What are your opinions on slow airs being played on a practise set?
What would be wrong with that ?! You don’t have to have drones to play a slow air properly. Listen to Ennis play “an droighnean donn” on the Return from Fingal cd…
Playing a slow air on a practice set makes perfect sense to me. Most, if not all, good sean nos singers don’t use drones. 
Any air can be played on a chanter with out drone and regulator accompaniment. This would probably be a good thing as you’ll be able to study and better understand the melody. Once you upgrade the set you’ll be in a better possition to experiment with drones and regulators without mudling the melody. I know of some perfectly good pipers out there who choose to do just to use the chanter (yes he can play the drones and regulators when he wants to). Have a listen to Paddy Meloney’s rendition of “The Wilde Geese” on the Chieftains Celtic Harp album. Excellent chanter work.
Here’s some good advice. Although it is possible to learn air’s and song’s from the manuscript, in my experience it sounds empty; as if an important part of its sole has been taken from the tune. I rembered trying this technique with the tune Danny Boy, which I played for Queensland M.P Bob Casey’ funeral. Although it sounded ok, to a well trained ear the song would have sounded soleless. I couldn’t work out what was wrong with it until I heared it song by a very experienced amateur at the Koroit Lake School. After the women had finished singing the song I attempted to render her version on the pipes, and strangely enough it worked. After all those months of playing it wrongly, it suddenly sounded right on the pipes. By all means learn from the manuscript but make sure you hear it sung or played on the pipes first, it sounds false otherwise (in my opinion).
Cheers L42B 
Well, how else are you going to learn them?
You can also humm a (D)rone accompanyment if you really feel the need. Or get someone to record a long CD of drones on their own.
That said, there’s nothing wrong with slow airs played all on their lonesome. They can be quite beautiful.
Hi.. Kenneth McNicholl sell such a CD, just drones in D…
you can see his site: http://www.kmbagpipes.com..
Sells? I was thinking more along the lines of someone from the board recording drones, burning them on CD and passing it along.