diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/BAMRecord.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/BAMRecord.java
index 5374b18400..c7ee274099 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/BAMRecord.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/BAMRecord.java
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ static boolean isSentinelCigar(final Cigar cigar, final int readLength) {
      * extracts the CIGAR from the CG tag and places it into the (in memory) cigar.
      */
     private void extractCigarFromCGAttribute(final Cigar sentinelCigar) throws IllegalStateException {
-        final int[] cigarFromCG = (int[]) getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().CG);
+        final int[] cigarFromCG = (int[]) getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.CG);
 
         if (cigarFromCG == null) return;
 
@@ -353,7 +353,7 @@ private void extractCigarFromCGAttribute(final Cigar sentinelCigar) throws Illeg
         initializeCigar(decodedCigar);
 
         // remove CG attribute.
-        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().CG, null);
+        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.CG, null);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndUnsignedArrayValue.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndUnsignedArrayValue.java
index 507e319d43..c171d3686e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndUnsignedArrayValue.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndUnsignedArrayValue.java
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ public SAMBinaryTagAndUnsignedArrayValue(final short tag, final Object value) {
         if (!value.getClass().isArray() || value instanceof float[]) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Attribute type " + value.getClass() +
                     " cannot be encoded as an unsigned array. Tag: " +
-                    SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeStringTag(tag));
+                    SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(tag));
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndValue.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndValue.java
index 331843822a..5a5272a199 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndValue.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndValue.java
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ public SAMBinaryTagAndValue(final short tag, final Object value) {
         }
         if (!isAllowedAttributeValue(value)) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Attribute type " + value.getClass() + " not supported. Tag: " +
-                    SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeStringTag(tag));
+                    SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(tag));
         }
         this.tag = tag;
         this.value = value;
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecord.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecord.java
index c5bcbdffb1..6e5cdc46bc 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecord.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecord.java
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ public class SAMRecord implements Cloneable, Locatable, Serializable {
     /**
      * Tags that are known to need the reverse complement if the read is reverse complemented.
      */
+    @SuppressWarnings("deprecated")
     public static List<String> TAGS_TO_REVERSE_COMPLEMENT = Arrays.asList(SAMTag.E2.name(), SAMTag.SQ.name());
 
     /**
@@ -868,7 +869,7 @@ protected void initializeCigar(final Cigar cigar) {
      * @throws ClassCastException if RG tag does not have a String value.
      */
     public SAMReadGroupRecord getReadGroup() {
-        final String rgId = (String)getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().RG);
+        final String rgId = (String)getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.RG);
         if (rgId == null || getHeader() == null) {
             return null;
         } else {
@@ -1162,7 +1163,7 @@ public boolean hasAttribute(final String tag) {
      * @return Appropriately typed tag value, or null if the requested tag is not present.
      */
     public Object getAttribute(final String tag) {
-        return getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(tag));
+        return getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(tag));
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1196,7 +1197,7 @@ public Integer getIntegerAttribute(final String tag) {
      * @throws {@link htsjdk.samtools.SAMException} if the value is out of range for a 32-bit unsigned value, or not a Number
      */
     public Long getUnsignedIntegerAttribute(final String tag) throws SAMException {
-        return getUnsignedIntegerAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(tag));
+        return getUnsignedIntegerAttribute(SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(tag));
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1219,11 +1220,11 @@ public Long getUnsignedIntegerAttribute(final short tag) throws SAMException {
                 return lValue;
             } else {
                 throw new SAMException("Unsigned integer value of tag " +
-                        SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeStringTag(tag) + " is out of bounds for a 32-bit unsigned integer: " + lValue);
+                        SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(tag) + " is out of bounds for a 32-bit unsigned integer: " + lValue);
             }
         } else {
             throw new SAMException("Unexpected attribute value data type " + value.getClass() + " for tag " +
-                    SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeStringTag(tag));
+                    SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(tag));
         }
     }
 
