Hi guys! Could you tell me how can I slide up to the back D? 
What’s the fingering you use? Do I have to simply slide my thumb off the D hole?
thanks!
Most slides work better if you start by opening the hole immediately below the hole you want to slide up on. In this case, you’d open the c# first and then roll or slide your thumb off the back d. I watched Cillian Vallely practising doing it this way, though some people are opposed to sliding to the back d for some reason.
djm
Also depending on the tune slide up from a cnat.
Sliding to a long open fingered back d can also be very effective as a variation or at the end of a D tune, where a big, fat toned back d can add a sense of finality. You can put vibrato on both cnat and d as you are sliding. Handy in slow airs too.
David
Sliding the thumb off the back d hole works for me, from cnat or c#.
example:
http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/Audio/11-04/CuimhneanPhiobaireJosephS.mp3
thanks guys. Just it actually doesn’t work at the moment. I’ll keep on trying… if I’ve got how’s been doing… :roll:
Does any of you have the madfortrad.com pipes tutor from Sean Potts? In the clip named “performance” (the first jig) it seems like he’s doing it sliding from A to back D.
Any guess?
I like that effect and that’s what I’d like to do by the way.
Hey Joe,
do you have the dots for that tune?
Jeff
Hey Joe,
do you have the dots for that tune?
Jeff
..
Jeff, I have PM’d the dots your way.
Sean is moving neither the B finger nor the pinky. I think he simply slide the back D… :roll:
Agreed. He is just doing a slow wipe across the back D with his thumb. This would depend a lot on the size of the hole for the back D, and how you hold your chanter. Notice that Potts uses the whole pad of his thumb to wipe across, as opposed to instruction from others to use just the top or top corner of the thumb to cover this hole. I think it would be hard to do it this way if the back D hole on your chanter is small.
djm
Gio,
It’s perfectly possible to slide from A to back d.
I’ve not seen the video but how I do it is to slowly roll my thumb downwards allowing the back d hole to open from the top. When it has rolled to about 75% open I then slide it off completely.
Keep the A hole open until the d is almost fully open or you may choke the note. It shouldn’t affect the back d tuning much.
If he is doing it in a jig it will be a fairly rapid slide. It might be worth practicing the slide very slowly to get some control before using it in a reel or jig.
Just noticed djm’s post (who has seen the video) as I write this. I use the “whole pad” of my thumb to cover the hole so this still may be some help if you cover the hole that way.
David
I also thought that was a matter of the hole’s size. Indeed he’s playing a B set on which it’s surely larger than my D chanter.
Didn’t think of the thumb position but now I’m certain it helps a lot using the whole pad instead of the top corner (as I do).
I love this little tricks that give the tune a great vitality and colour! 
thanks David for the clues about sliding from A to D. I’m going to try it tomorrow (Italy now: 1.16 am 
)
guys, last thing: roll on C nat. How do you do it?
cheers and 'night. 
guys, last thing: roll on C nat. How do you do it?
For any roll, the sequence is note-cut-note-tap-note.
There are 3 distinct (note) segments in a roll and all should be of equal duration. The rhythm of the roll is the most important aspect of it.
The note is played, then the cut defines the end of the first segment and the start of the second segment. The end of the second segment is defined by the tap which also starts the third segment.
Play Cnat, cut with a back D, then tap the chanter with the raised Cnat fingers as briefly as possible. You shouldn’t stop the Cnat note with the tap, but the tap should just define the second and third segments of the roll.
Tapping the Cnat needs some practice as you should try to tap both (or all 3 fingers depending on your fingering) simultaneously to get a precise tap.
When you have gotten the hang of the rhythm, and precise tapping, you can add colour to the roll by lifting the chanter off the knee just before you perform the tap, and returning it to the knee at the end of the roll.
Generally only the lower hand finger(s) is (are) used for the tap in c nat roll, keft hand C finger stays open.
… and C#? Is it possible to roll it??
Certainly… use the cut and pat method explained with cnat.
If you are trying to roll c# you can only tap with the c finger as your lower fingers should be on the chanter. Some pipers will also use the c finger to tap a cnat roll as the resultant roll has more in common with all the other rolls than a lower hand tap. The lower hand tap produces a c#, which is higher than the note being rolled. If I roll a cnat or c# (which isn’t very often) I use my c finger for the tap
There are 3 distinct (note) segments in a roll and all should be of equal duration. The rhythm of the roll is the most important aspect of it.
No one else has commented on this (maybe it’s come up before, a quick search found nothing) so I was wondering about roll timing.
Sometimes my roll “segments” are of equal duration, sometime they are not. This can depend on the type of tune and the position within the tune.
When they are not equal I leave the first part longer than the second two.
Surely you don’t all play your roll segments of equal duration. 
David
DL, you cut both the C# and Cnat with the back D. Same for rolls on these two notes.
Rolls are rhythmic. Whatever fits into the particular tune at the particular time you add it. See the Patsy Tuohey book for all sorts of variations of rolls.
djm
Thanks djm, I got so involved in comparing the different ways of tapping a cnat/c# roll I forgot to state the obvious, that first you cut with the d.
David