When playing the whistle I placed my right hand on top (first three holes) and left hand on the bottom (bottom three holes). There were times when I play cross-handed which too me is just the opposite of my description above.
Now with the U-pipes I am finding my-self with the following set-up. The bag is under my left arm, the bellows are tied to my right arm, my right hand is used for the first three top holes and my left hand is used for the bottom four holes of the chanter. Pipers grip of course.
When I look at pictures of players they typically have thier left hand on top and the right hand on the bottom. This is a very starnge feeling for me when I attept this setup whether it be right or wrong.
So do I need to adapt this setup or feel comfortable with how I am presently setting up? And if I keep my present set up will it hender me when add drones and regulators to my set in the future?
Yes, it will affect you. When you eventually graduate to regs your right wrist will be too high in the air to hit the keys correctly.
You have two choices, as I see it. If you insist on having your right hand on the upper holes of the chanter, switch to a left handed set - or - change your grip so that the right hand is on the bottom. That’s the position the sets are designed for.
Keith, are you left or right handed… when it comes to playing flute, whistle or other?
If you are left handed, you may need to switch out your bag for a ‘lefty’… then strap on the bellows off the left side… and hold your chanter accordingly.
Ok, This is now driving me insane. I am a right hand dominate person. I just can’t seem to get my-self to use my left hand on top and my roght hand on the bottom of the chanter.
Are you all sure that if I continue to use my right hand on top that this will hender my advancement on these %^&%$%$^ pipe?
I really have the coordination of the bellows on my right side and bag on my left down and that feel very comfortable to me. I believe if i swith these two around that my coordination will fly out the window.
So I ask you all again are you sure that if i keep my right hand on top and my left hand on the bottom that it will hender my advancement to drones/regs. Has anyone ever played the way i am describing and been successful?
I can’t imagine anyway to use your (left) bottom hand to play the regs. Do you think you could get the heel of your left hand on the reg keys when they protude to the right of your body?
Go ahead and learn with the left hand on top.
I am left handed (with one handed things) and right handed with things that take 2 hands (rifles/shotguns excepted), so I play a right handed set. It feels more “natural” to me.
Like DJM said…its pretty straightforward.
As ye are a newbie and ye are right handed ye should start frae the beginning and hold it with your left on top.But then as ye seem determined not to then the choice is yours
Slán Agat
Uilliam
ps playing the whistle and the pipes are not the same thing,even remotely so the fact that ye were playing the whistles in a certain way has absolutely nothing to do with the predicament ye now find yersel in.
or meet a piper who has a full set and can play quite well.
Once you strap on a full set you’ll start to see what everyone is talking about. Even in a conventional position, the regs can seem damned hard to reach. In the position you propose, I’d doubt if you COULD reach them while playing.
The other option for you is to buy a left handed set and play “left handed”. The term is a misnomer, as…for instance…I am left handed but play “righthanded”.
What you don’t want to do is learn to do something that will never work…and I’d worry that you are doing that just now. Its a lot harder to unlearn something than it is to learn it.
Once you strap on a full set you’ll see what I mean.
And at a tionol you might get a lefthanded set to try as well…you should get enough info from that to work out what will be the best in the long run.
You’ll be frustrated at all of these possible delays to learning, but not half as frustrated as you will be if you persist with your current set-up[IMHO]
All of the contributions are spot on, particularly Boyd’s. You need to get some instruction soon, and, more specifically, you need to watch someone play a set with regs. I am 2 hours away, and Lewis Blevins is also about 2 hours away. PM us if you’d like to get together. Either of us, or both of us, would love to help. The East Coast Tionol is in less than a month if you can swing it, and there you’ll have the opportunity to study with GREAT players. The St. Louis Tionol is also an excellent opportunity to learn from great players.
You guys/gals will never guess what happened today. I was at lunch with co-workers. We started talking and what do you know one of the ladies husband plays pipes both Highland and irish U-pipes. So after work I went by their home thinking i would do as many have suggested on here regarding my left/right handed delimma.
He’s been playing pipes for about 9 years, mostly highland. I did get to put his right-handed set on and you guys/gals are right…there is no way that i would be able to work these in the left handed set up (right-hand on top) unless I change my setup. He agreed that it would be easier to learn to work the bellows and bag opposite of my present setup than it would be to force me into a right-handed setup (left hand on top).
After lastnight of frustration I had pretty much decided to see about changing my present setup and have emailed the maker of my set.
Now if I can make some surrounding Tionols as you all suggest I think I’ll be on the right or should i say the left-track…
