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In our
publication Life in Edwardian Tickhill, two
extracts mark the founding of Tickhill’s Drum and Fife Band in
1910 by the Revd. F. H. Hammond, who was standing in during
the absence of the Vicar, the Revd. A. D. Alderson. After
reading about the Band, Miss Maud Ashmore found a booklet
which had been presented by the ‘Promoter and First
Instructor’, the Revd. F. H. Hammond, in 1910. Entitled
Drum and Fife Band Primer, this particular booklet, price
sixpence, is for the 1st Flute. It begins with an
introduction to the formation of one of these bands:
‘The
instructions here submitted for the formation and primary
practice of Drum and Fife bands are dictated by three
essential features, viz:- Brevity, plainness, and usefulness.
The first thing to be considered in forming a band is to have
a proper balance of parts, and so give the best possible
effects to the harmony. The following classification is
suggested as a fair proportion to go by:-
4 1st B-FLAT
FLUTES
2 SIDE DRUMS
2 2ND
DITTO
1 TRIANGLE
2 3RD DITTO
1 BASS DRUM
1 PICCOLO IN
F
1 PAIR CYMBALS
6 BASS FLUTES IN F
When adding
to this number it should always be borne in mind that one
piccolo, one bass drum, and one pair of Cymbals is sufficient
for the largest band.’
After
advice on holding the flute and producing the appropriate
tone, there are scales for different types of flutes, with the
fingering shown. The Contents List includes a range of tunes
from marches to polkas and traditional pieces such as
British Grenadiers and Auld Land Syne. Four pages
are missing from the centre of the booklet but three tunes are
included, one being Rule Britannia. Local people might
have heard these tunes being practised or played when the band
joined processions in Tickhill.
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