I’m considering purchasing some smallpipes some time up the road. What is the best key to buy for your first pipes? I see that mostly A, D, or Bflat are available. Thanks.
The A chanter plays in the key of D – it’s probably the most popular.
The D chanter is higher pitched – it’s harder to finger due to the hole spacing being tight.
The Bb chanter is probably most useful for playing with highland pipes. Like if you were recording a CD.
If you play highland pipes, then the A chanter is more or less the size and shape of a practice chanter. My A chanter has a kind of bubbly sound. My D chanter has more of a clarinet sound.
I agree with Highland Piper, go for a set in A.
Definitely A if you want to play with other tune instruments in a session.
Thanks for you help. The A sounds good. I want to be able to play with others in the future in sessions.
Highland-piper,
The chanter is named an A chanter yet plays in the key of D? I’m puzzled why they call it an A chanter?
That would be comparable to when you’re playing the G fingerings on a D chanter (the first, or tonic, note for that scale starts with the upper hand ring finger). Play the same fingerings on an A chanter, and you have the D scale.