Brown Drums at Yale
The Lecture at Yale
In late June of this year, my wife, Phyllis and Ginger, both fifers, and myself were part of lecture and demonstration on the 19th Century drum manufacturer Eli Brown and the evolution of the “Ancient” style of rudimental drumming.
The lecture was held under the auspices of the American Musical Instruments Society on the Yale University campus in New Haven, CT.
Susan Cifaldi former librarian and assistant archivist of the Company of Fifers and Drummers delivered the lecture.
We, members of the Black River Fife & Drum Corps, were invited to participate for this event to show the contrast between our more contemporary style of drumming with the extremely open style of the drummers of the Moodus Drum & Fife Corps.
The Moodus Drum & Fife Corps along with the Mattatuck Drum Band are alone in their style of drumming. Both units, performing with the Samuel Wilcox style of drumming that has been lovingly handed down through the years since the 1820’s. I encourage any drummer interested in the early history of rudimental drumming in America to click on the links above to visit the Moodus and Mattatuck websites. These corps are not reenacting or recreating outfits but truly traditional musical groups that have evolved little since the 1820’s.
Most relevant to the spirit of the material being presented is the fact that Moodus Drum & Fife Corps drummers perform on authentic Brown drums that, as with the Wilcox drumming style have been handed down for generations
One of the interesting highlights of the day was when the lecturer brought a drummer from the Moodus corps and me on stage. She asked the fellow from Moodus to execute what for him would be a typical 7-stroke roll. Then for comparison, asked the same from me. It is difficult to explain in writing the difference between our individual rolls. The best I can do is to characterize the Moodus drummer’s sounding as one quickly as possible vocally articulating: “one-two-three-four-five-six-seven”. I consider myself a rather open roller but in comparison my 7-stroke roll sounded like, “zip”.
After the lecture the attendees and participants removed to on of the college’s courtyard for refreshments. Susan Cifaldi, a fifer, utilized we Black River and Moodus folks to further demonstrate difference in style and tempo by having each group perform in turn. Sue performed with her fife with both groups. It was a very informative and satisfying affair.
I have asked Sue Cifaldi to contribute to this blog on the subject of her lecture. She can add so much more, especially on the history of the Brown drum and historical drumming in Connecticut. I am looking forward to her input.
-Joe Gillott
