is basically the "short Tattoo".

Based on the fact that the Downfall of Paris is in B&E and Hart's, it more than likely was added along with other pieces when playing a "long Tattoo".

Howe mentions that the Tattoo should commence and end with a national air. He gives "Hail to the Chief" and "Yankee Doodle". Ending the tattoo with Yankee Doodle conforms with the tactics manuals sense it is given as a single drag (double quick).

For such a short piece, the Doublings can be tricky. Sometimes it's hard to get the fifes and drums in sync. In my opinion, the Howe or Keach Doublings is easier. Something's not quite right about the B&E version.

Don't be misled by the appearance of "Tatter Jack" and the "Quick Step" (called Montezuma in the AVF) in B&E. Any quickstep can be used. Most of the manuals give more commonly-known tunes like College Hornpipe or Duke's Q.S.

Duke of York's would be a good choice for a Waltz as it is included in Howe's and the various Oliver Ditson publications (Keach-Burditt, Keach-Burditt-Cassidy, Simpson-Canterbury).

There is evidence that some Confederates had access to Howe's, but my guess is that Yankee Doodle would not be played that often. Moneymusk was popular among southern fiddlers, so it might be a good choice for a single drag. You can't go wrong with Bonnie Blue or Dixie as a southern "national air".

All the above information is good if you want to follow the manuals. While it is true that a great number of musicians probably didn't know much of the "standard" camp duty, it's not much of a stretch to think that some musicians did play pieces such as the Austrian and Hessian reveille. Every 1860's fife and drum manual (except for B&E and Hart) copied the majority of the reveille straight from what was being played in 1812 (e.g. Ashworth). None of the manuals really included anything new. The camp duty basically consisted of the same tunes and beats that had been played in the army for decades prior to the war.

[27thNCdrummer]

Will,
What cadence would be played for a waltz? I've been wondering for some time.

Also,
Have you ever heard of something being played in the place of doublings?

[33rdaladrummer]

A simple beat for tunes in 3-4 time can be found in Gilham's (which is available online) as the Dutch. It is very similar to the beat for "My Lodging's on the Cold Ground" in B&E. Another variation is the "Slow Dutch" beat found in Howe or Keach.

The Doublings was probably skipped entirely if it wasn't known.

I'm glad this thread was started. The focus of beginner fifers and drummers should be the camp duty rather than fancy quicksteps. The same words are as true today as 150 years ago.

"The mere beating of a quickstep in the street, however well it may be done, it by no means the whole of Drum-playing. The present war has revealed the fact that our militia drummers and fifers are but very imperfectly acquianted with camp and garrison duties, and, when at last there is a need of their services, they are incompetent to properly respond to their country's call."

Delavan Miller wrote that "a boy would not "pass muster" in those days unless he could do the double and single drag with variations." The best way to learn the camp duty is to start with the simplest versions. I would much rather hear the simpler versions played well than fifers and drummers attempting to play the more complicated versions (B&E) poorly. The most common fault when drummers attempt to play the reveille, for example, is that they drag out their rolls. Start out with the versions with 7 stroke rolls. Most of the time when I hear drummers trying to play the B&E reveille, they are actually playing slurred 11 stroke rolls instead of clean, tight nines. They might as well just beat the long roll instead.

[27thNCdrummer]

I couldn't find Slow Dutch in my version of Keach. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough.