Patrick D’Arcy states (in another post) a very good beginning point for Reeds 101:
I would strongly encourage the adoption of the notion that people who complain consistently about their reeds not working properly should be made look at their own playing habits and the conditions they are playing in. I have found that this is the reason that 99.9999999% of people have reed problems, assuming the reed is a good reed. I encounter people regularly whose pipes work very well but they can’t get a note out of them because they can’t figure out the pressure the set is happiest being played at or some other such excuse.
One nice thing about the uilleann pipes, it comes with a built-in screening device to eleminate those that shouldn’t even be playing the pipes in the first place!
I’ve heard plenty of stories about pipers immediately destroying their reeds simply by taking the windcap off…you gotta be careful with these things!
Brad Angus sez: “I can make pipes, but not pipers.” S’Truth!
Ok, I’ll try and keep this on topic and step out there (see if anyone takes a swing!)
From my limited experience, proper pressure is “enough to sound the note” then adjust the pressure to keep it in tune, but not too much so it sounds ‘overblown’ (if there is such a thing!) :roll:
It seems to me on the upper octave, that I have to increase bag pressure to keep sounding a note. It could be that this is just that it takes more air, so it seems that you have to gradually increase pressure to keep the note going.
Definitely reeds should be handled with care, and the windway cap should be removed with extreme caution. However, I think it is important not to be afraid of the reed, just make sure that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
After I played my chanter for a couple of weeks, I took off the windway, to see what the reed looked like and so I would know what the spacing of the lips were while it was playing well. I’m glad I did as a week or so after that, the reed started closing up. Since I knew what it looked like in good condition, I knew immediately what was wrong and a gentle squeeze on the sides opened it up and it played great after that (until the next major swing in humidity).
Perhaps I’ve just been lucky. Am I on the right track?
Oh mighty and wise pipers, please bestow your knowledge upon us poor newbies!
Once you have a good reed that works nicely, wether that be chanter, reg or drone, just leave the things alone. I do not make many reeds and dont think i’m a very good reed maker though I have made a couple of nice chanter reeds, more reg reeds and even more drone reeds.
All you should have to do on a chanter reed is make minimal (tiny) adjustments to the bridle. Also occasionally it may be necessary to rush the staple or the throat of the chanter if you suddenly encounter extreme humidity to stop “auto cran”. You should never remove any material from a nicely working reed unless you have others you can replace it with and you are positive that you know what you’re doing.
Reg reeds are a lot more forgiving as they dont have to jump the octave and you can tune them with the rush in the bore, though I apply the same rules as I do to chanter reeds.
Drone reeds I treat the same. If I have a nice sounding drone reed and it stops working, I put it aside. Because drone reeds are fairly quick to make I make a few and end up with one or two that work fine. My experience is that the original reed will usually come back to working nicely again.
I have two sets of pipes, one is about 8 years old and the other almost 4 years I think. They are both going with the original sets of reeds. I have made a few drone reeds for each and have a collection of reg reeds for each, all of which I do swap around occasionally (not between sets though as one is in b and the other cp). I have travelled extensivley with both sets from cold to hot and wet to dry climates without much bother at all. I always move the pipes carefully and try to introduce them to a new climate gently when I travel.
Having said all this, there are some days when the pipes just dont play well and it is best to leave them. I have found that extreme humidity is more likely to make the pipes unplayable than extreme dry.
Snoogie, If you have a good reed and chanter, the difference in pressure needed between octaves will get less (or at least seem that way) as you become more experienced. I think that you learn to play with slightly more pressure in the lower octave and slightly less in the second.
there is nothing like caution and patience when dealing with reeds. i’m still playing the drone reeds that came with the pipes. ['81 vintage] my chanter reed is 8 years playing having been made in 1991. kids, leave those things alone!
At the end of the day, it’s simply experience: I’ve been playing GHBs for twelve years and SSPs for (ackk) six; when it comes to finding my way around an Uilleann reed, I’m jiggered. I have no idea if the many little things that are going on are normal, un-normal, things I just have to learn to play around, or whether I need to be doing something about them. A lot of it is stuff that has to be looked at in person.
Moral: find a real person that knows their stuff, I think. Anyone know any UPers in the Scottish Borders?
Well, mostly no. You can sound the note usually with very little pressure…but that is not to be confused with fully blowing the chanter to the point where it (the reed) wants to be played. Many, many pipers I have encountered “under play” or under power their chanters. I would include myself in that category all too often. I have been thinking alot about this since having a great player (Isaac Alderson) play my chanter, and from listening to Joe McKenna’s “circle of sound” lecture. Isaac played my Rogge chanter at a session once, and by god (in his hands) it sounded very much like his Lynch chanter! He has a very consistent, almost overblown way of playing that gives this nice rounded sound. I think many chanters underblown give alot of flat Bs, Cs etc.
If your reed is acting up, tell your pipemaker about it. Travel the hundreds or thousands of miles to see him. The reed will perk up just as you take the pipes out of the case. Your pipemaker will compliment you on the great sound.
Just blowing off steam.
