Why does my chanter sound like crap?

[chasem]

Gotcha, appreciate the info!



Sorry for shifting off-topic, Bren

[TheOfficialBren]

No offence taken whatsoever!

My question was answered. I have no qualms with this thread becoming a general discussion about chanters of all sorts now.

How do different chanters vary? Uillean chanters are mind boggling! As a I understand it they are very, very difficult to learn and only a virtuoso can master the Uillean Pipes.

Double pipes are interesting and sound gorgeous.

Which pipes in the Celt in vain are tuned lower the Highland pipes? I love the full, rich depth of lower pitches.

[OC Richard]

Which pipes in the Celtic vein are tuned lower the Highland pipes? I love the full, rich depth of lower pitches.

Well if we include in our "Celtic" designation bagpipes which have continuously survived from Scotland, Ireland, Brittany, and Northern Spain (Galicia and Asturias), that is, leaving out 'revived' species of bagpipes, the standard pitches High to Low go something like this:

Biniou (Brittany). This is, more or less, a half-size Highland pipe and plays in B flat, the same key as the Highland pipes, but one octave higher.

Gaita (Spain). The traditional pitch is C, one step higher than a Highland pipe, though pipes are nowadays often made in B flat (the same pitch as a Highland pipe) and one sometimes sees large Gaitas in Low G for playing a low harmony part.

Highland Pipes (Scotland). Traditionally around the pitch of B flat, nowadays a quartertone higher.

Uilleann Pipes (Britain and Ireland). Though one thinks of uilleann pipes today as being "Irish", in the 18th century the main centres of uilleann pipemaking were Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and London. The old traditional pitch is around C or B, nearly an octave lower than the Highland pipes.

Miniature Highland pipes (Scotland). Highland pipemakers have long made these, since the late 18th century at least. They traditionally are around one octave lower than the Highland pipes, in B flat, though sometimes in C and other pitches. A miniature Highland pipe chanter in B flat is one-half-step lower than an uilleann chanter in B, making it the lowest-pitched standard traditional "Celtic" bagpipe.

A Biniou, Highland pipe, and Miniature Highland pipe could play together in the same key in three different octaves!

Revival bagpipes:

Scottish Smallpipes. These were more or less invented in the 1960s by the Northumbrian pipemaker Colin Ross and usually are in the key of A, a bit over one octave lower than the Highland pipes.

Cornish Doublepipes. The Cornish Doublepipes created by Julian Goodacre are in low D, one octave lower than an uilleann D chanter, and perhaps the lowest-pitched "Celtic" bagpipe of all.

Here are the low D Cornish Doublepipes, played by their creator Julian Goodacre of Peebles, Scotland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdASMopIRL8