Chanter help

[Phil Wright]

I consider myself averagely musical, so after my recent trip North I decided to invest in a practice chanter, (not a very expensive one though.) The reed sound is fine but I cannot get any other 'notes' out of it. What am I doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have 2 weeks left before back to work with my wife out of the house. If I can practice enough to get something vaguely musical I may get to pipes stage 2, but if not.......
Cheers.
Phil

[Conroy]

Hi Phil,
I can not help with your other note problem. But I have the solution to practicing with the wife in the house. I use the Ross electronic Bagpipe/Practice Chanter. You can use it as a practice chanter or turn on the drone tones. I can use it with ear buds, which may have saved my marriage. Also I can practice longer with out running out of wind. When the wife is out of the house I do practice with a regular chanter and also the full set of pipes.
Regards
Conroy

[Kilts_Knave]

http://www.hotpipes.com/practice.html

What you need is the Green Tutor. If you speak with a professional musician, or one that is degreed, we will tell you --do no attempt without an instructor. Most pipe bands offer instruction free of charge --just show up at their rehearsal and promise to practice. I am just beginning myself. I have my first lesson on Tuesday!

[cavscout]

I'm guessing at the problem but as I recall from my first attempts, you may need to "condition" the reed a bit by gently pressing in on the edge to shape it into an eye shape. Be very careful not to over curve it. You may also need to soak the reeds in water for an hour or so if you are using wood reeds. Another reason could be you are blowing too hard. As the reed gets conditioned it will be much easier.

Another un-related tip would be to find a bag of Orthodontic rubber bands like are used on Braces for the teeth (not sure what they are called in England ) These are great for making subtle changes inthe pitch of the reed and extending the life of your practice reeds.

Hope these help. If not tell me a bit more about the chanter and yor technique and I may be able to pin point something else. Also check out the college of Piping if you haven't already. They have some great books to help you out.

[jjoseph]

http://www.hotpipes.com/practice.html

What you need is the Green Tutor. If you speak with a professional musician, or one that is degreed, we will tell you --do no attempt without an instructor. Most pipe bands offer instruction free of charge --just show up at their rehearsal and promise to practice. I am just beginning myself. I have my first lesson on Tuesday!

I just started in a kilt band a month ago. The Green book is THE standard from what I've read and what I've been told. My problem is getting the notes out while keeping my fingers straight and using the pads between knuckles instead of my fingertips, like I would playing other woodwinds. I never seem to make a good seal on the fingerholes. Grrr.

.
Another un-related tip would be to find a bag of Orthodontic rubber bands like are used on Braces for the teeth (not sure what they are called in England )

Agreed. All the folks in the pipe band here use the rubber bands. I think they are called 'chipmunks' or something like that. I remember the name made me think of fat-cheeked rodents.

Best of luck and I second the find a group comment, even if you have to travel a bit... nothing substitutes for seeing and hearing another player work on the same piece and the helpful hints from bandmembers you'll get which aren't in any book are invaluable.

[Phil Wright]

Thanks very much all... I'll have to do a bit of research now to find out any players in the area; Good luck to other beginners too.
Phil

[Iolaus]

I consider myself averagely musical, so after my recent trip North I decided to invest in a practice chanter, (not a very expensive one though.) The reed sound is fine but I cannot get any other 'notes' out of it. What am I doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have 2 weeks left before back to work with my wife out of the house. If I can practice enough to get something vaguely musical I may get to pipes stage 2, but if not.......
Cheers.
Phil

Do you mean you get nothing when you assemble the chanter, or you only get that one note? If it's just the one note, did you remember to cover the thumb hole?

I know it's basic, but I've seen that mistake made on other woodwinds.

[cavscout]

That's a good point. The Chanter sounds the note of the highest uncovered hole.

[Phil Wright]

Yep, just getting the same sound as the reed out of the chanter- with a bit more depth!!! It's not the finest manufacturing so it's probably a case of you get what you pay for but I would have thought I should be able to get notes out whatever?
Phil

[Iolaus]

Yep, just getting the same sound as the reed out of the chanter- with a bit more depth!!! It's not the finest manufacturing so it's probably a case of you get what you pay for but I would have thought I should be able to get notes out whatever?
Phil

If you're getting sound out of the chanter then about the only things I can think of would be either a huge crack in the body (which you would've noticed, so thats not it) or you're not getting a perfect seal over the tone holes.

Do you at least have an instruction book? If not, and if you don't know wind instruments, (if you do, this will be insulting) remember the basic concept: you change tones by making the tube longer and shorter; you do this by closing and opening holes. That means, in order to get a certain note, all holes between the reed and the last hole covered must be sealed. There are exceptions such as half-tones and higher registers, but that's what you need to know to get started.