Hello,
My name is Rick and I’m a pipaholic. (Altogether now: “Hi, Rick”) I’ve been piping for 92 days. 
But seriously, I’m a newbie that has been in lurk mode for a couple of months and have found the courage to come out.
I’ve been playing in our weekly Irish music session for 4-5 years (hammer dulcimer and bodhrán…a pause while the chuckling trails off…) I got my Penny Chanter from David Daye early in May and I have been hooked since I made my first squawk.
I feel fortunate in that I have a good ear in general and for Irish music in particular and it seems to be coming pretty easily. I could play the lower octave scale by the end of the first week, the 2nd A the next week and now can reach the 3rd D 60% of the time without squeezing the chanter so hard that my hands cramp. I have dozen or so tunes, not allof them up to speed, but coming along.
I have NPU Video #1 and Mad For Trad’s CD-ROM with Sean Potts, but no local teacher.
Now for my question: What am I doing wrong that makes me ache so physically, and will it ever go away? I suppose some of it is just using muscles and tendons that are out of shape/not used to being stressed so much. In particular the muscles of the back over the ribs (you know their names, Meir) and the outside of my top (left) wrist. I know that without a teacher to correct me I am picking up some bad habits. Or am I a fool torturing my 40-something year old body in this way. I guess I need some suggestion on posture, pacing myself, etc. and reassurance and encouragement from someone who’s been there!
Thanks for your help,
Rick
40’s a bit of a late start, but New York piper Bill Ochs wrote of teaching a fellow who started at 65, I think it was.
How long are you practicing at a stretch? An hour shouldn’t inflict pain on you, unless it’s a horrible tough reed, which will make you squeeze the bag harder than necessary and wear out your shoulder, give you twinges in the wrist, etc. There are various ways of making the reed easier to play, the simplest and least risky is to move the bridle (metal strip) down towards the winding of the reed, the string that is; or string that’s been wrapped in something, for instance white plumbers’ tape.
It is uncomfortable for a while at first, don’t squeeze the chanter any harder than necessary, try to concentrate on just keeping your fingers over the holes. Those NPU guys should tell you how it’s done.
hello, my name is Anthony and I’m also a pipaholic. I’ve been piping for 1529 days, and it hasn’t been easy. It took me a long time to realize that my denial that my lack of uilleann pipes was ruining my musical life.
One thing that is causing your problem is your brain. You even know what it is you’re doing because you said it yourself. The problem is that your brain WANTS to squeeze harder the higher and faster you’re playing. That’s what’s causing the cramps. There should be nothing fundamentally different going on below the elbow regardless of what register you’re playing in.
You’ll need to be conditioning your bellows muscles, but that shouldn’t be too bad nor take too long. The bag muscles, which require steady pressure applied at an unnatural angle, but you should not be in great or lasting pain.
You will have a tendency to tense up in odd places. As you’re playing, pay special attention to which muscles you’re tensing. Ask yourself what purpose that tensing is serving in your playing (if it hurts, you’ll probably discover that it is not necessary for playing) or if less pressure could get the same job done.
Where do you live Rick. I’m in Nashville. Perhaps I could help?
Well, if 40 is a bit late, then I guess I’m very late. I’ve been looking back at the half-century mark for a while now, and just got my half-set from David Boisvert. Lots of things should be started when young, but there are many reasons why we all wait. “So soon old, so late smart” as they used to say in my old German neighborhood. But, I’ll struggle on…I can’t make my family eventually order a tombstone enscribed, “He always wanted to play UPs, but never got around to it.” Hang in there buddy, play a little bit everyday and enjoy what you do!
rick,
look up 2 recent threads i started which generated some helpful advice:
“need help relaxing, not in any way OT”
and
“beginner advice about sitting”
relaxation problems are common in all instruments. there is a book all about that called “the art of practicing” or some such thing. i will try to get an author name.
can you get to the northeast tionol in october in north carolina? there will be lots of smart people who can help.
in the mean time, it sounds like you are doing incredibly well. it also sounds like you pushed yourself to some high register notes even faster than i did. the hard core experienced players would say we are moving to fast.
enjoy
meir
Thanks ya’ll for your suggestions and encouragement.
Glands, I’m in Knoxville, maybe we could get together sometime. Thanks for the offer.
