Learn the fife and recorder online, for free

RetroX1 is the universe of music. Here you learn the flute with the fifes of Northeast Brazil (the pífano) — seven fifes, one in each key, with scales, fingering of the holes, songs to play along and the story of the people who kept this sound alive in the backlands.

Start learning See the scores

How to learn the fife on RetroX1

Pick your fife. There are seven: Fife in G, Fife in A, Fife in B♭, Fife in C, Fife in D, Fife in E, Fife in F. Each has its own world and sound.
Learn the scale with the fingering. For every note the site shows which holes to cover, including the half-hole, on the chart and on the 3D fife, and plays the note.
Play songs along with the score. The current note lights up on the staff and the holes light up on the fife. Lower the tempo to practise slowly.
In your fife's key or the original. The score can be transposed to fit your fife's holes, with the fingering under each note or notes only.
Play with the microphone. In Practice, the score waits for the right note and turns green when you hit it.
On your phone too. On phones and tablets the score fills the screen, with the 3D fife on top.

Fife and recorder: a similar fingering logic

If you play the recorder, the fife follows a similar logic: six holes on the front, covered from the top down to go down the scale, with half-holes for passing notes. The songs, exercises and score reading work for both. But the fingering is not the same for every note: the recorder has a thumb hole at the back and its own fingerings, and the fife is played sideways (transverse), blowing across a side hole. Use the fingering the site shows for the fife; on the recorder, check your instrument's chart.

Write your own score

In the full-screen score editor you write your song with your own fife's notes: click the staff, drag notes, pick the length with keys 1 to 6, copy and paste, listen, save in the browser and download as MusicXML.

The seven fifes

Fife in G · Backlands — The Northeast

Late afternoon in the sertão, the dry backlands. The light turns ember-red, the ridges become silhouettes and the mandacaru cactus holds up the sky. This is the world of the fife in G, the largest and deepest of the collection, which carries the whole Northeast carved into its body.

This is the largest fife in the collection, with the fullest sound. That is why it carries the theme that embraces all the others: the Northeast itself. The drawings form a portrait of the sertão, designed like a cordel woodcut wrapped around the tube.

The calango lizard running down the back is the animal that endures the noon sun on hot rock, and it became a symbol of sertão resilience. The mandacaru cactus stands for the same idea in the plant world: it stays green through drought, and people say that when it flowers, rain is on its way. Beside them are the fierce sun, the leather hat with the cangaço star and the moon of clear sertão nights.

On the sides is the forró trio, accordion, zabumba drum and triangle, musical cousins of the fife bands. There is also the coastal jangada raft, the carcará falcon, the mud house, the xique-xique cactus and the coconut palm. On the middle piece live the asa branca dove, whose departure sertão people associate with drought, the head of the bumba-meu-boi bull with its ribbons, the lace flower, the clay water jug and the river fish.

Engraved on the body: calango lizard, mandacaru cactus, sun, leather hat, moon, accordion, zabumba drum, triangle, jangada raft, carcará falcon, mud house, xique-xique cactus, coconut palm, asa branca dove.

Learn the Fife in G

Fife in A · Night of the cangaço — Cangaço

A full moon over the rocks of the sertão and a campfire in the distance. The cangaço bands roamed landscapes like this for decades, and this fife takes from them their aesthetic of leather, stars and embroidery.

The cangaço was a movement of armed bands that roamed the northeastern sertão in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its best-known name is Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, Lampião, who led his group until 1938, when he was killed at Grota do Angico, in Sergipe, together with Maria Bonita. It is a story of real violence and many victims, but it also became legend, cordel poetry, film and music, and it is remembered as part of the identity of the sertão.

What survived most from the cangaço is its aesthetic: the half-moon leather hats covered in stars, the embroidered bags, the leather sandals, the canteens, the cartridge belts and the Seal of Solomon, the eight-pointed star worn for protection. The middle piece of this fife imitates tooled leather, with a column of medallions that are all different.

The cangaço also connects to the pífano: it is said that the Banda de Pífanos de Caruaru once played for Lampião, and the song Mulher Rendeira, attributed to him, is still among the most played by fife bands. The borders of this piece are cartridge belts, and the long dagger on the back follows the body of the instrument.

Engraved on the body: Lampião, Maria Bonita, half-moon leather hats, embroidered bags, leather sandals, canteens, Seal of Solomon, cartridge belts.

