mixed pipes

[auld argonian]

One thing that I've noticed when I look at pipe bands' website is that they usually spec exactly what chanter and reeds the band members should have.

This got me wondering...I can see how standardizing all the stuff would eliminate variables and make preparation for competitions easier...how it would give a "unified" sound, as it were....but what has been the experience of our piper members when they just get together and "jam" with others who have different set-ups than they have? Does it cause pleasant or unpleasant results? Are there harmonics set up that create dissonance or do things sort of fill in across a wider range or frequencies and timbres and give a fuller sound?

Best

AA

[haukehaien]

Different chanters and reeds tune at different frequencies; my Dunbar with a Chris Apps reed tunes right at A=472 Hz. If you're playing a different chanter and reed, we may not be able to be intune at all, although the level of difference can vary from "slightly off on one or two notes" to "oh please stop the horrible noise!" This is why pipe bands specify what chanter and reeds to use, and why band pipers often also have a separate solo chanter for playing when not with the band.

[Piobair]

A lot depends on the band in question. If a band is competing at the elite level (or aspires to that level), standardization allows chanter and drone sound to be as uniform as possible. The higher pitches go (and they've been climbing over the last 30 years or so), the harder it can be for a pipe section to blow a consistent, uniform tone. It would be next to impossible to expect 18 pipers to stay in tune if each were using different reeds/chanters, especially on a very hot or very wet day.

Some less competitive bands don't have the money, experience, or desire to get all of their pipers playing the same equipment. So while bands like Simon Fraser Univ. might be standardized almost to ties of their drone cords, its not unusual to see pipers in parade bands playing a wide array of different reeds and chanters - often what came with their first set of pipes. Not a bad thing, just makes it much harder to get everybody sounding the same.

As an instructor and a band player, I can say without any hesitation that bands that match reeds, bags, and chanters (I think SFU went so far as to go matching drones - but that could be wrong) make a huuuge difference when it comes to the overall sound quality of a pipe band and the time it takes to tune. Not only does the equipment help, but when a band commits itself to that level of professionalism, they become that much more dedicated to playing well.

[wgority]

I'm in a number of bands (P/M in one) and the three band chanters I use are as follows:
1-Dunbar poly with Soutar reed (plays at A=448)
2-McLellan poly with Apps reed (plays at A=460)
3-MacHarg with Gilmour reed (Plays at A=474)

Each of these chanters in addition to the obvious point of being not-in-tune with one another have verious colorings for the notes. The timbre that each has is distinct and unique. Each blends perfectly with its' fellows in the respective bands, but, obviously, would not play in tune with one another.

In the "jamming" circumstance put forward in the original question, the experience can be great or jarring-it depends.

[ccga3359]

How do you get two pipers in tune? Shoot one of them.

[beloitpiper]

What they said.