@@ -1374,7 +1375,7 @@ public float[] getFloatArrayAttribute(final String tag) {
      * @throws SAMException if the tag is not present.
      */
     public boolean isUnsignedArrayAttribute(final String tag) {
-        final SAMBinaryTagAndValue tmp = this.mAttributes.find(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(tag));
+        final SAMBinaryTagAndValue tmp = this.mAttributes.find(SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(tag));
         if (tmp != null) return tmp.isUnsignedArray();
         throw new SAMException("Tag " + tag + " is not present in this SAMRecord");
     }
@@ -1419,7 +1420,7 @@ public Object getAttribute(final short tag) {
      * String values are not validated to ensure that they conform to SAM spec.
      */
     public void setAttribute(final String tag, final Object value) {
-        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(tag), value);
+        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(tag), value);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1435,7 +1436,7 @@ public void setUnsignedArrayAttribute(final String tag, final Object value) {
         if (Array.getLength(value) == 0) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Empty array passed to setUnsignedArrayAttribute for tag " + tag);
         }
-        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(tag), value, true);
+        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(tag), value, true);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -1556,8 +1557,8 @@ public List<SAMTagAndValue> getAttributes() {
         SAMBinaryTagAndValue binaryAttributes = getBinaryAttributes();
         final List<SAMTagAndValue> ret = new ArrayList<>();
         while (binaryAttributes != null) {
-            ret.add(new SAMTagAndValue(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeStringTag(binaryAttributes.tag),
-                    binaryAttributes.value));
+            ret.add(new SAMTagAndValue(SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(binaryAttributes.tag),
+                                       binaryAttributes.value));
             binaryAttributes = binaryAttributes.getNext();
         }
         return ret;
@@ -1769,8 +1770,8 @@ private void addField(final StringBuilder buffer, final String field) {
         buffer.append(field);
     }
 
-    private String formatTagValue(final short tag, final Object value) {
-        final String tagString = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeStringTag(tag);
+    private static String formatTagValue(final short tag, final Object value) {
+        final String tagString = SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(tag);
         if (value == null || value instanceof String) {
             return tagString + ":Z:" + value;
         } else if (value instanceof Integer || value instanceof Long ||
@@ -2062,7 +2063,7 @@ public List<SAMValidationError> isValid(final boolean firstOnly) {
 */
         }
         // Validate the RG ID is found in header
-        final String rgId = (String)getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().RG);
+        final String rgId = (String)getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.RG);
         if (rgId != null && getHeader() != null && getHeader().getReadGroup(rgId) == null) {
                 if (ret == null) ret = new ArrayList<>();
                 ret.add(new SAMValidationError(SAMValidationError.Type.READ_GROUP_NOT_FOUND,
@@ -2077,10 +2078,10 @@ public List<SAMValidationError> isValid(final boolean firstOnly) {
         }
         // TODO(mccowan): Is this asking "is this the primary alignment"?
         if (this.getReadLength() == 0 && !this.isSecondaryAlignment()) {
-            final Object fz = getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().FZ);
+            final Object fz = getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.FZ);
             if (fz == null) {
