As I’ve mentioned in a previous thread, I’m interested in learning the Scottish smallpipe. However, I’m not at a point where I can just buy one and start blasting away due to monetary and travel concerns. Many people are of the opinion that for smallpipes one does not necessarily need a practice chanter, but I’d like to keep the bagpipe project on the back burner so-to-speak as I work with my more portable instruments, and so I wondered what the smallpipe crowd thought of getting accustomed to fingering and embellishments on a “whistle-chanter” such as: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_YcP4eJaUs. If anyone has had some experience with these, are there any severe inconsistencies I should be aware of, to the effect that it would not be good preparation for a bagpipe? I bet you’re asking, “why doesn’t he just use the darn practice chanter,” and the short answer is that I hate the sound of the only practice chanters I can afford, while a whistle-chanter I can make correctly in my garage with some PVC and a S. Kildare headjoint. It’s also an easier transition in terms of breath pressure and less likely to annoy my dorm-mates.
Anyway, I’d welcome whatever thoughts you have on the subject. The pipes I’m planning to play one day are the Gibson Ceilidh pipes.
I don’t know about the Gibsons specifically, but I have often heard the SSP chanter described as ‘forgiving’, meaning it doesn’t necessarily have to be used with GHB fingering.
My own chanter, made by Ian Ketchin (http://www.ianketchinsmallpipes.co.uk/) will play in tune in ‘open’ (i.e. whistle), closed (Northumbrian) or GHB fingering. So maybe a whistle is what you want…
BTW, if you really don’t want to annoy your neighbours, use a whistle mute: a cigarette paper is ideal. Fold it so it sits over the fipple; you will hear a breathy sound, but no-one else will, outside of a couple of feet away.
Good luck!
Interesting, I haven’t heard that you could use open fingering… I think traditionalists would have a heart attack if I used whistle fingering on a Scottish bagpipe though. My neighbors don’t mind if I play flute or Bb whistle, as long as I don’t complain to the RA about their subs. (subwoofer amplifiers) However I think gooselike practice chanter would push them over the edge, whereas I’m good enough at flute and whistle to be pleasant background next door. I notice that your chanter is cylindrical, whereas the Ceilidh pipes have a tapered chanter. Not sure how this would affect the use of open fingerings, but when it comes down to it I’d like to do it right, whatever that may be.
Think you’re confusing external profile with bore here when they’re both cylindrical (it’s what brings them down the octave) and the tapered exterior is basically just an aesthetic choice. (True that many smallpipe bores are very slightly opened out at the bell, but no more matching the external profile than a recorder bore matches the flared foot joint there!)
Re. GHB-fingered whistles (Carbony, EnChanter etc.), some folk seem to think it’s a good idea but others reckon the sonic compromises in getting the fingerings to work with the necessary hole-size differentials etc. not worth the effort. Since I’ve occasionally thought about one but never actually tried one, I just dunno…
Interesting, thanks, I thought tapered chanter always meant tapered bore. Not sure where I got that assumption, but I appreciate your correcting it. I think for me the appeal of the whistle-chanter idea is similar to the appeal of the whistle, and why I’ve succeeded to such a degree with it- It’s portable and really fun. I can channel my nervous energy into practicing fingerings, and it’s familiar territory in terms of breath. I didn’t really have a problem going from whistle to flute because I knew the fingerings, it was just a matter of learning how to blow the darn thing, and the promise of payoff once I learned that made it very fun. Therefore, while the pressures required of arm and diaphragm are different on the bagpipes, if I already know the fingering, figuring out how to make it sound will also be fun. My only concern is that the whistle-chanter design may render some of the embellishments nonfunctional, or may hinder me in some way (like being very susceptible to bad habit formation). I’m certainly not intending to play a whistle-chanter for anything other than bagpipe practice though. My only requirement is that it be at least a little more pleasant and quiet then the practice chanter.
Sorry, but the way the air flows through a whistle, what I might call its response time, isn’t quick enough to replicate Scottish piping ornaments.
If you want to learn ordinary traditional Scottish piping technique you’ll need to get an ordinarly Scottish practice chanter. (If you want to make up your own style, you’re on your own.)
I think Gibson are the best. They have a different bore and reed than other PCs which results in less backpressure and a more musical tone.
Or you could get a Fagerstrom electronic Scottish practice chanter, but they cost around $300.
I’m coming to that conclusion as well, and given the quality of your piping I’m inclined to just bite the bullet and get a decent practice chanter. Thanks for your input!