My Pre broken in practce chanter

[craigclan]

I have aquired a poly McCallum long pc4 practice chanter and a copy of the green book . i am so excited to start this new journey and learn the pipes . The last time i played anything was in grade 8 music class so we will see how this goes . I hope my teacher is ready for this lol . Anything i should expect or know to make this easier on both me and my teacher lol

[Macman]

That PC should do you fine. Good luck and enjoy the journey!

[unixken]

When it was new, it was new.
Once it had been used for a while, it became broken in.
The prefix "pre" generally means "before".
"Pre broken in" = before being broken in.
Congrats on the new chanter.

[tulloch]

Be patient. You have a good instrument so no problems there. Any difficulties should be with technique or setup. Take tiny steps. Don't expect miracles. Put in an hour a day or more if you can. You will see good results and steady progress. Go to events where pipes are being played. Listen. You should be able to look back with satisfaction soon.

I have been enchanted with every bit of progress since I started three years and two months ago. I have played in a school and at two funeral-related ceremonies. I can entertain myself and others. I play parades and have played competition. Never been happier with a decision.

[pbutts]

Find a way to practice in front of a mirror. The hardest thing in the beginning is getting your fingers in the right place and keeping them relaxed but fairly straight.

Get a journal and keep track of the successes...

[EagleJCS]

Aye, keep your hands as relaxed as possible. Get used to feeling the PC vibrate under your fingers. All you want to do is cover the finger holes, not fill them. If you get little round indentations on your fingers, you're gripping too hard.

Go slow. Make sure you're doing the movements correctly before trying to speed them up. You're teaching your hands and forearm muscles these movements, and having them learn the wrong movements now will mean that much more time for them to unlearn and learn the correct movements later.

Record yourself playing and listen critically to the results. You may not hear any inadvertent bloops or bleeps while you're playing, but may in the playback.

Have fun, and welcome to the obsession!

[Destin_scot]

All good advice, and practice, practice, practice...build up the muscle memory

[OC Richard]

Having a good reed makes a huge difference.

The reed that came in my McCallum long practice chanter was horrible.

I immediately replaced it with the reed in the link below. It works fantastic in the McCallum long. It's made by John Walsh from Nova Scotia

http://nwbagpipes.com/index.php?main...FDnGbJtehSmgb1

A practice chanter doesn't have to sound like a kazoo or a duck call! It should be in tune and have a nice tone.

Good luck! 40 years ago this year that I got my first practice chanter. It was several years before I missed a single day practicing. It takes fanatical dedication to get any good, for most of us.

[Derek Conley]

Having a good reed makes a huge difference.

Oh so true! Some reeds are a devil to deal with, and a simple swap can make the entire experience so much different and better. Awesome advice.

[craigclan]

I don't know what kind of reed he is sending he just said he would throw one in
Any suggestions on how I tell the difference or what I should buy for a good starter reed