Learn the Fife in A

Fife in B♭ · Dawn of the birds — Birds

Day breaks and the sertão wakes up singing. Flocks cross the sky, and many fife players draw their melodies from this choir, imitating the birds they have heard in the fields since childhood.

Few themes suit the pífano as well as birds. The flute's high, ornamented sound recalls birdsong, and several traditional pieces of the fife bands are named after birds, such as Sabiá and Guriatã de Coqueiro. Many players learn by imitating the songs they hear in the countryside.

On the back is the Lear's macaw, an endangered species that lives on the cliffs of the Bahia Caatinga and is one of the great symbols of conservation in the Northeast. On the front are the carcará in flight, the red-crested cardinal, a hummingbird on a flower and the asa branca dove. On the sides are the kiskadee, the parakeet, the woodpecker, the burrowing owl, the dove, the thrush, the saffron finch and the smooth-billed ani.

On the middle piece, the long-legged seriema, whose cry carries far across the sertão, shares space with the ovenbird and its mud nest, the ground dove, the blue grosbeak, the graúna and the laughing falcon, a bird folk belief links to omens. A nest with eggs closes the scene, and the foot shows the sun with a flock in flight.

Engraved on the body: Lear's macaw, carcará, cardinal, hummingbird, asa branca dove, kiskadee, parakeet, woodpecker, burrowing owl, dove, thrush, saffron finch, smooth-billed ani, seriema.

Learn the Fife in B♭

Fife in C · Caatinga at dusk — Insects of the Caatinga

When the sun sets over the Caatinga, the dry scrub fills with tiny points of light. Fireflies are only part of the small world of insects that pollinates, recycles and feeds the only biome found exclusively in Brazil.

The Caatinga is the only biome found exclusively in Brazil and covers much of the Northeast. It looks dry and still, but it is full of small life, especially insects, which pollinate plants, recycle matter and feed birds and lizards. This fife pays tribute to the small world that sustains the sertão.

On the back is a large praying mantis, a patient hunter. On the front are the butterfly, the jandaíra bee, a stingless native bee kept for generations in the Northeast, the ladybug and the termite mound, the earthen towers that mark the landscape. On the sides live the dung beetle with its ball, the grasshopper, the dragonfly, the cicada, the winged tanajura ant and the firefly.

On the lower piece, a long stick insect hides along the tube, surrounded by the wasp and its nest, the moth, the cricket, the caterpillar and the leafcutter ant carrying a leaf, plus a flowering mandacaru and the sun.

Engraved on the body: praying mantis, butterfly, jandaíra bee, ladybug, termite mound, dung beetle, grasshopper, dragonfly, cicada, tanajura ant, firefly, stick insect, wasp, moth.

Learn the Fife in C

Fife in D · São João night — São João festival

June in the Northeast means bonfires, bunting and forró until dawn. Fife bands lead processions and liven up the dance yards during the feasts of Saint Anthony, Saint John and Saint Peter.

São João is the biggest popular festival in the Northeast, celebrated in June with forró, corn dishes and plenty of fire. Cities such as Caruaru and Campina Grande compete for the title of the biggest São João in the world. Fife bands have a guaranteed place at these feasts, leading processions and livening up the dance yards.

On the back burns the bonfire, which tradition says Elizabeth lit to tell Mary that John was born. On the front rises a decorated balloon and a small chapel appears. On the sides are the accordion, the corn, the straw hat, a couple dancing the quadrilha, the fireworks and the mug of quentão, a hot spiced drink. The borders are strings of bunting. The balloon is only a drawing: releasing paper balloons is illegal in Brazil because of the fire risk.

On the lower piece stands the São João pole, with the saint's flag and ribbons, surrounded by the zabumba drum, the triangle, the pamonha corn cake, the canjica pudding, the little lamb that accompanies the saint's image, the lantern, the popcorn and the moon.

Engraved on the body: bonfire, balloon, chapel, accordion, corn, straw hat, quadrilha dance, fireworks, quentão, bunting, São João pole, zabumba drum, triangle, pamonha.

Learn the Fife in D

Fife in E · Northeast sea — Coast

The Northeast has the longest coastline of any region in Brazil. At night the lighthouse sweeps the sea, the moon draws a path on the water and the jangada rafts wait for the next fishing trip.

The Northeast is not only sertão: it has a vast coastline, with beaches, coconut groves, cliffs and fishing communities that have lived from the sea for centuries. This small, bright-sounding fife brings the sea into the collection.