-                final String cq = (String)getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().CQ);
-                final String cs = (String)getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().CS);
+                final String cq = (String)getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.CQ);
+                final String cs = (String)getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.CS);
                 if (cq == null || cq.isEmpty() || cs == null || cs.isEmpty()) {
                     if (ret == null) ret = new ArrayList<>();
                     ret.add(new SAMValidationError(SAMValidationError.Type.EMPTY_READ,
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecordSetBuilder.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecordSetBuilder.java
index 8bdddb146b..6791595844 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecordSetBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecordSetBuilder.java
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ public void setHeader(final SAMFileHeader header) {
      */
     public void addRecord(final SAMRecord record) {
         if (record.getReadPairedFlag() && !record.getMateUnmappedFlag() &&
-                null == record.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().MC)) {
+                null == record.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.MC)) {
             throw new SAMException("Mate Cigar tag (MC) not found in: " + record.getReadName());
         }
         this.records.add(record);
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTag.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTag.java
index cc5dbcc136..a37ab67686 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTag.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTag.java
@@ -48,9 +48,15 @@ public enum SAMTag {
     FS,
     FT,
     FZ,
-    GC, // for backwards compatibility
+    /** for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
+    GC,
+    /** @deprecated for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
     GS, // for backwards compatibility
-    GQ, // for backwards compatibility
+    /** @deprecated for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
+    GQ,
     LB,
     H0,
     H1,
@@ -58,7 +64,9 @@ public enum SAMTag {
     HI,
     IH,
     MC,
-    MF, // for backwards compatibility
+    /** @deprecated  for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
+    MF,
     MI,
     MD,
     MQ,
@@ -79,19 +87,33 @@ public enum SAMTag {
     QX,
     R2,
     RG,
-
     /**
-     * @deprecated use BC instead
+     * @deprecated use BC instead, for backwards compatibilty only
      */
     @Deprecated
     RT,
-
     RX,
+    /** @deprecated for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
     S2, // for backwards compatibility
     SA,
     SM,
+    /** @deprecated  for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
     SQ, // for backwards compatibility
     TC,
     U2,
-    UQ,
-    }
\ No newline at end of file
+    UQ;
+
+    private final short shortValue = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(this.name());
+
+    /**
+     * Get the binary representation of this tag name.
+     * @see SAMTagUtil#makeBinaryTag(String)
+     *
+     * @return the binary representation of this tag name
+     */
+    public short getBinaryTag(){
+        return this.shortValue;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTagUtil.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTagUtil.java
index fa69d8c3d1..da1af63a96 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTagUtil.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTagUtil.java
@@ -33,70 +33,113 @@
  *
  * @author alecw@broadinstitute.org
  */
-public class SAMTagUtil {
+public final class SAMTagUtil {
+
+    /**
+     * This constructor is public despite being a utility class for backwards compatibility reasons.
+     */
+    public SAMTagUtil(){}
 
