Thugamar Fien an Samhradh Linn

Uilleann Pipes
1

The title this thread is the first “slow Air” I have learned on the pipes. Along with learning my first “Air” comes another question about the fingering of the chanter.

**question:**Other than for the fingering for a lower D, do you ever have to close the last two holes on the chanter simultaneously? The reason I am asking is that when playing any other note, there is no tone change when I have them closed and actually I only close them for stability when playing up the Chanter.

Thank

2

Leaving the lower tone holes open is called open style fingering. Some chanters will support this and stay in tune, some won’t. You will want to learn to finger with all tone holes closed in order to be able to attain stacatto (closed) fingering, especially for speed and for ornamentation. But open fingering is valid, too. Also learn how to finger the notes with the chanter off the knee, as this gives you another tone option to add to your playing.

djm

3

I currently play a Seth Hammond made D Chanter, in less my ears are deceiving me (and they could) I don’t see a change in the tone when I play “open” or “closed” . I have played with the Chanter off the leg, but I prefer playing on the knee.

Thanks djm for your feedback.

4

Keith after your outburst to us on 30 Sep,who would ye like to receive advice frae? :confused:

ye said..]…“There are a few of you that I will continue to pm or email for advice,” …" Most of you could do yourselfs service by just being polite and answering a newbees question and drop that arrogant attitude"
Slán Agat
Uilliam

5

I was wondering the exact same thing…

6

He’s asking for advice here lads, let’s stay away from more flames please.

7

A valid point. However, what prompted the outburst was the result of frustration due to responses by others that weren’t very helpful, and even a little assinine.

Now, let us please get back to the topic.

8

To say a chanter sounds exactly the same when played closed style or open style does not seem possible. Get with another piper and listen to the difference from a few feet away.

9

Uilliam said:

Keith after your outburst to us on 30 Sep,who would ye like to receive advice frae

?
Peterwrote:

I think the general point was that you throw just so much shit at the very people you’re trying to get advice from, at some point though you won’t get their input anymore.

Oh how should I address this, I know I’ll just put it in a way that all can understand.

  1. When asking for advice prior to 9/30/05, I received more arrogant, none related to the subject responses than I cared to receive. When I ask a question on the forum, just please stay with the subject being asked and give advice directly related to the question in other words…just answer the F***'** question. (to the moderators, I am sorry for the language, but this is frustrating as all heck!)
  2. I know I said I would just email those I wanted suggestions from, but I am person who likes to give folks a second chance, I believe in people and know that everyone has those off days.
  3. I haven’t been on the UPs forum that long and could easily find those remarks I received that were off the subject and were just arrogant opinions and those who took the opportunity to take my thread and lead it totally in another direction.

I won’t be addressing this subject again. When I post and you don’t want to give advice then, by all means don’t, but if you choose to respond I respectfully request technical responses as they relate to the UPs and my question.

Thanks

10

in order for the sound vibrations to travel through the chanter correctly, one must keep closed fingering. Open fingering is ok, but closed sounds much better as far as quality of tone.

11

I would defintely recommend that you learn closed fingerings as your default. Without closed fingerings you can’t play staccato, triplets, crans or articulate your phrasing. It is more difficult - I came from the bassoon and sax and found it took a lot of getting used to - but if you don’t do it, I’m not sure it’s really piping.

12

Yep. Short answer to when you close both bottom toneholes at once is “whenever you are not playing an E”.

I agree, leave the ‘open’ fingering for later, otherwise you’re likely to form all sorts of bad habits. Make sure your fingering is deliberate as opposed to what happens to “apparently work”.

Normally you’d notice a big difference in tone between open and closed fingering. In the early stages, before you’ve mastered control of bag pressure, etc., it might not be as apparent how much difference it can make to tone and tuning.

Bill

13

Keith I don’t think there is a thread on this particular forum which hasnae and doesnae veer off the original topic and either does or doesnae return to it at sometime.
Take this particular thread o yours as an example..It is called Thugamar Fien an Samhradh Linn which lasted for exactly one sentence, then was changed by yerself to became another thread entirely on fingering :confused: A case o the pot calling the kettle black or what!!
The reason became apparent in yet another thread o yours when ye say that ye are having trouble putting your fingers on the bottom two holes,so what ye where in fact asking for is permission to skip the basic fingering technique.When ye didnae get that ye said …“I have decided to use the close technique and forcing myself to keeping my fingers on the two bottom holes…”..as though it was an option!!
Ye will find that even with open fingering there are notes that will require the little finger of the bottom hand to be left on the chanter.
On this forum we give advice freely and “generally” in a good natured manner.Advice and experience I might add which has been gathered in some cases over many years.It is not given as a right to anyone who asks it nor is it given in the expectation that it will be thrown back in the manner in which ye did.
On the occassions that the advice becomes a little less than,shall we say ,welcoming ,to the recipient, it may behove the recipient to look to what prompted the response in the first place!
It could be that ye are not hearing what ye want to hear,but unfortunately what ye need to hear.The arrogance then isnae with the advice given but with your rejection of it in the manner ye chose and continue to choose,if the last sentence of your post is anything to go by.
Slán Agat
Uilliam