Yes I AM registered for the East Coast Tionól, and am very excited to be going. Hope to meet a few of you there.
Thanks Meir; I’ll look up the threads. You may be right in that I may be moving ahead too fast. I believe it was Patsy Touhey who said that three months was not an unreasonable amount of time to practice the scale of D.
It’s never too late. Besides this may help prevent Alzheimer’s and is much more fun than crossword puzzles. If Séamus was right then in 21 years, I may have become a piper and have the time to play all day long in my retirement. 
Rick
oh, something else I remembered from practicing tips on other instruments - rest as much as you play. 20mins on, 20 mins off 20 mins on, 20 mins off (or whatever increment you choose)
Hello Rick,welcome,failte etc etc right, now thats out o the way lets get down to business.
Being told your a bit late to start at forty something is supreme arrogance so I would ignore that bit of ageism.
Without fail I have seen all beginers hold the chanter in some sort of vice like grip,relax your hold on the chanter.Try this …rest the chanter lightly against your fingers not holding it at all but resting on the fingers which are (of course) covering all the notes then open whichever holes ye like,play a scale ,a tune whatever.Ye will see that it is not necessary to GRIP the wee beastie in a death hold.
Sit in front of a mirror and make sure you are holding the chanter correctly.
Pain in the top hand could be from a top heavy chanter,most are,especially when ye have stop keys etc.I recently chipped a bone in my left hand ,I replaced the chanter head which is a beautifully crafted snakewood and ivory and silver stop keyed piece ,with a piece o hard plastic pipe (black o course for aesthetic reasons!!!) tied into the bag.It is so light by comparison and is much easier on my hand.When my bone is healed I might just keep it as it is.
10 minutes at a time when ye first start is plenty then rest ,give your tendons a chance to develope.
Lastly but most important… do not jerk the bellows or the bag for that matter..2 students I remember in the London Club did permanent damge to shoulder ligaments by violently jerking the bellows although they were warned not to…so there ye go happy pipering and remember your NEVER TOO OLD FOR ANYTHING.
Slan go foill
Uilliam 
..Liam
Thanks for the stuff you sent in the post, by the way…you’re a gentleman. Have resolved the drone reed problem to my satisfaction…[fiddled with a synthetic reed which Andreas sent] but I still have to get the tenor reg tuned in… yours and Andreas’s seem to play flat…
I move house tomorrow, so I guess it’ll be a week or two before I get back to it.
Boyd
Liam,
You sure I didn’t inflict those injuries for playing too slow 
Ah the good old days…
Alan
Rick, the hand cramping pain will subside.
Consistant daily practice in SHORT sessions (10-15 minutes) is better than one long session per week. It might be weeks and not days but lighten up on your grip and things will improve. Depending on your physical conditioning, you might want to do some motion exercises to loosen up the arms and shoulders before practice.
I’m off pipes for a short time due to a recent car accident that brought back shoulder pain from two earlier accidents. I snuck in a practice (against therapist’s recommendation) the other night and was suprised how weak my hands were. I soaked them in hot water and the pain quickly subsided.
That should serve as a warning to all of us: don’t play pipes while driving. 
djm
Hmmm… it does kinda read that way, doesn’t it?
Hi Rick,
Knoxville is my hometown! Next time I go home to visit the folks, I’ll have to bring the pipes with me so we can have a few tunes together.
Sorry to hear that you’re still having accident related problems, Tony.
Thanks Janice,
I’m currently getting ultrasound, acupuncture and deep massage therapy about 3 times a week along with some isotonic? exercises to help strengthen my arms and shoulders. All this therapy combined with vitamin supplements seems to be working very well. I expect to fully recover from this condition.
Thanks Boyd,erm my small reg plays in tune!! 
Alan.I never thought o that!!I thought the screams coming from the back room were from your pupils pipes …I’m not so sure now. 
Slan go foill
Liam
Any recommendations for exercises for newbies to strengthen our muscles, etc. while we are waiting for pipes? I play the whistle pretty frequently, so hopefully it will help with the grip. Based on the advice I’ve seen, I’ve been working on keeping my grip as loose as possible. :roll:
Any thing else that you would suggest in the interim?
-gary
Deep breathing. It may not help with the pipes, but its great if the telemarketing job falls through. 
djm