crumbs!
you guys wern’t kidding when you said it was difficult!
It gets easier as time goes on… and as you progress, and if everything is air tight, and if you’re covering all the holes, and if the reeds are happy, and if you’re getting good instruction, and if you don’t develope repetitive motion injury, and if you remain hernia free, and if…
If you haven’t, be sure you get yourself to someone who already play to make sure your reed is adjusted correctly. If the chanter was shipped things might have changed and it’s best to start with everything working well. Also, get yourself to a tionól as soon as you can.
It’s hard but is sloooowly gets easier.
i shant be taking these out in public for about a decade!*
after about a day i can get a scale (one octave), though F G and A are wobbley, i have recieved advice about how to get some decent bag and bellows practice in without making any noise, so im on that now. im hoping to take them down to manchester on wednesday as thr NWUP are meeting, get some lesson on. I don’t think theres anyone local who teaches pipes… still i like the challenge,
- experimental jazz-duck ‘fuzion’ performance invites notwithstanding.
A brilliant idea. Who knows, they might even be able to set you up with an instructor near you.
the are the North West pipers thought. I being from the North East am just a little bit nervous that they will capture me and randsome me back to yorkshire.
i have the pipes in work with me (in a box) im tempted to take them out and do some bag and bellows practice… if anyone askes ill just say i have a horrendous bowel problem.
There are surely pipers in Leeds. I met one a few years ago at a session in Edinburgh, but unfortunately can’t remember his name. However, I know Leeds has a big Irish music scene. Have you gone around to local sessions to see who is playing? They also have a Comhaltas branch, which might be worth checking out. Even if they don’t have piping classes (difficult as there just isn’t enough access and interest in the instrument), they will probably be well enough connected to the local Irish music community to know local pipers who might be willing to teach.
The scene in Leeds seems to have shrunk a bit, its down to one regular weekley session (which is usually a blinder and is well worth checking out if your near the chemic tavern on wednesday nights) - A piper does ocasionally show up at it, but i am led to believe that he comes from a fair distance.
i hadent thought of bothering the CCE about it, ill call in next tuesday if my diary permits me and have a chat
Ok so im a few weeks in and working hard;
im getting serious thumb ouch, i assume this is from the (Vulcan Death) Pipers Grip - this is really limiting my practice time with the chanter to about 3 minutes before i need a serious rest - i remember getting somthing similar when starting the low whistle and flute so i assume ill learn to relax the grip in time - i just wish i could get more practice in.
intonation / voicing is still wobbley - a single note will shift about 25 cents in any given direction ans a fair bit in whatever unit you measure timbre in. I have no doubt this is due to my uneven bag pressure.. this is another thing im happy to put on the ‘practice it for ten years and it will be reet’ list.
Im also loosing the note sometimes, much to my irritation, probably due to my fatiguing left arm or other bad technique…
all in all, its the most difficult object i have ever picked up and i am loving every minute of it (i assume i get a hand-book on ‘surly’ along with my full set 
), any advice or encouragement is more then welcome
The thumb will stop hurting once you stop squeezing so hard. I think most everyone encounters that. Also, I think our brain believes that by squeezing harder the second octave will be easier to achieve and hold. As for the note warble, it is about bag pressure. You’ll hear people talk about playing notes into tune, this is what you need to do and the only way to get good at that is practice. Practice playing scales and arpeggios while holding the notes and keeping their tone good and steady. Remember that your playing with the bag, not the bellows. Play a low A and just hold the note and see where it’s happiest with the bag pressure. Do that with most notes and you’ll find where the sweet spot is for that reed. For example, high d and e will take less pressure that the A.
Here’s a great tip I once received. The pipes don’t have a lot of dynamic range and you can’t halfheartedly play, it’s all or nothing. So when you play, really lean into them and give them all your got. I don’t mean overblow the notes, but find the pressure that works and play that, nothing less.
Last of all, keep having fun. I’m sure some of the brilliant members here can expand on things.
You really have to learn to relax the fingers. ‘Death Grip’ is not enjoyable and, as you’re learning, can impact on your practising. I remember when I was learning, I had to squeeze on the bag quite hard to get any noise out of it. This meant that my arm was very tense, and, of course, so were my fingers (which is what death grip is). Death grip is usually in the upper hand so if you’re right handed, you’ll mostly get it in your left hand.
One tip for work on maintaining pressure in the bag while keeping the fingers relaxed:
- Put on the bellows and collect it to the bag, but don’t attach the chanter to the bag.