On the back grows a coconut palm, the plant that became the signature of the coast. On the front are the lighthouse and the jangada, the fishermen's raft with a triangular sail, especially in Ceará. On the sides are the mangrove crab, the starfish, the shell, the seagull, the fish and the anchor, with wave borders.

On the lower piece, a seahorse and a sea turtle fill the back; the northeastern coast is a nesting area for sea turtles, protected by conservation projects. Around them are the lobster, the oyster with a pearl, the fishing net, the boat, the octopus, the whale, the seaweed and the moon.

Engraved on the body: coconut palm, lighthouse, jangada raft, crab, starfish, shell, seagull, fish, anchor, seahorse, sea turtle, lobster, oyster, fishing net.

Learn the Fife in E

Fife in F · The cowboy's sunset — The vaqueiro

At sunset, the dust raised by the cattle glows golden. It is the hour when the vaqueiro, the sertão cowboy, rides back to the corral singing, dressed in leather from head to toe against the thorns of the Caatinga.

The vaqueiro is one of the central figures of the sertão. He tends the cattle that roam free in the Caatinga, riding into dense, thorny scrub, which is why he dresses in leather from head to toe. His work song, the aboio, is one of the oldest musical forms in the Northeast, and in Serrita, Pernambuco, the Cowboy Mass gathers vaqueiros from several states every year.

On the back is the gibão, the leather jacket that protects against branches, with stitched ornaments. On the front, the vaqueiro hat and the head of an ox. On the sides are the spur, the cowbell, the boot, the branding iron, the lasso and the horseshoe, with corral fence borders.

On the lower piece are the cattle horn, the gate, the oxcart wheel and the sun, joined by the faithful dog, the saddle, the mandacaru, the notes of the aboio, the horse, the water gourd and the moon.

Engraved on the body: aboio, Cowboy Mass, gibão jacket, vaqueiro hat, ox, spur, cowbell, boot, branding iron, lasso, horseshoe, fence, cattle horn, gate.

Learn the Fife in F

The story of the pífano

An open tube, one hole to blow across and six for the fingers. The pífano, the Northeast Brazilian fife, has crossed centuries in the hands of rural workers who learned everything by ear, and it still leads processions, novenas and feasts across the sertão.

Colonial era

An instrument of many peoples

One of the most accepted explanations is that military and religious flutes arrived with Portuguese Jesuits and soldiers and were transformed in the Brazilian interior. They took on Indigenous materials and techniques, such as taquara and taboca cane, and came to be accompanied by percussion with African roots. In Portugal the instrument is called pífaro; here it became pífano, pife or pifre.

Into the sertão

Fife bands and cabaçal bands

The bands took root in the sertão, playing at novenas, processions, patron saint feasts and pilgrimages. Their name changes by region: zabumba, cabaçal, esquenta-mulher. In the Cariri region of Ceará, "cabaçal" recalls the time when drums were made with hide stretched over gourds. The classic line-up has two fifes on the melody, zabumba drum, snare and cymbals.

Making and playing the pífano has always been family knowledge. Each master cuts, drills and tunes the cane in their own way, and teaches their children.

1924

The Banda de Pífanos de Caruaru

The Biano family forms the band in the sertão of Alagoas; it later settles in Caruaru, Pernambuco. It is said to have once played for Lampião. It became the best-known fife band in Brazil.

1972

The pífano enters popular music

Pipoca Moderna, composed by Sebastião Biano, opens Gilberto Gil's album Expresso 2222. That same year the band records its first LP. In 1975, Caetano Veloso re-records the tune on his album Jóia, with his own lyrics. The sound of the pífano goes on to influence Tropicália and, later, Manguebeat.

Today

Living memory

In Pernambuco, fife bands are recognized as intangible cultural heritage of the state. New groups keep appearing, festivals honor the masters and the pífano now exists in metal, PVC and, as in this collection, 3D printing.

