i finally have a very nice reed
all is playing well but the hard D
when the reed is more open, it gets better but then the chanter gets pretty nasty…
i tried different papers inside the chanter and they give different results but nothing gets it nice and steady…
any suggestions?
What happens when you are playing bottom D and then cut it with your A finger (ring finger top hand)? Does your hard D come in then?
The reason I ask is that a couple of my teachers have taught me that the hard D can be coaxed in by either cutting it with A prior to playing it, or by slightly raising the same finger while playing it.
Take a small piece of hemp and tie it to the bottom of teh reed so that it hangs down like a tail. Then fit your reed to the chanter so that the "tail"goes down the bore a little (1 or 2 inches). Now try playing your hard D.
thanks for the tip
but it didnt help the hard D eventhough i swear it did something nice to the chanter very subtle if at all but something sounds just a tiny nicer…
if it make sense.
anyway krum, i get the hard D its just very not stable and solid…
i can get it but cranning on it is almost impossible because it is so delicate it goes wild.
problam is the chanter is playing SO nice now i dont feel like gambeling with changes but its such an important thing to me the hard D
well well…
if anyone can help
cheers
Have you tried a small piece of yogurt or margarine carton up the bottom of the chanter as use by Andreas Rogge and Allan Moller.
This will make the Hard D easier to get.
Cut the flat piece of yogurt or margarine carton
5-7 mm wide by 40-50 mm length
Try different widths and lengths. A narrow piece will shaped the pitch of Hard D and the wider piece will flatten hard D pitch.
Now bend it into a “n” shape and then insert it up the bell of the chanter.
All the best
Ferg
Here we go…
I’ve tried all the suggested methods on my Bayley D chanter and the one that definitely works for me (in fact the only thing that works on this chanter, with this reed) is the old tried and tested Brian Howard method of partially closing the hole at the bottom of the chanter. I use a piece of card with a couple of holes punched into it and this is taped over the end of the chanter. Brian Howard has made a device which is like two disks, each with an off-centric hole drilled into it, so that when you rotate one of the disks it acts like an adjustable apperture, changing the size of the hole until you get the desired effect.
To see if this will work with your chanter just try partially restricting the hole using a self-adhesive label. Experiment with the position of the label, varying the size of the hole. All your trying to do is to restrict the air flow exiting the chanter. If Brian’s reading this he’ll be able to tell you more.
I get a crisp, pleasing hard D at will, just by applying a little more bag pressure when I play a D note, but I do have the get the size of the hole right.
Try it