Dear Listers
I am a newbie to this instrument. I know that all instruments have things that can get in the way in the future. Most of us call them bad habits. And later after you have been playing for a while. It is real hard to stop them. I was hoping a few of you would have suggestions as to what not to do in the beginning.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
hosehead48
Welcome hosehead!
One of the things to try to avoid early on is trying to play the chanter with pressure from the bellows rather than the bag. Try to develop a nice
steady even pumping of the bellows regardless of what you are doing with the chanter and bag. An early tendency is to try and “pump” the bellows according to what you are playing which not only is a bad habit but can lead to problems later.
Ailin
Master the bellowes technique as suggested before. It is perhaps the most important foundation to piping.
It’s difficult at first but try and aquire a relaxed grip.This will take quite a while but once you feel the effects of “Death Grip” , stop and relax your fingers then pick up again with a newly relaxed grip.
Good Luck!
I would advise at least a few lessons to get you started.
Please also see the FAQ sheet. Many people on this board have offered suggestions for starting out, including bad habits and other pitfalls.
djm
My advice would be to take your time when beginning. When I started learning I think I was wanting to do too much too early, and had to make a concerted effort to take my time.
With practice you will find your speeding up without realizing it.
All the best and luck with the pipes.
welcome.
i have been playing for a year and have stumbled many times.
when you first pick up the chanter to play, seal the holes with as relaxed a grip as you can manage, and blow the chanter. you should of course, with the chanter on your leg, hear nothing. let your body absorb this grip. this is part of your practice. for us beginners, chanter closure is everything. its the secret to a strong Low D, strong middle octave notes, and even a good cran on low d. its also of course the secret to good tight triplets. while alot of this will come later, establish the fundemental now. i will someone had told me at your stage.
the next thing you should do is sound the lower octave A and experiment with different bag pressures. learning to vary the bag pressure to suit the reed, the conditions of the day, and the note you want, is also very fundemental. it takes years to master, but you can get a head start by working on it now.
however you do practice, at this stage, close the chanter frequently between notes.
the hardest notes for a beginner will depend on the reed. for me it was low D and middle octave E.
use the resources of the salt lake city pipers club. search posts by brian lee and you will find what you need.
do not attempt to play for hours. 20 min at a time is plenty. not to say you cannot do it more than once a day if you are so inclined.
while resting from playing, use the whistle to master tunes if you have not yet done this.
let us know how its going. lots of us are struggling.
meir
after i posted, i realized i did not directly answer your question about bad habits:
- sitting slumped in the chair
- not closing the chanter completely, esp with the right hand.
- not having a good pipers grip. if you are like most, 2 fingertips should be covering holes, all the rest should be the middle phalanx.
meir
As a beginner, you possibly have a practice set? You didn’t mention exactly what you are working with.
If more than a practice set, I would find a plug that will plug the mainstock off to have only the chanter to work with at first.
I prefer a stool so I can sit erect with nothing in the way behind me as I have a big, Taylor design bag.
Make sure the bag and bellows setup is airtight, then strap them on, make sure you have no kinks in the blowpipe and that the air will only go one way, from outside the bellows, to bag, to chanter.
Don’t hold the chanter vertically or horizontally, but at some angle between 30-60 degrees is what I have normally seen.
No more than 2 fingers up for a note and chanter on the leg (except for bottom D)
Relaxed forearms, wrists and fingers are a must, even though you may be working pretty hard with your upper arms and shoulders when blowing a full set with drones and a 3 note chord going (air for 7 reeds).
Get the NPU videos if you can’t find a face teacher for some lessons. Summer schools and tionols are available. Check the posting labled FAQ FAQ FAQ.