I’ve had my practice set almost a month now and am feeling more comfortable, but have some questions about the second octave.
Simple question on limitations: I can hit the high notes from a closed chanter (tight playing) but can’t in the open playing or legato style unless making an upwards run… in other words, I can’t be playing low G, for example, and simply jump the octave like one can with whistle, trumpet, etc, by applying more air pressure. I have to close the chanter, apply more pressure, and then I can hit the second octave. Is this a natural limitation or something I can overcome?
Intonation in the second octave varies pretty widely… especially the high E. I have to consciously remember to lower pressure for the E and apply it again for the D or F to have them in tune. Is this normal or should I be fiddling with my reed?
Finally, just a comment on practice sets: I know folks say to start with just a chanter, but it sure helps to have drones! I’m using a synth to simulate drones, and find they force me to keep my notes in tune!
1). Yes, you have to close off the chanter briefly to allow the pressure to build enough to overpressure into the second octave.
2). E in the second octave can be wonky. It drives pipemakers nuts trying to get it tuned right. It is normal to have to control your pressure in the second octave, but if it is getting too weird you may have to play a bit. These are the times it is best to have an experienced piper to let you know if the problem is with the chanter or with you.
3). It is trying to maintain a steady pressure on the drones while trying to learn the chanter that people are warning you off of, not the sound of the drones. Once you are confident enough on the chanter to attempt drones, you will experience a new learning curve as the drones will require a whole other perspective on bag pressure - too much stuff to learn all at once.
Playing with the sound of drones with a practice set is a great idea in keeping in tune. I threatened for a year to record a 5 minute drone and give it to our flute player. She would play sharp (octaves esp) and it has taken ages to get the clasical “go all round the note but don’t hold it steady” out of her.
You can play around with the ghost D hole some to get the octave Es in tune easier.
Try putting some tape over or poster putty in (my fave) the bottom 1/3 to 1/2 the hole. You want your ghost D to sound “ghosty” and very slightly sharper than back D. Try to balance that and see if you can even out the pressure for the Es.
Some people like a rush with a lump on it in the E area (play around with the lump above and below the ghost D and possibly the around the E hole as well).
The bottom octave E should be in tune with only the E hole open and off the leg as well.
Time and fiddling around will finally make things behave.
Then come the drones and you have at least 2 to 4 times as much air pumping and getting those suckers stable, no matter what pressure the chanter needs can be tricky.
It is necessary to close the chanter completely to jump the octave (although you can actually play high D at first octave pressure if you try to flatten C natural too much). Only E, F# and G can be depended upon to jump, so if you want to go from low octave to octave B, you first briefly finger a quick F# (or 1 fingered G) to break the octave, then immediately finger the B.
Flat sets are easier IMHO, but I wish I had a good winter chanter reed for my C set.
PS. Don’t anger the good folk or all you can play will be “Danny Boy” and “When Irish Eyes are Smiling”
Orriginaly posted by djm 2). E in the second octave can be wonky. It drives pipemakers nuts trying to get it tuned right. It is normal to have to control your pressure in the second octave, but if it is getting too weird you may have to play a bit. These are the times it is best to have an experienced piper to let you know if the problem is with the chanter or with you.
So E is the equivelant of High A on the GHB. On the GHB tuning the High A can be a nightmare (especialy when tuning the drones and to other pipes).
I thought that note would be more like back D wouldn’t it? AFAIK, the GHB bagpipes aren’t supposed to break the octave.
I don’t play GHB, but I thought that you tuned that note to the note above the bell note (isn’t the bell note a flatted 7th?), and once they are in tune with each other, you tune the drones to be dead on those two notes.
That’s the proceedure I thought I saw a very good piper that camped next to me one year do when he was tuning up. Then, after about 15 minutes of playing, he would go through it again.
Those badboys (GHP) do go out of tune a bit, especially if you are not playing them frequently. When I played the pipes in a rock band, where I don’t need to be intune with other pipers, I would go out on stage with the minimal warm up. I would get them in tune quick and play.
I found that when I got them all warmed up prior to performance, once I was on stage they would give me a lot of grief. And it would really piss me off when people would say that they hadn’t noticed they were out of tune.
Now with the synthetic drone reads these days that might not be such a problem.
I don’t play GHB, but I thought that you tuned that note to the note above the bell note (isn’t the bell note a flatted 7th?), and once they are in tune with each other, you tune the drones to be dead on those two notes.
In the band I belong to, we tune the chanters first to other instruments. by adjusting the reed (much like the Uillean Pipes). We play low A, then low G, up the scale until High G and High A.
Once the chanters sound in tune. We would tune the drone’s to low A, normally starting with the first tenor, second and then on to the base drone.
Is a simmilar technique used for the Uillean Pipes? Or don’t the drones have tuning slides like the GHB?
Depends on how much you trust your chanter. Everyone has their own preference. I start with an electronic tuner to get the drones all in tune. They each have sliding sections. Then I play with the chanter reed.
For me, the chanter is the first to rise in pitch as it warms up and varies the most in pitch, but the drones will also rise a little. You have to know your set to be aware of which is going to get out of tune the most, the chanter or the drones, to decide the best way to set your pipes up, e.g. start with the chanter lower than the drones if you know it will go sharp sooner than the drones will. Everyone’s case will be as different as their reeds.
I don’t think that there really is an equivalent to high E on the GHB as they only have the single octave. But tunig the chanter is accomplished by sliding the reed in and out. There are a bunch of differences between GHB and UP chanter reeds like size, width, thickness and the fact that most (but not all) UP reeds usually have a copper/brass/whatever ‘bridle’ wrapped around them for fine tuning…or in my case just to keep the friggin’ thing together.
Everyone has their own preference. I start with an electronic tuner to get the drones all in tune. They each have sliding sections. Then I play with the chanter reed.