After a few years I’ve decided to give the pipes a serious try, could’nt really before what with work and not being able to drive. Had a great week at scoil Acla, I learnt loads in that week. But as classes don’t start for a few weeks I have a few questions if someone does’nt mind answering them, feel stupid for asking but here goes.
When playing a high g roll followed by a high note then another high g roll do you put the chanter back on the knee for the single high note?
When played vibrato on an a and the next note is an a do you put the chanter back on the knee, close it and then play the a?
I am going to follow this thread with curiosity. I was under the impression that lifting the chanter off one’s leg gave you a low D (or whatever your chanter’s low bell note is).
To answer with questions isn’t quiet a good style, isn’t it?
Everything what sounds good is allowed. The better wins against the good!
If it sounds OK with a lifted chanter, do it! If not, keep it down. Sometimes it gives a good rhythm to lift the chanter after half the roll is over and to put it back on the leg just after the end of the roll, which means to put it down for the note between two rolls anyway. But as I said, what sounds nice is welcome!
Hmm, I think that lifting the chanter can certainly give another mood to the note, and it probably depends on the chanter a lot. For example, just lifting my chanter on lower octave E or F is absolutely awful (while ok in 2nd octave), while A sounds nice when lifted, and B sounds almost the same as played on the knee.
Anyway, I think that it’s often better to play most of the time on the knee, as staccato effects can be done, which are quite unique to UP.
While this is certainly true in general, I can see no way around it in this special case. For someone relatively new to piping it is quite unusual to play a high G roll off the knee, and from the question I get the impression gerrymceltic thinks it has to be played like this, same with the vibrato. Playing off the knee is a matter of personal playing style and can be very effective for adding expression. IMHO however, the basics of the instrument should be mastered before style comes into play, meaning for the beginner to play on the knee. Therefore I wanted to know why he lifts the chanter in the first place - has he been taught to do this in this particular context of the tune (in which case I wonder why he hasn’t been taught what to do next), or has he seen someone playing it like this, or does he generally play off the knee and only close the chanter to get into the octave - in this case he would definitely need some good advice.
Try putting the chanter back on the knee after after the first note of a roll. Popping just the first note of a roll sounds more refined, and ends the roll at the proper pitch, (unless your specific intent is to sound brazenly obstreperous such as in a crowded pub with lots of fiddles and accordions in a frenzied battle for attention.)
Sidetracking here, are you leaving your pinkie down when playing E and F off the leg? Try experimenting with different fingering off the leg for all the notes. B with the same fingering as on the leg might not sound different, but try different fingers up or down and see what it does.
That’s too bad. I use it a ton, as do much better pipers (like Mick O’Brien, Jimmy O’Brien-Moran, Seamus Ennis, Willie Clancy, etc). You might play around with it anyway and see what you can do. Then again, maybe it’s your ear? It might sound like it’s supposed to, but simply not be to your taste.
In a reel, I would put the chanter back down after the first note of the roll, though once you have mastered the basics, it’s largely a matter of taste. But whether you leave the chanter on or off the knee, remember to leave at least one g finger up so that you can access the high a without dropping the octave.
In an air or waltz (I’ve seen the tune notated both ways), it probably matters less. In a reel or a jig you may need to close the chanter in between those two notes to get the proper phrasing. Hence my question.
Caedmon: yes, you do get a bottom D if you play a note, lift the chanter, put all your fingers back down, and then lift them to play the original note again. In the middle of a roll (more typically in the first octave than the second), that split-second bottom D can be quite a nice effect. But it’s a more advanced technique.
Different chanters have different responses to off the knee playing but I’d learn how to do it anyway even if yours doesn’t respond very well to it. Some day you might end up with one that does and you’ll be very happy that you have that technique as an ornamentation or phrasing option.
Has anyone on this thread said this yet? Listen to recordings of good pipers, or find ones to listen to live if you can, and try to work out how they’re making certain sounds. YouTube is brilliant for this. You’ll find that people use the off the knee fingering to swell the G (or whatever it is) roll in a particular phrase of a tune, thereby emphasizing the note, but won’t use it every single time they play a G roll. Remember, the pipes can’t just play louder in order to phrase stuff so a lot of the ornamentation, like off the knee playing, can sort of be understood as methods of phrasing tunes given the limited dynamics of the instrument.
I beg your pardon.
Would you have written “when playing an off the knee or open high G roll” I probably would not have got the idea you might be an unexperienced player in need of advice (“unexperienced” doesn’t mean “beginner” - I know people who have had their pipes for many years and are still making crucial mistakes).
I was only trying to be helpful - won’t happen again.
