how do you all tune your chanters? for instance, with the harp I tune the A to a 440 tuning fork, then all the rest of the strings in fifths until a whole octave is done, and then all octaves to each other.
but the harp has the distinct benefit of being able to sound two notes simultaneously for comparison.
Each note on the chanter to play a perfect harmony with the drones?
Once your chanter is set up properly it shouldn’t need a lot of tuning, I make minor adjustments every now and again but overall there shouldn’t be major changes/problems with tuning
I just tune the Ds, and the rest sort of falls into place. I’ll tune the drones and hard D to a tuner, or keyboard or whatnot, and adjust the tape on the back D to match. everything else seems to be close enough to compensate with pressure. Ulimately, if there’s a big tuning issue inherant in the chanter itself, you could go over each note with a tuner and do various things like rushing the bore or putting wax in the holes. Seems like at that point you may want to talk to the maker, anyway.
I just wanted to be sure tuning the back D to the bottom D wasn’t a lazy shortcut. My thinking is that if the chanter’s made properly, once the top and the bottom match, everything else should be in tune to that, even if it doesn’t give 440.
Who says it has to, anyway? I only ask becuase I had to muck up my chanter tuning to get certain notes close to the 440 scale, while my chanter overall has a tendency to be flatter (more like 432, last time I measured it)…
:roll: Anyone with ears probably.
Antaine… give PJ back his pipe please… 
PD.
no, i mean who says it has to be 440? of course it has to be all one thing or all the other, but there are orchestras that aren’t even using 440 anymore and tuning higher…
Could you take one reed and tune back D and Bottom D and have all the middle notes in tune, and take a different reed and tune the D’s and get different results with the middle notes since every reed does tend to behave differently..
I don’t see why it would not be possible. I have attempted to make many reeds that wound up in tune on two or three notes but out on the rest. frequently even an upper octave lower octave difference.
But all my (functioning) reeds were made by the maker of my chanter, so I know they worked perfectly at least once upon a time…
There’s no reason why the rest of the notes should be in tune once you have the D’s sorted. Bridle placement, how open the reed is etc etc all play a part. For example opening or closing the reed will flatten (opening, either by squeezing the reed or increased humidity) or sharpen (closing the reed to make it play quietly or when playing in dry conditions) A G and when changing the aperture further further will increasingly affect other notes as well.
You’re right in this. 440 is generally the way to go when playing in an ensemble, but even the Chieftains don’t stick to this. For solo piping, the main concern is keeping the thing in tune with itself.
Of course, Peter L’s right about various notes needing their own subtle adjustment, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many books and discussion threads out there on the subject.
I’ve got a listing of the variance from an equal temperment elec. tuner that may prove helpful to any interested in checking their chanters tuning - more than just the D’s for example. You’ll find it about half way down the page here:
http://www.uilleann.org/Reeds.html
Hope some may find it helpful.
Cheers!
Brian~
I wasn’t aware anyone had taken my pipe. But now that you mention it …
So let me get this straight: This is the first time in six years of playing you’ve had occasion to try to tune the chanter?
no, i’m just looking for the most effective and efficient way of doing it. this is the first time in six years that i’ve had occasion to ask other UPers how they do it.
typically, i tune the d’s till they match with a tuner and play with the holes until it sounds right when playing several songs…rather like how my piano tuner tests it along the way…I’ve found that even when it sounds right while playing a scale, it may sound off on certain notes when playing a tune…
Ok this is how I tune the pipes (in my relitavely short experience).
On all bagpipes is almost impossible to tune them to A 440 Hz. My chanter (depending on the read) is about 2 or 3 hz higher. That’s why we tune them [pipes] to just intonation (chromatic). Before I tune the drones I try to make sure that A is as close to 440 Hz as it possibly can be. Don’t worry if it’s out by 1-2, espcially if the rest of the chanter sounds fine.
Next after you’ve tune the chanter to A (remember the closest) frequency that you chanter read on the tuner. Take the chanter out and tune the tenor drone to that frequency. Follow the same technique for the rest of the drones.
When tuning to an electronic tuner remember that they are not 100% accurate. You should use them as a guide and not the bible. Once you get close on the electronic tuner use your ear to pic up harmonization and sweetness.
Cheers L42B 
a) - no need for electronic tuner except for checking the A if you must. If you’re in a band, the string players will learn to adjust to you. If not, get new members I trained my fiddler guitarist well, so now they automatically adjust to suit the pipes. The fiddler even adjsuts his top B to suit the slightly sharp B on the pipes.
b) tune to the A on the chanter not the Ds - more reliable, then cross check with your Ds and the rest of the chanter.
c) as Peter said - the notes should be in tune with the drones.
Cheers,
DavidG
Cheers,
DavidG
Sometimes its easier to tune the ear rather than the chanter.