Total noob here looking to learn pipes after years of playing whistles, so please bear with me for asking dumb questions.
How much difference is there in the finger spread of a standard practice chanter vs a typical GHB chanter?
And probably the biggest issue for me will be the spacing and size of the bottom two holes.
I’ve Googled chanter dimensions, but can’t find the answers to those two questions.
I have no problem with most whistles down to low D because I’ve conditioned my hands to manage the stretch, so I’m not worried about the top six holes being a problem, but I know I’m probably going to have a heck of a time incorporating my right pinkie in piping.
Even though I have some experience with ‘plus’ whistles that have right pinkie holes, I’m sure a reeded chanter is going to be a whole other animal, but I’m anxious to learn something new.
It’s a tough question to answer because of the variety in hole sizing and spacing both on practice chanters and on pipe chanters.
I do happen to have here in front of me an old 1960’s Hardie practice chanter, which is probably about as generic an old-school pc as there could be, and a new McCallum poly band chanter, which is very commonly played nowadays by many pipe bands and solo players. (Measurements from hole centre to hole centre.)
1960s practice chanter, RG Hardie, Glasgow/ modern pipe band chanter McCallum:
distance between the highest and lowest holes on the front of the chanter: 15cm / 15.6cm
spread between the upper-hand’s index finger and ring finger: 43mm / 45mm
spread bewteen the lower-hand’s index finger and little finger: 83mm / 85mm
spread between the two lowest holes (ring finger and little finger) 33mm (from hole centre to hole centre)
So as you can see there’s not much difference. I do have to say that the lower-hand toneholes on the McCallum band chanter are large ovals, the largest being 8x10mm or thereabouts. This is nothing to somebody used to Low Whistles! But people coming from orchestral instruments find those big oval holes hard to seal.
I hope this helps! Richard
Thanks, Richard. My mind is now at ease enough to take the plunge and get a practice chanter.
If they’re all pretty similar with hole size and spacing, I shouldn’t have any problems.
Practice chanter vary quite a bit!
If you get a “long” or “full size” practice chanter, the finger spacing should be nearly identical to that of the pipes.
I would recommend the Gibson long practice chanter, due to it sounding and playing more like a musical instrument than traditonal pcs.
Traditional pcs have a narrow bore and a long narrow reed. They are designed to have the highest possible backpressure, far more backpressure than an instrument of that volume would need. My theory is that this was done so that as the tyro was learning his fingering he was also strengthening his lips and lungs.
These traditional pcs have a kazoo-like or duck-call-like tone.
Gibson long pcs are rather different, and to my knowledge are the only pcs like this: they have the bore and reed of a smallpipe chanter. They have far less backpressure, are more freeblowing, and sound more like a musical instrument.
If you want a traditional style practice chanter (in its bore and reed design) I would get a McCallum long.
Now about pitch, traditional regular-sized pcs usually tune in around concert Bb, what pipers call 466. When pipemakers began making long pcs the longer bore brought the pitch down, and long pcs usually pitch around 450 or so, in other words halfway between A and Bb. The Gibson long pc has a different bore and reed and pitches in around concert Bb/466.
You can hear what Gibson long pcs sound like on any of my “double smallpipe” YouTube videos.
pancelticpiper, thanks for the info on the smallpipe-sounding chanter.
Your recommendation and those lovely YouTube videos talked me into it.
I ordered a Gibson long practice chanter, and it should be here tomorrow.
Wish me luck! 