     // Standard tags pre-computed for convenience
-    public final short RG = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.RG.name());
-    public final short LB = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.LB.name());
-    public final short PU = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.PU.name());
-    public final short PG = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.PG.name());
-    public final short AS = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.AS.name());
-    public final short SQ = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.SQ.name());
-    public final short MQ = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.MQ.name());
-    public final short NM = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.NM.name());
-    public final short H0 = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.H0.name());
-    public final short H1 = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.H1.name());
-    public final short H2 = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.H2.name());
-    public final short UQ = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.UQ.name());
-    public final short PQ = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.PQ.name());
-    public final short NH = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.NH.name());
-    public final short IH = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.IH.name());
-    public final short HI = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.HI.name());
-    public final short MD = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.MD.name());
-    public final short CS = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.CS.name());
-    public final short CQ = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.CQ.name());
-    public final short CM = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.CM.name());
-    public final short R2 = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.R2.name());
-    public final short Q2 = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.Q2.name());
-    public final short S2 = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.S2.name());
-    public final short CC = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.CC.name());
-    public final short CP = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.CP.name());
-    public final short SM = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.SM.name());
-    public final short AM = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.AM.name());
-    public final short MF = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.MF.name());
-    public final short E2 = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.E2.name());
-    public final short U2 = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.U2.name());
-    public final short OQ = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.OQ.name());
-    public final short FZ = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.FZ.name());
-    public final short SA = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.SA.name());
-    public final short MC = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.MC.name());
-    public final short CG = makeBinaryTag(SAMTag.CG.name());
+    public static final short AM = SAMTag.AM.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short AS = SAMTag.AS.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short BC = SAMTag.BC.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short BQ = SAMTag.BQ.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short BZ = SAMTag.BZ.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CB = SAMTag.CB.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CC = SAMTag.CC.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CG = SAMTag.CG.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CM = SAMTag.CM.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CO = SAMTag.CO.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CP = SAMTag.CP.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CQ = SAMTag.CQ.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CR = SAMTag.CR.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CS = SAMTag.CS.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CT = SAMTag.CT.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short CY = SAMTag.CY.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short E2 = SAMTag.E2.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short FI = SAMTag.FI.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short FS = SAMTag.FS.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short FT = SAMTag.FT.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short FZ = SAMTag.FZ.getBinaryTag();
+    /** @deprecated reserved tag for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
+    public static final short GC = SAMTag.GC.getBinaryTag();
+    /** @deprecated reserved tag for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
+    public static final short GS = SAMTag.GS.getBinaryTag();
+    /** @deprecated reserved tag for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
+    public static final short GQ = SAMTag.GQ.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short LB = SAMTag.LB.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short H0 = SAMTag.H0.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short H1 = SAMTag.H1.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short H2 = SAMTag.H2.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short HI = SAMTag.HI.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short IH = SAMTag.IH.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short MC = SAMTag.MC.getBinaryTag();
+    /** @deprecated reserved tag for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
+    public static final short MF = SAMTag.MF.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short MI = SAMTag.MI.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short MD = SAMTag.MD.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short MQ = SAMTag.MQ.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short NH = SAMTag.NH.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short NM = SAMTag.NM.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short OQ = SAMTag.OQ.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short OP = SAMTag.OP.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short OC = SAMTag.OC.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short OF = SAMTag.OF.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short OR = SAMTag.OR.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short OX = SAMTag.OX.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short PG = SAMTag.PG.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short PQ = SAMTag.PQ.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short PT = SAMTag.PT.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short PU = SAMTag.PU.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short QT = SAMTag.QT.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short Q2 = SAMTag.Q2.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short QX = SAMTag.QX.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short R2 = SAMTag.R2.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short RG = SAMTag.RG.getBinaryTag();
+    /** @deprecated use BC instead */
+    @Deprecated
+    public static final short RT = SAMTag.RT.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short RX = SAMTag.RX.getBinaryTag();
+    /** @deprecated reserved tag for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
+    public static final short S2 = SAMTag.S2.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short SA = SAMTag.SA.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short SM = SAMTag.SM.getBinaryTag();
+    /** @deprecated reserved tag for backwards compatibility only */
+    @Deprecated
+    public static final short SQ = SAMTag.SQ.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short TC = SAMTag.TC.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short U2 = SAMTag.U2.getBinaryTag();
+    public static final short UQ = SAMTag.UQ.getBinaryTag();
 
