Let’s assume that you have a new chanter and it comes with a reed that, according to the maker, is a good reed. You strap the chanter on and some of the notes are sharp or flat. You then take the chanter to a good piper that you know and he plays the chanter, and it is in perfect pitch. He says that it is a very good chanter and reed. What is wrong? Most likely the problem is your inability to “control” the chanter. A new reed, in most cases, is not going to help you.
I have been playing the pipes for over 30 years and I have never found the perfect chanter/reed combination; that is, a chanter that plays in perfect tune in both octaves with only the slightest change in pressure. When I play my chanter it is in great tune and pitch. When Todd Denman plays my chanter at first it is not in good tune, but after a few minutes it “comes in”. Why is that? It is because some of the notes have to be forced to play in tune either by using a different fingering or by increasing or decreasing the pressure. Getting these “wild” notes in tune is what I mean by control. All master pipers know this.
For example, on most chanters the 2nd octave G is flat. I almost always force the note by lifting the chanter and applying more pressure.
Then there is the problem of the first octave E being sharp, and then flat in the 2nd octave. On most chanters one has to place a small piece of tape across the E hole to flatten the first octave and then lift the chanter off of the knee when ever the 2nd octave E is played. This produces an E note with a “whooping” sound; which adds color to the music; listen to Liam O’Flynn—almost all of his 2nd octave E’s have a “whoop” sound as he lifts the chanter. That is because Liam’s Rowsome chanter is flat in the 2nd octave E.
Next we have the 2nd octave A. If the hole for the A is large enough to produce an on pitch note by lifting the G and F# fingers, then the B will be sharp. Most pipemakers make the 2nd A note slightly flat so that the B will be in pitch. To bring in, and sharpen the A, simply play the A with the G finger down or sometimes with the F# finger down. You just have to practice this fingering until it feels natural.
The problem of the C natural being sharp has to be mastered by keeping your finger in contact with the chanter and “pointing” so that you half hole the C# note. This will produce a nice sliding effect and bring the C note into tune.
Finally, remember that the thumb hole D must be adjusted so that it will play with the same amount of pressure as the 2nd octave E.
As I said in the first paragraph, you must learn to “control” your playing or you will never play in tune. Every chanter is different so try moving your fingering around to locate the proper fingering and pressure of each individual note. By using different fingerings on my Kenna B chanter I can get 3 distinct A notes in the 1st octave (one being on pitch and 2 not on pitch) and the same for the F# in the 1st octave. This will seem like piping hell at first, but after a while you will get used to it and not even think about it.
I found that a combination of undercutting the E hole plus a bit of bee’s wax in the top of the same hole has balanced out the sharp E/flat e problem. Don’t know why.
Next we have the 2nd octave A. If the hole for the A is large enough to produce an on pitch note by lifting the G and F# fingers, then the B will be sharp. Most pipemakers make the 2nd A note slightly flat so that the B will be in pitch. To bring in, and sharpen the A, simply play the A with the G finger down or sometimes with the F# finger down. You just have to practice this fingering until it feels natural.
While my top G tends to be flat, my top A tends to be in tune when played with the A finger up and the left hand fingers all down. It sounds better, and still in tune, if I raise the G finger as well.
However playing top B with the ‘classic’ fingering of both A and B fingers up produces a sharp B. I find that playing top B with the A finger down, the top B is nicely in tune. I have a Rowsome style chanter (doesn’t everybody?)
The great difficulty with Pat’s suggestion is that while it may be true (and I’m not suggesting it isn’t), when a piper is learning in isolation, there’s no way to know what to expect from your chanter. For myself, I went the first many months of owning a practice set having never seen another set or another piper. To have nobody else able to pop your chanter into their rig and then make it sound lovely can be very discouraging, because it’s impossible to know if it’s you or the chanter otherwise. What an incredible event the Chicago Celtic Fest was last month for me!!! All those pipers in one tent!!
My first tin whistle was bought just a few years ago with a bad fipple, and I almost quit. It was immensely frustrating to have such a simple thing be so hard to play… until I tried another whistle and found something was wrong with mine!!
If instruments were picked up in person and pipers were abundant, perhaps it would be different.
