Dear fellwo pipers,
maybe a stupid question but I’m sure to find help here:
Is there any special trick (beside the short lift of the A-finger) in playing a stable hard bottom D? Or does this depend on chanter, reed, weather and the piper himself? 
I have real difficulties to get a hard bottom D … sometimes it works … very often not. 
Comments, advice, encouraging words, money donations, etc welcome. 
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There ARE no stupid questions.
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Make sure all holes are covered completely - even a whisker-opening, or a finger slightly out of position can cause the lack of holding the hard D.
Practice, practice, practice.
You didn’t say whether the D was warbling on you even when you are not trying to force the hard D.
The non-permanent things to try are bending a paper match (or piece of wire) and inserting into the bell of the chanter or to open the bridle a pinch.
Brian…
I taught high school for about 8 years…believe me, there ARE stupid questions!
I’ve found that a small piece (ie less than a cm wide by approx 2cm long) of fine grade wet and dry emery or sandpaper rolled up loosely and put in the bottom of the chanter greatly improves harsh D (and also harsh e if you’re lucky). If you roll it up so the ‘rough’ side is outermost then it doesn’y fall out when you play off the knee.
Thanks to all … I will try some of your mentioned “cures” when I can play again (right now there was a very clear sign of my better half to end the “noise” 
).
But doesn’t inserting some paperroll in the bell also raise the bottom D in general? Well I will see …
“Normal” bottom D is just fine and very stable … no gurgling, warbling or whatso ever. I like the reed and it’s just the hard bottom D that makes me try hard. 
Putting the paperroll in the bottom of the chanter flattens the D a bit - you have to compensate with the reed…and sometimes harsh d is a little sharper than soft D anyway, it all depends on your set-up. Its worth a try at least. If you find it flattens the D too much then make the piece of paper smaller so that it doesn’t affect the tuning as much. Even a teenytiny piece of paper improves my harsh D!
I use a small strip of plastic from a yoghurt pot and inserted into the bell in a U shape. The U of the bend goes upward into the bell. Works well for me
See www.howardmusic.co.uk for the ‘Iris’ fitted to Howard chanters. This tuning device allows you to open and close the bottom hole and get hard and soft D in tune and easy to obtain. It also means the E isn’t sent out too (as can happen shoving stuff up I am told).
It also allows me to set my chanter to be more disposed to play hard or soft D’s, I had one retro fitted to my Howard chanter and am well pleased.
The design of the chanter can have a big effect on hard bottom D as well.
I have a Mark Hillmann D chanter, and I had to make some modifications to it to get hard D.
- The throat was larger than most chanters, so I “rushed” it by putting a 5 mm piece of brass tubing one size down from the throat size (which I have forgotten, it seems), holding it in place at the bottom of the reed seat with a layer of beeswax rubbed on the brass.
I also improved it quite bit by taking two light gauge G guitar strings about 2-1/2" long, bending them into a V shape and placing just above the thumb hole (another “rushing” of the chanter).
This will also affect the tuning/stability of back D, top D, and both Es pretty much too, so some playing around with these reversable things might be worth trying before doing anything permanent to the reeds if you aren’t a reedmaker.
Reed /chanter adjustments I use for adjusting hard D:
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Find the opening of the reed lips that allows hard D to be achieved with an A cut without the “autocran” and set to that.
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Rush the bottom of the chanter as mentioned before.
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(Caution, irreversable changes here) Widen the V scrape at the bottom of the reed more into a U shape. Adjustments should be slow, little bits at a time with good “resting periods” after combined with playing in times.
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Thin/weaken the reed by thinning or "scooping"the U region of the reed more.
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Play several days or weeks after taking any sawdust off the reeds to make sure you didn’t overdo something and remember that reeds improve with playing.
Maybe but a bit o paper is cheaper :roll:
Uilliam
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I use a twist-tie, it’s easily adjusted and sized.
Hi Thies,
Do you put a little more pressure on the bag after you graced the normal bottom D with a note?
That’s the whole trick you see.
As far as the chanter goes, i played it, it’s fine!
DO NOT mess with it!
I don’t get all you people that suggested that.
You can have someone ruin a perfectly good chanter like that!
It’s like you’re saying it’s just any old branch that fell off a tree or something.
A LOT of thought has gone into these things i can asure you and having one with a fault in it is HIGHLY unlikely. (though of course we can all make mistakes)
These things don’t get checked only once or not at all before they leave you know. 
That chanter plays a hard bottom D, E-Flat and E with no problems.
Practise a bit first! =)
I know Rick, don’t worry! The set is really fine and the chanter a piece of art itself! I was just curious if it’s more about me or any tiny, winy detail somewhere related to chanter and reed.
I heard Marc playing the hard bottom D on the set … so I know it should work. It obviously just a matter of practice …
Yes…such as the time I gave my students a two page exam paper and then half way through a student raises his hand and asks “Do we do the second page too”? :roll:
I’ve never found the insertion of anything in the bell to do anything to the D except to make it noticeably more unstable and tend to autocran. I’ve also had only sopradic luck with rushing the throat of the chanter as well. Some sticks that hard D just seems to pop out, and others it’s like the search of El Dorado’s gold! I’m sure reed design plays the most important part though. Are you making your own reeds yet??
Brian~
I will keep this to those who have more experience. I better use my time to practice!
But maybe … one day in future … when I finally have heard the voice inside me: “Go to the even darker side of life!” … then I might consider!
Rick that should be the case but unfortunately a good few chanters out there may as well be old branches.
One o my students has a chanter from somewhere near Tibet and quite apart frae having to re ream it,it also needs a bit o paper in the bell (hardly ruining it is it? 
)
If Howards chanters are so perfect,I am puzzled as to why he needs an Iris at all???I’ve played his chanters before and they were OKish.. so what has happened to them to require this modification which any good chanter doesna need?
Uilliam
While I have no doubt there are better instruments coming onto the market in recent years, many people haven’t necessarily upgraded to these. Putting tape on fingerholes and rushing chanters is still the way to get a lot of chanters in tune. Besides, you’re not ruining anything. If you start to undercut the finger holes or drill out the throat, that’s ruining the chanter.
And perhaps you have solved the intonation/voicing complexities of uilleann pipe chanters, but I’m not so sure every maker pumping instruments into the world has. Kudos to you if you supply properly reeded, easily maintained instruments, and supply proper, easily followed instructions for duplicating properly working reeds when you are not available.
Uilliam wrote, ‘maybe a bit of paper is cheaper’!! Yes, but not as good. (who said the Scots were tight?) and also ‘if Howard chanters are so perfect why do they need this?’ mmm, maybe this just makes 'em even better. Or maybe it’s cos the maker spends his time working on new developments for his pipes. I think the ‘Iris’ is top, don’t knock it 'till you’ve tried it. Come to the ‘dry dock tionol’ on 17th June in Oxford and do just that.[/quote]