-    private static SAMTagUtil singleton;
+    private static final SAMTagUtil singleton = new SAMTagUtil();
 
     // Cache of already-converted tags.  Should speed up SAM text generation.
     // Not synchronized because race condition is not a problem.
-    private final String[] stringTags = new String[Short.MAX_VALUE];
+    private static final String[] stringTags = new String[Short.MAX_VALUE];
 
     /**
      * Despite the fact that this class has state, it should be thread-safe because the cache
      * gets filled with the same values by any thread.
+     * @deprecated All methods on this class have been made static, use them directly
      */
+    @Deprecated
     public static SAMTagUtil getSingleton() {
-        if (singleton == null) {
-            singleton = new SAMTagUtil();
-        }
         return singleton;
     }
 
-
     /**
      * Convert from String representation of tag name to short representation.
      *
      * @param tag 2-character String representation of a tag name.
      * @return Tag name packed as 2 ASCII bytes in a short.
      */
-    public short makeBinaryTag(final String tag) {
+    public static short makeBinaryTag(final String tag) {
         if (tag.length() != 2) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("String tag does not have length() == 2: " + tag);
         }
@@ -109,7 +152,7 @@ public short makeBinaryTag(final String tag) {
      * @param tag Tag name packed as 2 ASCII bytes in a short.
      * @return 2-character String representation of a tag name.
      */
-    public String makeStringTag(final short tag) {
+    public static String makeStringTag(final short tag) {
         String ret = stringTags[tag];
         if (ret == null) {
             final byte[] stringConversionBuf = new byte[2];
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTextWriter.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTextWriter.java
index 8d9f9a91b2..61f9afbe47 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTextWriter.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMTextWriter.java
@@ -158,9 +158,9 @@ public void writeAlignment(final SAMRecord alignment) {
                 out.write(FIELD_SEPARATOR);
                 final String encodedTag;
                 if (attribute.isUnsignedArray()) {
-                    encodedTag = tagCodec.encodeUnsignedArray(tagUtil.makeStringTag(attribute.tag), attribute.value);
+                    encodedTag = tagCodec.encodeUnsignedArray(SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(attribute.tag), attribute.value);
                 } else {
-                    encodedTag = tagCodec.encode(tagUtil.makeStringTag(attribute.tag), attribute.value);
+                    encodedTag = tagCodec.encode(SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(attribute.tag), attribute.value);
                 }
                 out.write(encodedTag);
                 attribute = attribute.getNext();
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMUtils.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMUtils.java
index 408ff121f9..87acd2a6da 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMUtils.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMUtils.java
@@ -1127,7 +1127,7 @@ public static List<SAMRecord> getOtherCanonicalAlignments(final SAMRecord record
         if (record == null) throw new IllegalArgumentException("record is null");
         if (record.getHeader() == null) throw new IllegalArgumentException("record.getHeader() is null");
         /* extract value of SA tag */
-        final Object saValue = record.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().SA);
+        final Object saValue = record.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.SA);
         if (saValue == null) return Collections.emptyList();
         if (!(saValue instanceof String)) throw new SAMException(
                 "Expected a String for attribute 'SA' but got " + saValue.getClass() + ". Record: " + record);
@@ -1220,7 +1220,7 @@ public static List<SAMRecord> getOtherCanonicalAlignments(final SAMRecord record
             /* fill NM */
             try {
                 if (!commaStrs[5].equals("*")) {
-                    otherRec.setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().NM, Integer.parseInt(commaStrs[5]));
+                    otherRec.setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.NM, Integer.parseInt(commaStrs[5]));
                 }
             } catch (final NumberFormatException err) {
                 throw new SAMException("bad NM in " + semiColonStr + ". Record: " + record, err);
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SamFileValidator.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SamFileValidator.java
index 31aab8d4ad..fc34762ffb 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SamFileValidator.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/SamFileValidator.java
@@ -409,7 +409,7 @@ private void validateTags(final SAMRecord record, final long recordNumber) {
             addError(new SAMValidationError(Type.CG_TAG_FOUND_IN_ATTRIBUTES,
                     "The CG Tag should only be used in BAM format to hold a large cigar. " +
                             "It was found containing the value: " +
-                            record.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().CG), record.getReadName(), recordNumber));
+                            record.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.CG), record.getReadName(), recordNumber));
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/digest/ContentDigests.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/digest/ContentDigests.java
index bbfe1ed70c..00a34b8961 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/digest/ContentDigests.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/digest/ContentDigests.java
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ public static ContentDigests create(final SAMBinaryTagAndValue binaryTags) {
         final List<Digester> digesters = new LinkedList<ContentDigests.Digester>();
         SAMBinaryTagAndValue binaryTag = binaryTags;
         while (binaryTag != null) {
-            final String tagID = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeStringTag(
+            final String tagID = SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(
                     binaryTag.tag);
             final KNOWN_DIGESTS hash;
             try {
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ private static class Digester {
             this.digest = digest;
             this.series = series;
             this.tagID = tagID;
-            this.tagCode = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(tagID);
+            this.tagCode = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(tagID);
         }
 