At the same time, and I again confess my complete ignorance of the complexities of piping, why should it be so hard to get an instrument to play in tune in both octaves without having to “force” it? In an embarassment of abundance, I currently have three chanters on hand (not for long). Two play easily in tune, one doesn’t. I know that with practice, all irregularites can be overcome, but what is it about the construction of pipes that make them more complicated than a clarinet or trumpet, for example? Is it possibly an engineering issue? I play other instruments (including brass & woodwinds) and perhaps it’s the hand-made nature of the pipes, but these others play pretty closely in tune. (I should admit that for trumpeters, for example, certain notes just don’t sound properly without moving a slide a little while playing, but for the average ear, it’s pretty unnoticeable…)
Its possible to screw up the chanter itself (witness some of the offshore sets from 3rd world nations), but the real focus of most problems is the reed - the cane material is inconsistent to start with, and changes its character at the slightest whiff of change in humidity. Do a search on reeds on this forum to see how often the subject comes up. There is so much variablility in the reed that even the best reedmakers can be left shaking their heads at how something that worked so well when first made can go to hell in just a few weeks or months, or how their method falls apart from one batch of cane to the next.
djm, that may be true according to one person’s understanding of reeds, but in the hands of another–perhaps more knowledgeable piper–that same reed may last for 15-20 years, or longer. Yes, the same reed. I believe that unless a reed has the ability to last that long, it probably wasn’t a good reed to begin with (overall, ie).
It’s very true that humidity and cane sources can make a lot of difference, but what I hear Pat saying, and esp noshinchan, is that some chanters are in better tune than others, and some pretty good, but none perfect, and in each octave. Pat says to adjust pressure. As with other woodwind instruments, name one that doesn’t take constant adjustment and shaping of the wet reed to get all the notes perfect. You can’t limit these other instruments to one constant pressure and expect to get upper/lower octave on demand, or leave the shape of the reed alone and expect all notes to be perfect.
The unusual thing with a bellow driven woodwind instrument–with no moisture or manipulation by the mouth or tongue, and with the ability to get multiple octaves–is that how each different piper achieves the perfect pitch of a particular note is going to vary. Add different fingerings per/note and you have a circumstance that is practically unparalleled in the musical instrument world. Add to that the different size bores (and shapes) and it complicates it even further. Add to that the difference reed construction (stability/thickness) and hardness/softness of the cane, and it’s easy to get a glimpse of why such a variety of veiws on the UP exist. In essense, there may be no disagreement, just a different understanding. what works for Tim Britton may not work for me. He might be able to kick butt with his chanter and make it sound great and in tune, but I might throw it out becasue I don’t understand his tricks.
That’s why what one person says about their pipes is pretty meaningless unless there is the camparative value of having another, perhaps much better set of pipes around, let alone a better player who knows how to get what he/she wants from the reed or instrument.
concerning the problem of A and B in the 2nd octave, there is a simple solution… The eye shape of your staple must be approximately 1,2mm. If it’s larger A and B will be sharp.
To whom who make their own reeds try this it’s really great.
It’s true too for sharper notes than B.
This is from Benedict Kohler. I don’t know what your opinion is of his reedmaking abilities, but when someone of his stature says with a new batch of cane that he feels he’s starting from scratch it makes my spirits sink a bit.
Lorenzo: “That’s why what one person says about their pipes is pretty meaningless unless there is the camparative value of having another, perhaps much better set of pipes around, let alone a better player who knows how to get what he/she wants from the reed or instrument.”
Yes, I agree. You will find that, as you get the chance to play other chanters, each one will work differently from your own…some better, some not as good. Comparing two different chanters is too ‘touchy’ a business to assess quickly, and may not necessarily be a good template for judging the playability or reed of you own.
Double reed instruments, including oboes and bassoons, have a uniquely complex array of harmonics. This gives them a wide range of possible timbres, subject to the tastes and abilities of the maker. Achieving the desired timbre has to somehow be integrated with getting the instrument in tune in the design. But even this is problematic, because of differences in air pressure imparted by different players, and as recently came to my attention, by the execution of the fingering and its effect of the quality of the tone.
Of course, there is also the problem of weather. Moisture and temperature cause the cane blades to expand and contract, as well as effecting their resiliency.
