BIll - I always figured pipemakers were following the lead of the flutemakers, who began to put more keys on ca. 1760, IIRC. Also the ubiquitous ring key on the pipes is a giveaway - the “long” F key was introduced for flutes later, and of course never used on pipes until the Rowsomes, as far as I know.
Anyway, baroque flutes can produce a chromatic scale with crossfingerings. I don’t have any experience with trying the same on the pastoral pipe, have you talked to anybody who’s given it a shot, Gordon Mooney perhaps?
Also, flat keys of course are popular with certain folk fiddle traditions, which goes back further than people assume - the 1770 Vickers manuscript from North England is chock full of Bb/F/C; also sundry Scottish tunebooks don’t shy away from the flat keys. Perhaps some of the early piping books have examples of this as well? Or O’Farrell etc. included them for customers who understood they were meant for other instruments - the Pocket Companions after all are suitable for “German flute, violin, etc.” not just Union Pipes. I haven’t much familiarity with early flute music, beyond Riley’s Flute Melodies from the 1810s; but examples I’ve seen of arrangements by Nicholson et al look very daunting for a flute player, never mind a piper.
I don’t see the relevance of the ring key issue, really… oboe makers were also starting to put more keys on those instruments, so the flute needn’t have been the inspiration. (Background: London Potter flutes were adding G#, F, Bflat keys by about 1760, and by about 1790 Mozart was writing for the four-keyed flute).
While there are a few examples of keyed chanters dated from pre-1790 (for instance the James Kenna “legacy set”), keyless chanters seem to have predominated into the early 19th century.
Of course baroque flutes can produce chromatic scales - but many were also provided with corps de rechanges so that different tunings over about a full tone range were achievable. With the demand for bigger sounding flutes and larger toneholes (c. 1815) cross-fingering became impractical, forcing the issue of keywork somewhat. Anyway I think that the flute issue becomes moot with the Union Pipe chanter, as the acoustic impediments to chromatic cross-fingering don’t apply to small-hole flutes either.
Anyway, baroque flutes > can > produce a chromatic scale with crossfingerings. I don’t have any experience with trying the same on the pastoral pipe, have you talked to anybody who’s given it a shot, Gordon Mooney perhaps?
Also, flat keys of course are popular with certain folk fiddle traditions, which goes back further than people assume - the 1770 Vickers manuscript from North England is chock full of Bb/F/C; also sundry Scottish tunebooks don’t shy away from the flat keys. Perhaps some of the early piping books have examples of this as well? Or O’Farrell etc. included them for customers who understood they were meant for other instruments - the Pocket Companions after all are suitable for “German flute, violin, etc.” not just Union Pipes. I haven’t much familiarity with early flute music, beyond Riley’s Flute Melodies from the 1810s; but examples I’ve seen of arrangements by Nicholson et al look very daunting for a flute player, never mind a piper.
Of course flat keys were common with the fiddle tradition, I never said otherwise… Your point about the “Pocket Companions” being aimed at more than the pipes is the key one I think. The pipe tutor, by comparison, had very few pieces in flat keys. Nicholson’s flute arrangements are a different matter as he may well have been aiming to show off his “improvements”. Then, as now, some keys would “suit” pipes or flute better than others.
When I ordered my first “real” chanter in 1977 I took the plunge and ordered it with five keys (F, G#, Bb, C, high D).
I still play that chanter, and I’ve had to use every single key at one time or another.
I’ve always been thankful that I went with all the keys from the get-go.
I recently ordered a new chanter. I considered whether or not to get it fully keyed. I frequently use the Cnat, occasionally the Fnat and the G# gets used in one or two tunes in my repertoire. I’ve never felt the need for a Bb key. However, in the end I decided to add the Bb as in the future my repertoire might include tunes which require it.
Interestingly, the Cnat and Fnat keys are the ones I use the least, even though I have them all. I much prefer the richer variations I can get by cross-fingering/half-holing. But I can also honestly say I hardly ever use any keys. Keys are really only good for when you need to hit that particular note fast and clean.
If you can afford them, I’d say go for it. If you can’t afford them, don’t lose any sleep over it. I don’t believe you are missing out on much. 99.9% of your ITM playing will be without keys, anyways.
You are right about the pastoral chanter Bill, in fact I do have one. It is a helluva beast to reed, damn near impossible for me, but on those few occasions where I did get it working it was quite easy to get accidentals through crossfingerings. The size of the bore and size of the holes being what they are. Right again on the impracticality of applying crossfingering to the ‘footless’ variety, and a pastor chanter without it’s footie is a frighteningly bad substitute for a union chanter.
I don’t think these tunes were ‘lifted’ per se, not in the sense of just taking popular flute tunes and sticking them in this ‘newfangled’ tutor. I think the tonal color against the drones was a major factor, and Geoghagan makes a point of bragging about the new pipes ability to match the ‘sharps and flats’ with the same ease as pipes made with keys (which he says he had yet to see). He seems to indicate there a desire to match those keyed chanters, more than the flute or hautboy.
And yes I have a small shrine in my office for Ross Anderson and his work making those MSS available!