         void add(final SAMRecord record) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/encoding/BitCodec.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/encoding/BitCodec.java
index 2920f11756..8f1670e04b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/encoding/BitCodec.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/encoding/BitCodec.java
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@
  * An interface that defines requirements for serializing/deserializing objects into and from a bit stream.
  *
  * @param <T> data series type to be read or written
- * @noinspection UnnecessaryInterfaceModifier, UnnecessaryInterfaceModifier, UnnecessaryInterfaceModifier, UnnecessaryInterfaceModifier, UnnecessaryInterfaceModifier, UnnecessaryInterfaceModifier, UnnecessaryInterfaceModifier
  */
 public interface BitCodec<T> {
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/encoding/huffman/codec/HuffmanByteEncoding.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/encoding/huffman/codec/HuffmanByteEncoding.java
index 64a6729941..44d0ffd586 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/encoding/huffman/codec/HuffmanByteEncoding.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/encoding/huffman/codec/HuffmanByteEncoding.java
@@ -49,12 +49,14 @@ public byte[] toByteArray() {
             buf = ByteBuffer.allocate(values.length * 8);
 
         ITF8.writeUnsignedITF8(values.length, buf);
-        for (final byte value : values)
+        for (final byte value : values) {
             buf.put(value);
+        }
 
         ITF8.writeUnsignedITF8(bitLengths.length, buf);
-        for (final int value : bitLengths)
+        for (final int value : bitLengths) {
             ITF8.writeUnsignedITF8(value, buf);
+        }
 
         buf.flip();
         final byte[] array = new byte[buf.limit()];
@@ -71,8 +73,9 @@ public void fromByteArray(final byte[] data) {
 
         size = ITF8.readUnsignedITF8(buf);
         bitLengths = new int[size];
-        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
+        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
             bitLengths[i] = ITF8.readUnsignedITF8(buf);
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/ReadTag.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/ReadTag.java
index 791bf2cfe7..b14745aa5b 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/ReadTag.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/ReadTag.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 
 import htsjdk.samtools.SAMException;
 import htsjdk.samtools.SAMFormatException;
-import htsjdk.samtools.SAMRecord;
 import htsjdk.samtools.SAMRecord.SAMTagAndValue;
 import htsjdk.samtools.SAMTagUtil;
 import htsjdk.samtools.SAMUtils;
@@ -62,7 +61,7 @@ public ReadTag(final int id, final byte[] dataAsByteArray, ValidationStringency
 
         keyType3BytesAsInt = id;
 
-        code = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(this.key);
+        code = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(this.key);
     }
 
     private ReadTag(final String key, final char type, final Object value) {
@@ -86,7 +85,7 @@ private ReadTag(final String key, final char type, final Object value) {
         keyType3Bytes = this.key + this.type;
         keyType3BytesAsInt = nameType3BytesToInt(this.key, this.type);
 
-        code = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(this.key);
+        code = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(this.key);
     }
 
     public static int name3BytesToInt(final byte[] name) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/Slice.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/Slice.java
index 30f0a74505..6ba05fe44c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/Slice.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/Slice.java
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ public void setAttribute(final String tag, final Object value) {
         if (value != null && value.getClass().isArray() && Array.getLength(value) == 0) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Empty value passed for tag " + tag);
         }
-        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(tag), value);
+        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(tag), value);
     }
 
     public void setUnsignedArrayAttribute(final String tag, final Object value) {
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ public void setUnsignedArrayAttribute(final String tag, final Object value) {
         if (Array.getLength(value) == 0) {
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("Empty array passed to setUnsignedArrayAttribute for tag " + tag);
         }
-        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(tag), value, true);
+        setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(tag), value, true);
     }
 
     void setAttribute(final short tag, final Object value) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/SliceIO.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/SliceIO.java
index 3afca735dc..9872e12bd1 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/SliceIO.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/cram/structure/SliceIO.java
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ private static void parseSliceHeaderBlock(final int major, final Slice slice) th
 