- Hold the end of the bag neck (where you would connect the chanter) in your RIGHT hand and use your thumb to block the hole.
- Inflate the bag by pumping the bellows
- Move your right thumb slightly off the hole so that air can escape.
- Keep the pressure constant so that the air flows out at the same rate
The above is fairly standard for practising pumping the bellows. The next bit is especially for Death Grip:
- Take something delicate in your LEFT hand (some suggest a raw egg but I would suggest a drinking straw)
- Hold it between your thumb and index, middle and ring finger so it doesn’t fall.
The trick here is to continuing maintaining a steady flow of air through the bag (and constant pressure by your left arm) without crushing the straw in your left hand. To achieve this, the arm has to have a certain strength but the fingers must be relaxed. Try doing this for 5 minutes or so at a time. You might crush a few straws before you get the hang of it (which is why I don’t recommend using eggs).
And as for the disappearing notes … make sure you’re covering the toneholes well. Especially the low E (that’s the one that gets me; things improved dramatically once I figured out I was shifting my ring finger off the hole slightly while thinking about other things). And OF COURSE, it’s much easier to do this if your fingers are relaxed. I find the more of a choke hold I have on the chanter, the more likely my fingers will be too stiff to cover the holes properly. For me at least, the pipes aren’t so much about reach as they are about sealing the toneholes properly, and though it seems counterintuitive, “softer” fingers seem to cover them better.
i have a quick break from work (no one does anything on the tuesday after bank hols, its dethly quiet in here!)
Things are going well, i am probably falling into some bad habits but im getting slowley better.
I have chosend a few tunes to get my head round the fingerings:
Start of the county Down
Paddys Green Shamrock Shore
Garret Barrys’
and a jig named after a person which never leaves the first octive but i cant remember its name, its in G.
so im vvvery slooowly learning to play theese.
Lesson wise, i found the NWUP in manchester - there very far away though and i cant make their meetings regularly.
There is a more local piper who has offered to help but he is also two trains out of town.
So, for the moment i am on my own!
I usually end each practice swaring lowdley and vowing never to pick them up again, i think thats natural?
Yup. That’s pretty natural - for a few years at least. That is until your playing progresses to the point that you feel comfortable enough to start venturing out with the pipes to sessions and such.
Then you have to deal with other people swearing loudly and hoping you’ll never pick them up again. I think that’s natural too. 
It will feel as though they take an insane amount of air when you’re just begining, which makes you press harder instinctively and increases tension all around. As you get more comfortable with bag pressure and bellows pumping you’ll probably find yourself less tense and less likely to grip the chanter too hard. Keep having fun! 
Hello! im still here and so are the pipes (though i broke a reed 
)
Things are going quite well, im practicing four and a bit tunes, not to learn them though, just to use them as a conduate through which technique is practiced. Garret Barreys is the flagship, and several pipers have said its a good tune to start on.
I have stopped death-grapping the chanter and the main limitation in practice time is now the strength in my left arm, which i guess ill have to wait for. I can manage about one full tune (with the repeats in) before i fall over from the exertion.
Im also spending a lot of time on stecatto notes , they are still too slow to do those amazing little seperated triplites things i have seen the pros pull off.
Im in dublin tomorrow and friday, would there be any benifit in dropping into NPU in person or are they best delt with over the internets?
any other tips for this stage in my ‘development’?
i think i have about 20 years left in my tutlage. Next stop is a new ‘spair reed’ and after that ill probably save up for a full set.
“would there be any benifit in dropping into NPU in person”
well, (as the young people say) duh?
Drop them an e-mail and see if your visit might coincide with a lesson; even if it doesn’t, you’ll get a hearty welcome from Gay, Gerry and Terry (all pipers) and Sandie (fine fiddler), and if you ask they’ll give you a tour. There’s some amazing stuff to see and hear (and buy).
hi, have a look at the nwup tionol on the 27th nov.
there will be lessons all through the day & you’ll get to meet other pipers who may be local to you.
hope to see you there.
jonathan.
I simplified this a little bit by finding a cork that fits the chanter stock. I bored out a hole that takes about the same amount of air as when playing.
Then, just practice with the bag and bellows until you get the feeling of when one “gulp” of the bellows will re-fill the bag without overfilling it. You can even hold the chanter, concentrating on feeling the individual holes. If you can’t feel them, you are too tense in your forearms, wrist and hands. They should be as relaxed as they are on a whistle.
potential birthday party detected!
thanks for the tip off, ill see if i can be there