I make scottish smallpipes and border pipes and play them too of course. But this wasn’t always so. I was once an uilleann pipe player. I gave up playing uilleann pipes for a few reasons, but one of them was that I disliked playing the beast known as the concert pitch D chanter. It was too loud and too uncomfortable to play. I play too often with other musicians to really get into a C or B set. (and don’t tell me to ask them to tune down). So, I’d like to try getting back into uilleann piping via a narrow bore d.
So two questions:
I’ve looked around and seen that Davy Stephenson and peter hunter offer narrow bore Ds. And of course woof. Does anyone have experience with these fellows?
And secondly, I’d be willing to trade something for a narrow bore D if anyone was interested. Smallpipes or border pipes of course, but I also have a Concert D chanter and a C chanter I made while working for Seth Gallagher.
You also could try a normal Matt Kiernan (concert pitch) chanter - as they show up on ebay from time to time. They are “on the quiter side” and can do with a reed-setup that is as loud (quiet) as a narrow bore.
I have a narrow (medium) bore D chanter by Andreas Rogge. It’s currently on its way back to Tübingen for re-reeding (I lost the fight against that mean reed I accidentally unwound ), so I can’t record a sound clip for you, but I prefer it over any concert D chanter I heard/played so far. It is easily loud enough for smaller groups of musicians, for example my band rehearses without amplification and the chanter can hold it’s own easily against a fiddle, a double bass and a whistle, backed up by a twelve string guitar. For sessions I have a Rogge plastic chanter though (which is also great).
Be prepared for some people calling “a narrow bore D chanter is not a true UP chanter and there is no historical evidence that such a thing ever existed, and hence it’s not traditional and sucks” and such stuff. Don’t pay attention to them.
There are certainly several of examples of narrow-bore chanters from the late 18th/early 19th century which play at or near modern d. Craig Fischer described a 373mm chanter stamped COYNE in SRS Journal (v2? can’t recall). A Kenna of similar length is described in SRSJ Vol. I, which now has its own myspace page (under the name James Kenna), thanks to Ronan Browne and Ken McLeod, who has entrusted the set to Ronan - you can hear Ronan Browne playing it on the myspace page. Jimmy O’Brien-Moran has a set in D by Robert Reid which he plays on his album (using a chanter by O’Connor and Boyle of the USA). I don’t think he’s used the Reid chanter in awhile, but he has it and I believe it does play.
These instruments, being pretty early, reportedly have playing characteristics and preferred fingering patterns that differ from modern expectations. The narrower of the ‘narrow bore d’ instruments offered by today’s makers are IMO attempts to bridge the gap between these historic models and the expectations of modern players, and naturally they vary a bit in the extent to which they are “authentic” copies of these older instruments. I’ve seldom if ever come across a narrow bore D that I thought really handled like a true narrow bore “flat chanter”, but that doesn’t mean they do not or cannot exist. I’ve seen and played a couple that seemed, to me, in the ball park.
In any case there seems ample historic precedent for such a thing…
Bill
[edited to correct the length stated for the Coyne ‘D’]
I have a Stephenson C# and a G chanter. While I haven’t had the opportunity to reed the G chanter yet, my C# chanter is a really sweet sounding instrument. I have had the opportunity to reed other chanters by Davy and have found them excellent in tone and playability.
I see no reason why his NBD chanters should be any less in quality than any of his other pitched chanters that I have played.
), so I can’t record a sound clip for you, but I prefer it over any concert D chanter I heard/played so far. It is easily loud enough for smaller groups of musicians, for example my band rehearses without amplification and the chanter can hold it’s own easily against a fiddle, a double bass and a whistle, backed up by a twelve string guitar. For sessions I have a Rogge plastic chanter though (which is also great).