             SAMBinaryTagAndValue tags = slice.sliceTags;
             while (tags != null) {
-                log.debug(String.format("Found slice tag: %s", SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeStringTag(tags.tag)));
+                log.debug(String.format("Found slice tag: %s", SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(tags.tag)));
                 tags = tags.getNext();
             }
         }
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ private static byte[] createSliceHeaderBlockContent(final int major, final Slice
                 final BinaryTagCodec binaryTagCodec = new BinaryTagCodec(binaryCoded);
                 SAMBinaryTagAndValue samBinaryTagAndValue = slice.sliceTags;
                 do {
-                    log.debug("Writing slice tag: " + SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeStringTag(samBinaryTagAndValue.tag));
+                    log.debug("Writing slice tag: " + SAMTagUtil.makeStringTag(samBinaryTagAndValue.tag));
                     binaryTagCodec.writeTag(samBinaryTagAndValue.tag, samBinaryTagAndValue.value, samBinaryTagAndValue.isUnsignedArray());
                 } while ((samBinaryTagAndValue = samBinaryTagAndValue.getNext()) != null);
                 // BinaryCodec doesn't seem to cache things.
diff --git a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/sra/SRALazyRecord.java b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/sra/SRALazyRecord.java
index 8e4abde22e..a96f9d76d9 100644
--- a/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/sra/SRALazyRecord.java
+++ b/src/main/java/htsjdk/samtools/sra/SRALazyRecord.java
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ public String getAttribute(SRALazyRecord self) {
     static
     {
         lazyAttributeTags = new HashMap<Short, LazyAttribute>();
-        lazyAttributeTags.put(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().RG, LazyAttribute.RG);
+        lazyAttributeTags.put(SAMTagUtil.RG, LazyAttribute.RG);
     }
 
     public SRALazyRecord(final SAMFileHeader header, SRAAccession accession, ReadCollection run, AlignmentIterator alignmentIterator, String readId, String alignmentId) {
@@ -673,7 +673,7 @@ protected SAMBinaryTagAndValue getBinaryAttributes() {
 
     @Override
     public boolean isUnsignedArrayAttribute(final String tag) {
-        Short binaryTag = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(tag);
+        Short binaryTag = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(tag);
         LazyAttribute attr = lazyAttributeTags.get(binaryTag);
         if (attr != null && !initializedAttributes.contains(attr)) {
             getAttribute(binaryTag);
diff --git a/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndValueUnitTest.java b/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndValueUnitTest.java
index 93a20dc6e1..7db32da8f5 100644
--- a/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndValueUnitTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMBinaryTagAndValueUnitTest.java
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ public void test_isAllowedAttribute(final Object value) {
 
     @Test(dataProvider="allowedAttributeTypes")
     public void test_isAllowedConstructor(final Object value) {
-        Assert.assertNotNull(new SAMBinaryTagAndValue(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag("UI"), value));
+        Assert.assertNotNull(new SAMBinaryTagAndValue(SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag("UI"), value));
     }
 
     @DataProvider(name="notAllowedAttributeTypes")
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ public void test_isNotAllowedAttribute(final Object value) {
 
     @Test(dataProvider="notAllowedAttributeTypes", expectedExceptions=IllegalArgumentException.class)
     public void test_isNotAllowedConstructor(final Object value) {
-        new SAMBinaryTagAndValue(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag("ZZ"), value);
+        new SAMBinaryTagAndValue(SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag("ZZ"), value);
     }
 
     @DataProvider(name="allowedUnsignedArrayTypes")
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ public Object[][] allowedUnsignedArrayTypes() {
 
     @Test(dataProvider="allowedUnsignedArrayTypes")
     public void test_isAllowedUnsignedArrayAttribute(final Object value) {
-        final short binaryTag = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag("UI");
+        final short binaryTag = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag("UI");
         Assert.assertNotNull(new SAMBinaryTagAndUnsignedArrayValue(binaryTag, value));
     }
 
