Hi All
Is it a good idea to try to seek out finger strengthening exercises for playing the chanter. Would they be of benefit with regards to speed , or would they slow you down. Does anyone know of any exercises for more flexibility etc.
All the best
Ballygo
Ballygo… precicely! It’s backwards 
As a great piper once said “Just play the bleeding things!”.
Poppa Pat and the Paddle Pat Boys.
i’m not a piper, but patrick is right. the only exercises you need to do for your finger to help your playing are on your instrument. i do stretches, but only to prevent pain and muscle problems, not to increase technique. as for those stretches, any arm stretches work well.
Ballygo, my main thing right now is working at keeping the grip soft and relaxed. The upper hand is the toughest to ease up on, at least for me.
I find that my dexterity definitely improves if the grip stays relaxed. I’m not consistent with it, so it’s an ongoing process at this point.
I find it hard to find a point where its relaxed enough for smoother playing, to allowing air to escape , thus causing squeaks and stuff. I also get a tightening of the tendons in my lower arm which sometimes causes the fingers to be a little sluggish . My post was as a result of this tightening , and I wondered if it wasn´t because of a lack of strength in this lower arm area.
Ballygo
Most likely, young Jedi, it is caused by the Dark Lord: Darth “Death-Grip” Vader.
My humble opinion is no. You can be too relaxed, I suppose; then sealing could be a problem for it. I get the impression, though, that it’s more a matter of the trick of keeping finger placement precise without tensing up. At the best of times (mind you 
), my grip will feel so relaxed that it’s almost careless-feeling, yet sealing’s not a problem. I try for just enough grip on the chanter to be able to lift it without it slipping, no more. It doesn’t take much grip pressure at all for that, I seem to find, so I think strength’s not the issue.
I’m at the point where I really have to pay attention and make a point of relaxing. You might just be needing to keep at it for a bit until that special balance of relaxation and control becomes a habit. It ain’t easy, but I’m convinced it’s doable with practice.
Just my 2 cents…
Well that’s a different thing altogether…
Don’t play for extended periods with your hands seizing up on you. Take frequent breaks and loosen your arms, shoulders, neck and hands. Just by relaxing or shaking them out. Yoga helps!
Also, try to mentally seperate your fore-arms from your upper arms/shoulders so that you are only pressing the bag and bellows with your upper arms whislt leaving your fore-arms as relaxed as possible. Try not to sway with the effort of playing when you play such as with the pumping of the bellows. You’ll get fatigued a lot faster with all the extra movement. Think of your spine as a central anchor that keeps you steady.
With your upper hand try playing the back D with the side of your thumb rather than with the pad of your thumb.
With your lower hand try lifting the thumb off the chanter whenever you can.
It all adds up and should help you relax.
Oh yeah… eat a banana! 
Nose sheet… these all helped me.
Patrick.
Rock climbing. Oh, wait, you still want usage of those super-strong fingers? My fingers are strong as hell but spend much of the time with broken bones and pulled tendons. Fun stuff.
Something more constructive would be some quality stretching exercises. A great SSP player, and soon to be Doctor of Chiropractic, Ellen MacPhee taught us some good stretches for hands, wrists, shoulders and arms.
A good one for me was the “reverse prayer” - putting the backs of your hands together pointing fingers to the floor and gently applying inward pressure - and then the “prayer” position - putting palms together and gently applying inward pressure. Many other good stretches too, but finger strength is not a focus here - more like finger stamina.
Eat liver once a week.
Thank you all for the advise.
Ballygo
… unless you are on dialysis.
I just knew some sick-o would have to get gross on this thread. Eeeeeewwww!!! 
djm
What’s wrong with liver? Jeez djm, show a little back bone will ya.
What’s wrong with sucking on my old gym socks? Liver was invented as a dare.
djm
With fava beans and a nice Chianti…mmmmmmm. 
My humble opinion would be to try some gentle strengthening exercises and see what happens over a week or two.
If your playing gets worse then you can stop with minimal detrimental effects.
If you improve, you may have found an area in which you needed some development.
David
I have tried the suggested stretching exercises and they certainly relive some of the tightness in the lower arm. If there are any more stretching exercises please let me know. I´ll go this way for a while and see what happens, I may then try some strengthening exercises.
Ballygo
NO! Lobster was invented as a dare!!
G’wan- you eat it
Not me!!
What’s wrong with chowing down a bunch of sea bugs? 