Fife masters

Sebastião Biano — Banda de Pífanos de Caruaru
Born in Mata Grande, in the sertão of Alagoas, he played in the band from childhood and was the last living member of its original line-up. He composed Pipoca Moderna, celebrated his 100th birthday playing at the São João of Caruaru in 2019, and died at 103.
Zabé da Loca — 1924 to 2017, Cariri of Paraíba
Isabel Marques da Silva was born in Buíque, Pernambuco, and lived for decades in a cave in Monteiro, Paraíba, where she raised her children and taught the pífano. Discovered late in life, she recorded the album Bom Todo, produced by Carlos Malta, and a festival now bears her name.
Irmãos Aniceto — Cabaçal band from Crato, Ceará
A family that has played since the 19th century, with roots in the Cariri Indigenous people. They make their own fifes from taboca cane from the Araripe forests, dance while they play and have performed with Hermeto Pascoal and Quinteto Violado.
Carlos Malta e Pife Muderno — Rio de Janeiro, since 1994
The flutist fell for the pífano listening to Expresso 2222 and founded a group that joins the tradition of the bands with jazz and chamber music. He has recorded Gonzaga, Gil and Edu Lobo, and played as far as the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Fife sheet music in the library

The site already has 610 songs in three levels — Easy (Brazilian children's songs like Cai, cai, balão, Ciranda, cirandinha and Marcha, soldado), Medium (classics) and Hard (compositions by Hermeto Pascoal and more demanding classics):

Easy

Au clair de la lune — Tradicional francesa
Brilha, brilha, estrelinha — Tradicional
Frei Martinho — Tradicional francesa
Jingle Bells (refrão) — James Lord Pierpont
Mary tinha um carneirinho — Tradicional
Ode à Alegria (tema) — Ludwig van Beethoven
Parabéns pra você — Tradicional
Largo — Ombra mai fu (Xerxes) — G. F. Händel
Sarabanda em Ré menor — G. F. Händel
Sinfonia Surpresa (tema) — J. Haydn
Canção de Ninar (Brahms) — J. Brahms
O Alegre Camponês — R. Schumann
Pompa e Circunstância nº 1 (trio) — E. Elgar
O Lago dos Cisnes (tema) — P. I. Tchaikovsky

Medium

Jingle Bells — James Lord Pierpont
Minueto em Sol (parte A) — J. S. Bach
Cânone em Ré — Johann Pachelbel
Dança camponesa — Ludwig van Beethoven
Gnossienne nº 1 — Erik Satie
Greensleeves — Tradicional inglesa
Gymnopédie nº 1 — Erik Satie
Minueto em Sol (BWV Anh. 114) — J. S. Bach
Ode à Alegria (Sinfonia nº 9) — Ludwig van Beethoven
Para Elisa — Ludwig van Beethoven
Prelúdio op. 28 nº 4 — Frédéric Chopin
Ária na corda Sol — J. S. Bach
Jesus, Alegria dos Homens — J. S. Bach
Bourrée em Mi menor — J. S. Bach
Musette em Ré — J. S. Bach (atrib.)
Marcha em Ré (Livro de Anna Magdalena) — C. P. E. Bach
Ovelhas Podem Pastar Tranquilas — J. S. Bach
O Inverno — Largo (As Quatro Estações) — A. Vivaldi
Hornpipe (Música Aquática) — G. F. Händel
Rondeau (Abdelazer) — H. Purcell
Trumpet Voluntary (Marcha do Príncipe da Dinamarca) — Jeremiah Clarke
Prelúdio do Te Deum — M.-A. Charpentier
Gavota (Gossec) — F.-J. Gossec
Ária do Papageno (A Flauta Mágica) — W. A. Mozart
Sonata ao Luar (1º movimento) — L. van Beethoven
Serenata (Schubert) — F. Schubert
Marcha Nupcial — F. Mendelssohn
Canção da Primavera — F. Mendelssohn
Devaneio (Träumerei) — R. Schumann
Brindisi — Libiamo (La Traviata) — G. Verdi
La donna è mobile (Rigoletto) — G. Verdi
Va, pensiero (Nabucco) — G. Verdi
Marcha Triunfal (Aida) — G. Verdi
O mio babbino caro (Gianni Schicchi) — G. Puccini
Nessun dorma (Turandot) — G. Puccini
Barcarola (Os Contos de Hoffmann) — J. Offenbach
Can-can (Orfeu no Inferno) — J. Offenbach
Danúbio Azul — J. Strauss II
Marcha Radetzky — J. Strauss I
Valsa das Flores — P. I. Tchaikovsky
Marcha (O Quebra-Nozes) — P. I. Tchaikovsky
Na Gruta do Rei da Montanha — E. Grieg
Manhã (Peer Gynt) — E. Grieg
Sinfonia do Novo Mundo — Largo — A. Dvořák
Humoresque — A. Dvořák
O Moldava (tema) — B. Smetana
Meditação (Thaïs) — J. Massenet
O Cisne (O Carnaval dos Animais) — C. Saint-Saëns
Pavana (Fauré) — G. Fauré
Siciliana (Fauré) — G. Fauré
Gymnopédie nº 3 — E. Satie
The Entertainer — S. Joplin