@@ -89,13 +89,13 @@ public Object[][] notAllowedUnsignedArrayTypes() {
 
     @Test(dataProvider="notAllowedUnsignedArrayTypes", expectedExceptions=IllegalArgumentException.class)
     public void test_isNotAllowedUnsignedArrayAttribute(final Object value) {
-        final short binaryTag = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag("UI");
+        final short binaryTag = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag("UI");
         new SAMBinaryTagAndUnsignedArrayValue(binaryTag, value);
     }
 
     @DataProvider(name="hashCopyEquals")
     public Object[][] hashCopyEquals() {
-        final short tag = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag("UI");
+        final short tag = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag("UI");
         return new Object[][] {
                 {new SAMBinaryTagAndValue(tag, new String("a string")), new SAMBinaryTagAndValue(tag, new String("a string")), true, true},
                 {new SAMBinaryTagAndValue(tag, new String("a string")), new SAMBinaryTagAndValue(tag, new String("different string")), false, false},
diff --git a/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecordUnitTest.java b/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecordUnitTest.java
index decf011792..5231a0e05b 100644
--- a/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecordUnitTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMRecordUnitTest.java
@@ -335,7 +335,7 @@ private SAMRecord testDeepCopy(SAMRecord sam) {
     @Test
     public void test_getUnsignedIntegerAttribute_valid() {
         final String stringTag = "UI";
-        final short binaryTag = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag(stringTag);
+        final short binaryTag = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag(stringTag);
         SAMFileHeader header = new SAMFileHeader();
         SAMRecord record = new SAMRecord(header);
         Assert.assertNull(record.getUnsignedIntegerAttribute(stringTag));
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ record = new SAMRecord(header){
      */
     @Test
     public void test_getUnsignedIntegerAttribute_valid_alternative() {
-        final short tag = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag("UI");
+        final short tag = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag("UI");
         SAMFileHeader header = new SAMFileHeader();
         SAMRecord record;
 
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ public void test_setAttribute_unsigned_int_tooLarge() {
 
     @Test
     public void test_setAttribute_null_removes_tag() {
-        final short tag = SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().makeBinaryTag("UI");
+        final short tag = SAMTagUtil.makeBinaryTag("UI");
         SAMFileHeader header = new SAMFileHeader();
         SAMRecord record = new SAMRecord(header);
         Assert.assertNull(record.getUnsignedIntegerAttribute(tag));
diff --git a/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMUtilsTest.java b/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMUtilsTest.java
index 28e89f755a..143261c82c 100644
--- a/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMUtilsTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/htsjdk/samtools/SAMUtilsTest.java
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ public void testOtherCanonicalAlignments() {
         Assert.assertEquals(SAMUtils.getOtherCanonicalAlignments(record).size(),0);
 
 
-        record.setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().SA,
+        record.setAttribute(SAMTagUtil.SA,
                 "2,500,+,3S2=1X2=2S,60,1;" +
                 "1,191,-,8M2S,60,*;");
 
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ public void testOtherCanonicalAlignments() {
         Assert.assertEquals(other.getAlignmentStart(),500);
         Assert.assertFalse(other.getReadNegativeStrandFlag());
         Assert.assertEquals(other.getMappingQuality(), 60);
-        Assert.assertEquals(other.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().NM),1);
+        Assert.assertEquals(other.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.NM),1);
         Assert.assertEquals(other.getCigarString(),"3S2=1X2=2S");
         Assert.assertEquals(other.getInferredInsertSize(),0);
 
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ public void testOtherCanonicalAlignments() {
         Assert.assertEquals(other.getAlignmentStart(),191);
         Assert.assertTrue(other.getReadNegativeStrandFlag());
         Assert.assertEquals(other.getMappingQuality(), 60);
-        Assert.assertEquals(other.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.getSingleton().NM),null);
+        Assert.assertEquals(other.getAttribute(SAMTagUtil.NM),null);
         Assert.assertEquals(other.getCigarString(),"8M2S");
         Assert.assertEquals(other.getInferredInsertSize(),-91);//100(mate) - 191(other)
     }