Bagpiping anyone?

**Mr. Woolery** · 4th April 08, 07:54 PM

Okay, sorry to be the voice of dissent. A cheapie practice chanter can be fairly decent. You will eventually upgrade, but I will say I would not buy one without trying it first. I've had a couple, played a few more. All of my (small) sampling were acceptably close to in-tune. Many of those who simply dismiss them have never tried one. But they have never been as good or as consistent as the first-world manufacturers turn out.

I play a Walsh standard practice chanter. I don't find the difference in scale length to be a problem with transition to the pipes. There is a much bigger culture shock with the hole size! Instead of 3/32", the holes can be over 1/4" and that's a big difference.

Chase- if you actually want to play the pipes, do it. Even among the kids who start out at age 6 and play all their lives, most don't become world class pipers. There's no point in putting it off if you want to do it. Find an instructor, though. Imagine trying to learn anything that requires a fairly precise level of coordination. Would you learn better from a teacher? Of course!

As to practice, I don't think it takes an hour a day for years on end to become decent. It takes focus in your practice (how many guys go to a gym for long sessions and don't get as much from it as someone who knows how to train can get in half the time?) and your teacher should be able to get you going in the right direction.

Anyway, Andrew's site is always required reading material for new and intermediate pipers. I don't always agree with everything there (I scrape my reeds mercilessly, no matter what his article on that says), but almost all of it I think is spot-on and all of it is valuable, without exception or disclaimer.

A practice chanter from a good maker will cost under $80 (mine was $65) and I know it is easy to drop that much on a dinner for two. I think everyone in the family gets more from my piping than we've put in monetarily. Just today, I played for my son's second-grade class. Again. They are all disappointed when they see me without a kilt. Fun kids. Several cheered when they saw me in my kilt today because they know it means bagpipes.

-Patrick

**highlander_Daz** · 5th April 08, 02:45 AM

Patrick, the debate wasnt about "cheapie" practice chanters, it was about P@kistani practice chanters, which as most half serious pipers know are rubbish.

Im all for "cheapie" chanters, subject to them playing the scale in tune and having a reed that doesnt squeal like a pig in a slaughterhouse . I cant see the point in paying a fortune for a PC, and Ive never tried a Walsh but ill take your word and id love to try one based on your reccomendation.

**Mr. Woolery** · 7th April 08, 07:19 PM

Well, all of the cheapies I have tried have been clearly of middle-eastern origin. In other words, I believe all of them were made in Pakistan. I don't want to make the mistake of coming across as promoting these products without disclaimer, but I've played several Pakistani practice chanters and not been anywhere near so disgusted as many pipers who don't seem to have even played one.

I have given away the Pakistani chanter I upgraded from, but at $15, it was a good value and well worth having for the first year or two I was learning. I got it from my teacher who buys from John Rosenberger, who has a long relationship with a particular manufacturer in Pakistan. My teacher's first set of pipes was Pakistani and worked fine until they were stolen several years after she learned to play. (Trivia- her first kilt cost the same as her first pipes: $40.) She's sold those Pakistani chanters for a couple of decades and it can be a cheap way to get someone started who isn't sure he/she wants to fork out too much early on to learn this instrument. It is probable that her supplier has the cream of the crop from his supplier and that many of the chanters on ebay may not be as well sorted for consistency. But I don't know for sure.

Most folks do upgrade in a year if they stay with piping. The scale is acceptable, but the tone is rather thin and uninspiring. Still, the cheapies play and get people on the pipes. And isn't that the important thing?

My GH pipes are McCallums and the CNC work doesn't seem to have hurt the sound or tunability of them. I'm not sure what the beef is with McCallums, but I've seen several folks poo-poo them. Thing is, I've heard more than a couple pipers who play for money (maybe not a living, but it is hard to make a living this way) say they play McCallum pipes over the more expensive makes for a variety of reasons. And nobody can say that with a quality setup they sound bad. The choice of drone reeds seems to make almost as much difference as the brand name of the drones does.

-Patrick

**AndrewLenzJr** · 9th April 08, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Woolery

Anyway, Andrew's site is always required reading material for new and intermediate pipers. I don't always agree with everything there (I scrape my reeds mercilessly, no matter what his article on that says), but almost all of it I think is spot-on and all of it is valuable, without exception or disclaimer.

Thank you, Mr. Woolery.
And don't feel bad about scraping, I scrape my own reeds as well!
(If it says on my site somewhere not to scrape, let me know and I'll fix that . . . I do know that I give voice to those who refuse to scrape, but I also give voice to the scraping advocates as well. I do my best to present both sides of any schools of thought and let the reader make up his or her mind.)

Andrew

**Dirk Skene** · 9th April 08, 02:19 PM

Go for it. I think it's cool you are learning. I haven't much time for anything new. So I'm a bit jelious

**KiltedKop45** · 7th June 08, 11:45 PM

A Very good site Indeed>

**jordanjm** · 8th June 08, 11:02 AM

I believe in supporting dreams. Learning to play the bagpipes is a big dream for many people. Let's focus for a minute on the fact that someone has taken a step toward their dream, and away from the e-bay Pakistani pipes.

Good for you!

**tomcherv** · 9th June 08, 07:43 AM

I'm restarting to learn.

I started about 12 years ago with a local pipe band, and paid about $70 for my practice chanter. Unfortunately, I was not able to dedicate the time, and the evenings they had classes became busy with something else.

I just pulled the pc out last week; it still works fine. I remembered most of the fingerings for the scale. I still have my lesson book, and found another online. I'm going to work on my own for awhile and eventually hook back up with the pipe band again.

I think working by myself will be OK, but then I have a very strong musical background, including several years of performing, both vocally and instrumentally.

By the way - I'm now 43. I know I'll never become a medalist, but that's not why I want to learn. I just like the instrument.

Thanks for the some of the links - I'm going to need to get some reeds. Don't laugh, but I'm going to make a set of pipes using PVC piping. (I found directions on the internet; the gentleman who posted them plays a set of Hardie pipes.)