Hard

Ave Maria — Franz Schubert
Carol of the Bells — Mykola Leontovych
Clair de Lune — Claude Debussy
Maple Leaf Rag — Scott Joplin
Noturno op. 9 nº 2 — Frédéric Chopin
Sonata K. 545 (1º movimento) — W. A. Mozart
Badinerie (Suíte nº 2) — J. S. Bach
Tambourin (Gossec) — F.-J. Gossec
Pequena Serenata Noturna (Eine kleine Nachtmusik) — W. A. Mozart
Marcha Turca — W. A. Mozart
Sinfonia nº 40 (1º movimento) — W. A. Mozart
Sinfonia nº 5 (1º movimento) — L. van Beethoven
Dança Húngara nº 5 — J. Brahms
Sonho de Amor nº 3 (Liebestraum) — F. Liszt
Marcha Militar — F. Schubert
Valsa do Minuto — F. Chopin
Guilherme Tell (galope final) — G. Rossini
Dança da Fada Açucarada — P. I. Tchaikovsky

RetroX1 makes no profit from the scores: they are short excerpts, for a single instrument, for study.

Play the songs

Fife exercises

40 everyday exercises, from the first breath to tonguing: long notes, the first notes with 1, 2 and 3 holes, scales, thirds, arpeggios, octaves, dotted rhythm, chromatic with half-holes and leaps. They all play in your fife's key.

Easy

Long notes: first three notes (1, 2 and 3 holes)
Three notes: 1, 2 and 3 holes
Scale going down slowly
Scale going up slowly
Long notes: the whole scale
Neighbour notes (steps)
Rhythm: quarters and eighths
Ionian mode (from the 1st degree)
Major pentatonic
Minor pentatonic

Medium

Scale in eighths, up and down
Scale in thirds
Tonic arpeggio
Sequence: 1-2-3-1
Octaves: same fingers, another breath
Scale in the second octave
Dotted rhythm
Arpeggio waltz (3/4)
Dorian mode (from the 2nd degree)
Phrygian mode (from the 3rd degree)
Lydian mode (from the 4th degree)
Mixolydian mode (from the 5th degree)
Aeolian mode · natural minor (from the 6th degree)
Locrian mode (from the 7th degree)
Japanese scale (miyako-bushi)
Pentatonic of China and Korea (Arirang, Doraji, Mo Li Hua)

Hard

Scale in sixteenths, two octaves
Arpeggios on every degree
Chromatic: half-hole
Big leaps (sixths)
Scale in fourths
Fast articulation (tonguing)
A harmonic minor scale
Northeastern Brazil scale (lydian dominant)
A melodic minor scale
E harmonic minor scale
Blues scale
Whole-tone scale
Sakura scale (miyako-bushi, with half-hole)
Kōjō no Tsuki scale (minor, with half-hole)

Frequently asked questions

What is the pífano?

The pífano (also called pife or pifre) is a simple transverse flute from Northeast Brazil: an open tube, one hole to blow across and six finger holes. It is the instrument of the fife bands (bandas de pífanos and bandas cabaçais) that play at novenas, processions and festivals.

How can I learn the fife online?

On RetroX1 you pick your fife, learn the scale with the fingering of every note (which holes to cover, including the half-hole) and then play songs along with the score, which marks the current note and lights up the holes on the 3D fife. You can lower the tempo to practise slowly.

Which fifes does RetroX1 have?

Seven fifes, one in each key: G, A, B♭, C, D, E, F. Each has its own world, story and drawings engraved on its body.

Is it useful if I play the recorder?

Yes. The fife's fingering follows a logic similar to the recorder's — six holes on the front, covered from the top down — so the songs, exercises and score reading work for both. The differences: the fife is transverse (played sideways), has no thumb hole at the back, and some notes are fingered differently.

Are there exercises and songs for beginners?

Yes. The library is split into Easy, Medium and Hard, plus a tab just for exercises: long notes, scales, arpeggios, rhythm and articulation. Brazilian children's songs like Cai, cai, balão and Ciranda, cirandinha are the best place to start.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. On phones and tablets the score fills the screen, with the 3D fife on top showing the holes and the controls always at hand.

Do I need to pay or sign up?

No. RetroX1 is free and needs no account; your preferences stay in your own browser.