In about two months I will be leaving the East Coast and returning to my home state of Colorado. With my pipes. One of my piper friends from around here has pointed and laughed at me, saying that my reed will shrivel and die in the dry CO weather.
Is there anything I can do to prevent this? Is there a chance it might be fine? It’s a Koehler reed that survived a New England winter, and I never kept it humidified since I couldn’t play in a humidified area anyway. Is there some kind of piping god I can pray to who will keep my reed happy if I sacrifice enough squirrels? Any advice, stories, snide laughter, would be welcome.
Har har hardy har har snorkle har har (wheeze) snorkle har!!! hack!!! Har har har… ugh, choke…
…how’s that?
Wait until you get to Colorado, allow the reed to settle in and take it from there. It would be a pity to lose a good Koehler reed, but, as it hasn’t happened yet, I wouldn’t worry too much about the possibility. In the mean time, get in touch with the mighty Mr. K and ask his advice, or perhaps get him to make a ‘Colorado Reed’ for you.
I recommend you talk to Eric Olson in C. Springs. He is pretty good at making UP reeds work in the dry, high climate.
You can always humidify one room in your house and make it your music room and only play your pipes in that room. Not much fun for sessions, but it could be really rewarding for you personally.
Yes, we Colorado pipers are all trying whatever we can to beat the arid situation. Most of us are learning to make reeds. Even after having made a few reeds that play, I’m still learning, if you know what I mean. If you haven’t yet, you should at least call Seth Gallagher or Tim Britton about buying reed-making tools, so that when you have time, you can begin the learning process.
When you get out here, I’m sure you will get to meet Eric Olson, Bill Tiernan,
and all the rest of us.
