The Tattoo: Fife Music

To fully understand how to perform The Tattoo, we must understanding how the fife music for the Tattoo was performed and how it relates to the drum beatings The Singlings and The Doublings.

When most people discuss the Tattoo for the 18^th century, they seem to be under the impression that – despite the later tradition of performing popular tunes – the English and Scottish played the English Tattoo or Scottish Tattoo the whole time as the main tune.

This seems to have created two sets of thought on how to perform the Tattoo:

1. The Drum Singlings and Doublings are Drums-Only, with the Drums Rolling throughout the performance of the Tattoo.
2. The Drum beating for the Singlings and/or Doublings should accompany the Fife Tattoo. I have seen different ways of attempting this, but they usually have the Singlings beat the entire duration of the fife tune. Others have performed the Doublings throughout the fife tune. (See both the old and new Brigade Books)

I’d propose that we’ve been misunderstanding the English/Scottish Tattoo.

FIFE MUSIC as Singlings and Doublings

Rather than understanding those two pieces as a tune, we should understand them as individual thoughts, representing fife accompaniment to the Singlings and Doublings.

If we compare the English/Scottish Tattoo to later fife parts named ‘The Doublings,’ we see very quickly that the end of Line B in the English Tattoo is the same as these later Doublings.

By Klinehanse, once the Singlings is no longer in use, we see the Singlings being incorporated into the Doublings. While Klinehanse’s fife part is only the Doublings, the drum part shows the Singlings beaten before and after the Doublings. Later 1860s American manuals show a tag onto the beginning and ending of the Doublings, which matches the drum part that appears to be a variation of the Singlings. These tags are similar to the second measure of Line B. In most cases, they’re more similar to the repetitive measure seen in Buttrey MS.

See a full comparison of the English Tattoo with the Doublings of the Tattoo in later fife and drum manuals.

Based on this, we can make an assumption that the English Tattoo, as seen in most 18^th C Fife Tutors, should be performed:

• The Singlings (Line A, Measure 1)
• Tune 1 – Line A
• The Singlings (Line A, Measure 2)
• Tune 1 – Line A
• The Singlings (Line A, Measure 3)
• Tune 1 – Line B
• The Singlings (Line A, Measure 4)
• Tune 1 – Ling B
• The Singlings (Line A, Measure 5)
• The Doublings (Line A, Measures 6-7)

• The Singlings (Line B, Measure 1)
• Tune 1 – Line A
• The Singlings (Line B, Measure 2)
• Tune 1 – Line A
• The Singlings (Line B, Measure 3)
• Tune 1 – Line B
• The Singlings (Line B, Measure 4)
• Tune 1 – Ling B
• The Singlings (Line B, Measure 5)
• The Doublings (Line B, Measures 6-7)

This theory helps to explain the confusing shift seemingly from a regulation tune to favorite airs.

tunes between singlings and doublings

Most likely, this was already occurring in the British military. 18^th C fife manuals indicate that the drums roll while the fife plays, but only for a Tattoo listed outside of the duty music.

Rees’ Cyclopaedia (1805-1818), he explains that The Tattoo “is a medley of airs and beats; the drums accompanying only at certain intervals” (entry: Drum). This suggests that the drums may traditionally have remained silent while the fifes performed tunes; the drums beating only during the Singlings and Doublings.

Potter states that “During the time the Fifers play between the Singlings; a few of the Drummers may beat to make the Taptoo lively” (The Art of Beating the Drum 21).

Ashworth and Rumrille suggest that both the fife and drums beat between the Singlings.

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Do you have questions about the function or performance of the fife music for The Tattoo? Contact me or comment below.

To find out more, return to the last section “The Tattoo: Drum Beating”.

Or, continue to my final thoughts in “The Tattoo Sequence”.