I play a Bruce Childress practice set that I got about 20 years ago. Before I go on, let me say this is a wonderful set. The chanter is beautifully made and comfortable, and the sound is very nice. Bruce does nice work.
Unfortunately, I have never played my pipes as much as I would like (a combination of playing other instruments and frustration with reed problems). I really like the set, but the reed has always been very loud and required a tremendous amount of effort. Recently, I decided to put in more time on the pipes and have attempted some very minor reed adjustments. I figure the potential of damaging a reed or 2 isn’t that bad when the alternative is to watch my pipes gather dust.
After adjusting the bridle and pinching the lips a bit, the sound is mellower and sweet, and I can play effortlessly. In fact, I hit the 2nd octave too easily at this point.
But I now have a serious problem with my C#. It’s not just flat–it is playing a C natural (C natural fingering also plays a C natural in tune). My back D is in tune and solid. Every note except my C# is in tune. This wasn’t an issue before my “tampering” so I’m certain it’s not a problem with my C# finger hole (some recommendations have been to enlarge the finger hole).
I haven’t seen any advice or articles specific to an isolated flat C#. Have any of you encountered this? Do you you have any advice? (Pinching, sanding, scraping?) I am ordering a new reed but would like to try to get this one back into working condition. It has a nice tone and I figure this is a good learning experience.
There are a few things to try.
Try more pressure on the c#. If the back d is good you can push your reed in a little bit, then tape your back d. Maybe see if the bridle is crooked.
That’s all I can think of.
Thanks for the suggestion, Pyper. No luck yet, but I need to put in a little more time trying different adjustments. If anything, it’s a learning experience.
I’ve moved the bridle up, moved the bridle down, and pinched the bridle. Raised the reed so it was seated higher and lowered it to be seated lower. I’ve managed to flatten the back D, but can’t seem to raise the C# to be in tune.
When adding pressure, the C# actually goes more flat (same with the back D now).
The closest I’ve gotten is when the lips were very narrow, I could only play (very easily) in the 2nd octave and the 2nd octave C# was in tune.
I’ve tried all the basic adjustments. Is there anything I can do that is a bit more advanced/risky? Are there any special sanding tweaks to be made? I just can’t get this C# to come back up to be in tune.
By your description the problem with the C# started when you tried to adjust your reed to play with less pressure… have I read you correctly on this point ? If this is the case then it might be that you are now pushing the C# note down in pitch because the reed was profiled ( and designed ) to use a heavy pressure and closing the lips has denied it the working space it needs.
It is quite difficult to assess what is going on by reading someone’s description… but it sounds like you are lost, up sh*t creek, once you start adjusting a reed away from its happy place .
You need to find yourself another piper to try the chanter, two heads are better etc, or send your chanter to a competant reed maker and ask for a new reed that plays more easily… then you can start adjusting all the other reeds to suit.
Trying to cure a ‘just one note’ problem in isolation and taking advice from an internet forum is asking for more trouble!
Yes it is possible that your reed could be made to play at a more resonable pressure, but not by SANDING. Sanding is too general a removal of material. Local, delicate , removal of cane from the SCRAPE area might relieve the pressure whilst keeping enough blade elevation for all the notes to work.
One test; blow the chanter as lightly as possible and play the C#… does the pitch rise at all as the pressure is decreased ? Does the note then refuse to play before you get any large change in pitch ? If so your reed head is too stiff, too strong for the closed up position imposed on it.
Some local scraping of the reed could be tried. Note that the profiled outside faces of reed heads are called 'THE SCRAPE" not THE SAND… a small knife or blade is traditionally used to locally profile and finish a reed. This is a skill that every piper ought to try to master.
PS: sorry not a tirade aimed at you personally but at the general piping community.
Thanks for the advice. I have been looking at a variety of sources on scraping/sanding, including this http://www.hartdd.com/reedmaking/reed7.html, and will continue to experiment. The technique shown here is why I was wondering about sanding. I am not afraid to cause a bit of damage to my 2 current reeds because they have been quite difficult to play so no loss. I consider this educational. Unfortunately, buying a new reed is proving just as difficult.
I agree that people who play the pipes should know some basic reed maintenance. (Likewise, I can adjust a bridge on a guitar and tune out-of-key notes on a piano.)
Unfortunately, I’ve seen quite a few people say you shouldn’t attempt these reed adjustments unless you know what you’re doing. However, you’ll never know what you’re doing until you’ve attempted these adjustments. Perhaps someone should sell cheap, low quality “beginners reeds” that are intended specifically for reed adjustment training.
Anyway, I worked on the side scrape and did some sanding. As you had described, when I let up pressure, the flat C# begins to rise while adding pressure causes it to become flatter. I sanded at the top to thin the lips and then I moved the bridle to open the lips some. Before any of my adjustments, when the reed was in tune but nearly impossible to play, the bridle sat well up into the scrape. Now I can place the bridle lower (below the scrape) without the lips completely closing. I will test and tweak these adjustments later this afternoon.
Success. Scraping and sanding brought the C# back up close to where it should be. Not perfect, but a definite move in the right direction. Now to try this with my other reed.
I still need to buy a couple new chanter reeds, but this has been a good learning experience. And now I can play while I wait for new reeds to arrive.
You might also want to check the air-tightness of the reed, by covering the lips with your finger and inhaling through the staple. It should be airtight. I noticed that when my old reed was having the same problem it was leaking a bit through the side edges.
If you want to practice scraping that much you might as well start learning how to make reeds
