Some chanters have a flat/slightly rounded tone hole surface…
..others have scooped out [“scalloped”] tone holes which allow fingers to sit easier.
So what is everyone’s preference??
[O’Briain makes scalloped all the time…Rogge makes both plain and scalloped..he told me recently that lots of pipers were asking for plain these days, but I personally have a preference for scalloped as I don’t have the fattest fingers in the world.]
Boyd. http://www.strathspeyinmay.com
A festival for adults to learn to play traditional music on traditional instruments in the Scottish Highlands.
[ This Message was edited by: boyd on 2002-05-16 10:15 ]
I have a Rogge D chanter which is scalloped. While it sits quite comfortably, I think the plain design gives you better control and feeling for the tone holes. Both designs have their ups and downs. My new B chanter will have plain holes.
Christian
Scalloped holes are not a comfort feature, they are a tuning device. Taking off more wood above the hole sharpens the bottom octave. If on a chanter styled for example on an early leo Rowsome design , the holes were not scalloped, the bottom octave would be extremely flat.
Brendan, would the reverse be true as well? That is, undercutting the tone holes flattens the first octave? Is this also done on a note-specific basis?
Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been away. Undercutting the tone holes towards the bottom of the chanter sharpens the upper octave. Undercutting towards the top sharpens both octaves.
I would agree that this DOES have an affect on the tuning of the chanter. However, I don’t believe it has a profound impact. In my experiences I have found scalloping to primarily be a “comfort” feature..and an aid to those that find it difficult to find certain holes. Coyne went so far as to actually place maple posts or bumps between tone holes to help people find their finger positions.
The problem with scalloping is that so few seem to actually know how to do it correctly. Many scalloped chanters I have seen have been scalloped so poorly, that it actually makes the chanter more difficult to play, cause leaking issues around the finger…or can even cause a player to adjust the way they hold their chanter into an unnatural and uncomfortable position!
From what I have been taught, and discovered (to my detriment) that scalloping is a tuning method. My old chanter (P.Hunter) was a plain stick. The wood was a wee fresh when it was made and disimproved over time. High A flattened and it was suggested at my own risk to bring down the A hole. It did the trick but also raised the low E to such an extent I had to narrow the bore between e and f hole, If only I had know about staple focus then!! Anyway, I have sat through a new chanter tuning session with Cillian (O’Briain) and noted the effect achieved through scalloping, and my O’Briain certainly has great stability aand reliability in tuning amongst the many other positive things. The only thing I found was getting used to the scallops, as finger leaks were a problem for a while