A profile of an old Dublin piper, Chris Langan, was published in the Pipers’ Review in the late 90s, written by one of his students, Pat Hutchinson I believe; the last thing Chris said to the writer was an interesting bit of advice, to work some substance - vaseline? - onto the fingers “to help with the tight piping.” This really works - I think of it as akin to applying chalk to the end of a pool cue, i.e., a little ritual to go through before playing.
Haven’t tried vaseline, yuck, in fact I’m probably not remembering that correctly at all, vaseline’s really slimy. Instead I have an Altoids tin full of beeswax mixed with oil of some sort to thin out the result, which I use on, say, drone ferrules that have become a bit loose in dry conditions - a tiny smidge tightens things back up, this is for situations where there really isn’t room for a thread bed. The same wax/oil works for applying more traction to the fingers. Your staccato fairly goes through the roof, believe me. It’s only a bit more unsolid than beeswax itself, also. I’m thinking I might thin it out a bit more.
I wonder if some pipers famed for tight playing didn’t have a bit more oily skin, or had rougher fingers from just putting in a honest day’s work - Andy Conroy being a bricklayer comes to mind. For the rest of us this may help.
Bag Balm is a salve developed in 1899 to soothe irritation on cows’ udders after milking.[1][2] The product is officially only meant for animals
Its uses are many, for example “squeaky bed springs, psoriasis, dry facial skin, cracked fingers, burns, zits, diaper rash, saddle sores, sunburn, pruned trees, rifles, shell casings, bed sores and radiation burns.”[2]
Wow, do the survivalists know about this junk? Sounds like you should stock up on it in case of nuclear holocaust.
And it’s a salve, eh? Like ChapStick, which I suppose would do the job as well.
I used to just wipe my brow a bit, ala Ennischanter. Helped that playing would work up a bit of a sweat…
Almond oil might be a good choice to mix with the beeswax. Almond oil is used by orchestral woodwind players to keep the wood in clarinets, oboes, etc., from cracking.
I’m not one for revealing secrets that others have given me but as Paddy Keenan said to me recently when I told him about it,its to good not to share. Liam O,Flynn told me he always uses Neutrogena hand cream, Norwegian formula . Spread just a tiny amount across the underside of your fingers and hey presto, you’re a piper.
Take a 60+ year old hands… And tons of antihistamines ( wierd health issue) = Dry Dry hands that make it really tough to seal chanter holes.
BAG BALM, in the friendly green can, to the rescue. The stuff smells like a mecanics garage but boy does it work. Softens the hand without making them slippery.
AND… It puts a lovely sheen, after months of use, to my ebony chanter!!!
