I’ve recently been having some trouble with the toneholes leaking out under my fingers, even when my fingers are, as far as I can tell, situated correctly, straight, etc. It seems like the only way to make the chanter airtight - and thus get consistent 2nd 8ve triplets and jumps to high A - has been to squeeze the chanter ridiculously tightly. When I relax my fingers to what I think is a reasonable grip, I get anything from a hiss to a muffled tone when I increase the pressure to jump into the 2nd 8ve, and the jumps tend to be a bit inconsistent. Any thoughts on whether this is normal, or maybe a problem with technique? I’m using an O’Grady chanter with a new Childress reed - I never noticed these problems with the softer O’Grady reeds, but only since the switch to the louder Childress reed (I realize that this reed can be adjusted to play softer, but this is the ideal volume for me). Using a popping strap has helped a bit, but the the problem persists. Just a note: playing rests with a relaxed grip is fine at lower pressures, ie no weird noises. Thanks for your help!
I think you may be confusing “softer” with “easier”. A reed can be altered to play with a lower pressure at a higher volume, but this is a non-reversible procedure. The reed has to be scraped thinner. As you have another reed it might be worth contacting Bruce and see if he can get your reed to play more easily, with your preferred preference for pressure, and with more volume.
The air leaks will disappear with a normal grip at a normal pressure. 