I once got to play a C chanter with some drones and found it to be a magical experience. I also hit random regulator keys and found them to match nicely with what I was playing (It almost brings a tear to my eye remembering it ). However, years later (a few days ago), I played some drones with my chanter and realised that I have developed a habit of playing largely form the bellows rather than the bag, which has worked fine for me for the past 5 years. I have no intention on upgrading to a half set as I am already obsessive enough about the chanter reed to risk my sanity worrying about three extra reeds.
However, I must say that this really demonstrated to me the value of starting off on the pipes with a half set so as to ensure that youāre playing correctly from the beginning.
Have any of you upgraded from a practice set and found that you had to re-learn how to play properly?
I started with a half-set, and discovered that it was a waste of money. All I needed was the beginners set. Adding drones is totally secondary to learning the chanter. If you are confident on chanter, it will only be a matter of weeks to settle issues of pressure and and bellows once you add drones accompaniment, but if you havenāt got the chanter down, drones will just be an extra distraction you donāt need.
I played a practice set for 8 years, only recently adding drones. There were pressure balancing issues at first but I plugged the tenor and baritone drones and played with just the bass for a week. Once I got used to that, I gradually added the others over 2 or 3 weeks. Now I hardly even notice whether Iām playing with drones.
i wouldnāt worry so about the drone reeds if you go synthteic. i have not looked at mine in over a year and they are rock stable.some donāt like the non organic reed timbre but i do. i made up a nice seperate naugha bag (glued up with 7 day-slow cure 3M 5200 marine caulk-non military) with a velvet bag cover just to play the straight chanters on.
the drones are very important to my piping and my interest in the pipes .
I think that most players can benefit a lot from adding at least one drone after about a year. Thereās some value in having drones even sooner, if you are lucky enough to have them - they can help establish good pressure habits from the outset (i.e. steady bag pressure, good bellows/bag control, minimum octave pressure difference). Iāve even started out beginners this way (using the drones to get them used to the bag + bellows technique, and plugging the chanter stock with a stopper), before actually attempting to play scales.
Itās not necessary to have drones of course.
After the first few months or a year, I think the primary reason for not having drones is economic. One possibility is adding only one or two drones, using āpegsā to stop them, and avoiding the full stock, drone switch, and bass drone which together represent most of the labor and cost of a set of drones.
Plugs in use on a bass and bari drone:
This could end up costing $1000 less than a half set, and itās upgradable.
My bad, my bad. The use of pins in the drone ends Is the way to go IMO. I also feel it is a great idea to start out with a 1/2 setā¦ but leaving the drones plugged (like thatāll really happen ). It allows the budding piper to learn how to hold the pipes correctly, get used to their weight and develop a good posture etcā¦ etcā¦ so when it comes time to start playing with the drones it will not be such a big learning curve.
Me too, with much more successful results. Seems a logical way to go really, start out getting the drones flowing smoothly, then progress to drones and one note on the chanter THEN switch to chanter only to start learning how to play tunes with a bit of ādrone timeā each practice session.
The purpose for a bellows, IMHO, is to allow the chanter to sing freely, unhindered by stopping to take a breath or worry over the sound of peripheral tones produce by the secondary product of the bellowsā¦ the drones and regs.
The focus ought to be the chanter from the word āgoā. Operation of the bellows ought to be āgearedā for the chanterās benefit primarily. Steady drones are a āfringeā and the regs must, they MUST be a āchallengeā. Teaching bellows operation by utilizing the drones seems a bit bass akward and without point nor viable purposeā¦ as I āseeā it.
But learning steady blowing is important for good chanter work and octave control, too, donāt you think?
If the chanter takes that much āhumoringā with bellows pressure, somethingās wrong. Also the drone exercise helps prevent the natural tendancy to pump the bellows in time with the tune, or once for each note, etc.
If you donāt have drones, then this can be learned fine by playing ālong notesā, sustained single notes. I think the main advantage to doing it with the drones is that it makes it easier to decouple the hand grip from the arm strength, so I think it can help reduce the incidence of the Death Grip.
Sorry Joseph, thatās the role of the bag and air supplied from it via use of skilled bag arm technique. the role of the bellows is simply to put the air in the bag in the first place. Unfortunately, many learners donāt realise this when they are simply learning the chanter only and get into all sorts o fbad habits - pumping in time with the tune, adding and extra hard pump of the bellows to get to 2nd octaveā¦these things can be avoided at the outset by teaching the student to maintain a single, constant pressure first, by way of training them to maintain a good drone.
You still need to maintain a constant air flow which needs to come form bag technique, not bellows technique. Like I said, this is how I taught some students after trying the ātraditionalā way with others and those whom I taught with drones first were much more able to get up and playing the chanter than the chanter-only students.
ā¦ yes, to fuel the drones, that convergence of tone that wiggles the toes and gets everybodyās dogs a-tapping.
ā¦yes, I agreeā¦
No offense, but the bag donāt get itās air requirements (often monopolized by the chanter) if the bellows donāt supply itā¦ especially when needed. What is the instrument in question here? Drones or Chanter?
Without the drones, the chanter is THE instrument. Without the chanter, the drones are one nice, long (and often-times out of tune or wavering) note.
I agree totally, but to play either of them one needs skilled and controlled airsupply to the reed(s). The play the Chanter successfully requires smooth and constant air supply, what better way to start practicing that than with learning to keep the drones constant? The added benefit being there is less shock to the system than commonly experienced when sitting down to what was yesterday a practice set and today now has a stock and three drones weighing down on your lap. And to once again refer to my students, the proof is in the pudding.
The chanter requires what air it can get. I think you might have this backwardsā¦ the drones, not the chanter, require a steady, smooth and constant air supply. The chanter requires focus and careful use of the air that is available (and the more the better) to make the pipes workā¦ or at the very least, pique somebodyās interest.
). However, years later (a few days ago), I played some drones with my chanter and realised that I have developed a habit of playing largely form the bellows rather than the bag, which has worked fine for me for the past 5 years. I have no intention on upgrading to a half set as I am already obsessive enough about the chanter reed to risk my sanity worrying about three extra reeds.
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Nice work. 
)
The use of pins in the drone ends Is the way to go IMO. I also feel it is a great idea to start out with a 1/2 setā¦ but leaving the drones plugged (like thatāll really happen 
