I’m having a hard time with the bottom hand. My fingers keep curving around the chanter and throwing my fingers off the holes, especially the bottom hand index finger. Trying to be aware of keeping them straight leads to a cramped hand. Any ideas on how to help this situation? I’ve only been playing for around 4 months, and don’t want to start bad habits.
First thing to do is start slow. I made the grave mistake of trying to do everything way to fast when I started, and not too long afterward I had to start all over because I had given myself to bad habit. Do all your exercises and tune playing slowly so that so don’t tense up while thinking about the position of your fingers on the chanter. One suggestion I can offer is to play scales very slowly with a metronome (the sooner one starts playing with good rhythm the better). The idea behind this is to get your fingers used to being where they need to be (relaxed and not tense) with it eventually becoming second nature. If you do this, EVER SO SLIGHTLY increasing the tempo, you should see results. Everyone’s been down the same path you’re starting, so as long as you take things at a good healthy pace, you’ll be fine. Also, try to make it to a tionol or an experienced piper in or around your area so that any bad habits can be caught and cut at the nip before they start giving you huge problems. Good luck!
Cheers,
Mike
What makes you think you need to keep your fingers straight? Stiff and straight is for GHBs, not for UPs. Relaxed and slightly curled around the chanter is fine. Check out Volume 1 of the NPU tutor videos. Also, watch films of professionals playing like Paddy Keenan or Liam O’Flynn. There is a soft relaxed curl to their fingers around the chanter.
djm
Actually, what makes you think that your fingers should be be stiff when playing the GHB? Many highland pipers play with a slight bend as well. The problem is that many beginners curl because they’re gripping too tightly.
I’m new to the uilleann pipes but from what I can tell, relaxed is the name of the game for both.
Think about the" angle of the hand(elbow)" when using bellows, and how do u bend your wrist when playing.Even how straigth u sit when playing effects.
Your chanter may need to be turned in the chanter head stock (chanter top) so that the holes are more easily reached. Experiment with this until you find a comfortable position for you.
Pat.