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Yamaha YRF-21Y Plastic Fife, Key of C

  • Based on 462 reviews
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Availability: In Stock.
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Arrives Friday, Dec 27
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Features

  • Key of C
  • 2 piece ABS plastic body
  • Open hole fingerings
  • Molded flute-style lip plate
  • Includes cotton carrying bag and fingering chart

Description

The Yamaha YRF-21Y Fife is played to the side like a flute but with open holes and simple fingerings like a recorder. This makes it a good way to transition recorder players or introduce new musicians to playing the flute. It can also be used to play traditional Fife music, like songs from American revolutionary War. The durable and lightweight ABS plastic body comes apart into two pieces for easy cleaning. Key of C.


Item Weight: 1.6 ounces


Product Dimensions: 13.32 x 0.82 x 0.82 inches


Domestic Shipping: Item can be shipped within U.S.


Country of Origin: Indonesia


Item model number: YRF-21Y


Is Discontinued By Manufacturer: No


Date First Available: August 7, 2005


Body Material: Plastic


Color Name: Original Version


Material Type: Plastic


Instrument Key: C


Frequently asked questions

If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Friday, Dec 27

Yes, absolutely! You may return this product for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.

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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Buy Five FIfes!!!
Totally fun. I've messed around on a recorder a tiny bit and wanted a cheap transverse flute so I didn't look like a second grader. For $8, I can't think of a more fun thing. Seriously, seeing a movie costs more and you can reap hours of entertainment from this little thing. Some reviewers criticized the bottom thumb hole noting that "real" fifes don't have that. Well, I'm no musical purist and I try to not be snobby, so I can't figure out how this could be a problem. I keep mine in my man-bag (purse) and pull it out whenever the mood strikes. It breaks down into two parts and is very portable even when kept together. Buy five because everyone who hears you bust a tune is going to want one and at $8/fife, anyone can afford to be a musical Santa Clause. The best $8 I've ever spent on something legal :) ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2015 by George Edmondson

  • A keyless piccolo
People who say this isn't a fife are right. It's a piccolo! I play the flute and also have a standard piccolo, and this is the same, but without keys. This instrument is very well designed and beautifully crafted, or factory made at any rate. It has a winged lipped plate, which means there is a wing shaped riser on top of the lip plate, which is nicely molded in one piece to the headjoint. The wing design is a feature you would find only on a custom flute headjoint costing well over $1000. On flute, the wing design is supposed to help players who produce an excessive amount of extra air noise in their tone. Personally, on flute, I don't like the wing for the type of tone I produce, but it looks nice, and it probably helps some people. Just the overall shape and form of this instrument is beautiful too. It is in C, and like the piccolo, sounds an octave above the flute. Unlike the three octave range of a piccolo, this instrument has only a two octave range with an extra third, so C2 to C3, C3 to C4, and C4 to E4. I haven't played it long enough, but it can probably be pushed higher. I hit a G4 on it already. I recommend using ear plugs, or at least cotton in the ears to protect your hearing if you're going up above G in the second octave anyway. This does not produce a rich sound like the flute, but is very much like the piccolo, an instrument which when played enough, can damage your hearing. Professional piccolo players have sometimes lost part of their hearing, and they know to practice with their ears protected. As a flute teacher posted here, this is the ideal starting instrument for a child of any age who wants to play the flute. Or maybe,an adult, who regrets not trying to learn the flute, should try this first. Why start on a $500+ beginner flute, when for less than $7, if you can learn to blow this after trying for a month or two, and can't put it down, then fine, step up to a flute. If you can't play it, then you've saved yourself hundreds of dollars. Before I started on flute, I bought an inexpensive pipe at a music store and probably drove my parents crazy playing it. There is a lot more linkage between this "fife" and a flute than there is a recorder and flute. Unless you play the flute or piccolo, start slowly on this, otherwise it will make you dizzy. Of course, being a flute/piccolo player, I was able to play this right away, but it is by no means easy to play. I think the flute is probably easier for a brand new beginner. Although for a child of 7, the finger stretch on this is better than flute. My one regret isn't about this instrument specifically, but I wish Yamaha would make something just like this but as big as they can make it, at least to Eb, pushing the finger stretch to that of a tenor recorder or so (which would need a key or two), because this thing would sound beautiful if it were longer. My other suggestion is to experiment with rotating the headjoint as much as you like, and see if that helps your tone, or helps you to produce a tone. Try to produce a tone with minimal tension in your lips. Some people mistakenly think that to produce a sound on the flute or piccolo you have to tighten up your mouth and raise the corners up, when in reality most top players have relatively relaxed lips, with corners of the mouth down a little bit. This is a great little instrument and easily worth $30+. Since the people on YouTube who demo this can't play it at all really, I hope to make some videos which show more of its potential. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2012 by CandidOne

  • Yamaha YRF-21Y Plastic Fife - key of C / Entry Level Instrument
My interest is music for Fife and Drum, probably Civil War era. I have another Fife (a Bb style). My experience are Drums and Percussion (I love the snare drum...) I made this purchase to attempt to teach myself some simple accompanying tunes for marches (Yankee Doodle, 1812 Quickstep, The Gerryowen (OK - that's a B I G stretch). I am trying to get some sound out of my Yamaha - to start with. Its not like a Soprano Recorder woodwind, it takes a certain embouchure ... I think like a flute. Working at home for quite some time during C O V I D sheltering, I will practice at my leisure. Instrument quality is very good, 2 piece, instructions on where the notes are (the corresponding holes). The hole for blowing is molded into an interesting shape to facilitate proper "blowing", etc. I'm looking forward to learning some basic music. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2020 by Frederick

  • Not a fife unless...
The media could not be loaded. As several other people have stated in reviews, this is not a fife in the classical sense. It's really an inexpensive plastic piccolo (which is Italian for 'small flute.') However, if you want to play it like a fife using fife fingering, you can simply tape the top two holes and it becomes a C diatonic fife with a slightly offset bottom hole. Overall I'm extremely happy with the sound of this flute and would recommend it to anyone who wants an inexpensive, extremely portable, novel woodwind. Broken down it fits somewhat awkwardly into a back pocket or very easily into any bag, and for the price you don't have to worry about breakage or theft if you bring it around with you. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2021 by Jonathan Dodge

  • Fantastic price, but pay a little more for a real fife.
It's alright, and I'm glad I have it in my collection. It's a Yamaha, so of course the quality is surprising good for the price. The headjoint fits snugly. It's smooth in the hands. The notes play sweetly and it sounds nice, but it is slightly airy. It plays much better than similar instruments in this price range, but it still leaves something to be desired. The notes from F# to G sound off. The fingering is unconventional, which I'm okay with. What bothers me is that it's cumbersome for this type of instrument. Buy a fife if you want a fife because this is certainly not a fife. If you're just looking for a cheap instrument to play soprano voice, I recommend the Yamaha soprano recorder instead. If you're trying to learn piccolo or flute and think this is a good introduction to transverse flutes, think again. It's discouragingly more difficult to blow than the flute. Because I have been consistently pleased and impressed with Yamaha, it's weird to say I'm not happy with one of their products. I've never had buyer's remorse from any recorder I've bought. In fact, I love my recorders and play them every day. But even for under $10, I'd rather have bought something else than this oddity. After purchasing this, I'm still going to buy a traditional fife. Maybe I'll take this out every once in a while, or maybe not. For funsies: the headjoint is interchangeable with soprano recorder. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2014 by Kenneth Levleit

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