Practice Chanter

Boody · Post by **Boody** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 7:34 pm

I am new to pipes and want to buy a practice chanter. Does anybody have any recomondations? I am fairly poor so nothing too pricey. Also, is there a key that is standard like D is standard for whistles? Thanks.

Lexxicos · Post by **Lexxicos** » Wed Feb 21, 2007 8:19 pm

They all come in key of A=440, some may come in A=466, but this is probably very rare. Most don't use the PC as an actual instrument, so no one really worries about what key it is in or whether or not it meshes well. However, I would recommend you steer clear from the real "Cheapo" brand PCs, they're not worth it. Off pitch and the finger spacing and hole size won't help you either for gracing on real pipes. I recommend Gibson's chanters, I have one, Regular Length Polypenco $55, and its quite nice. The "Long" chanters also help with the actual spacing on the pipes. Almost all of these should be more than satisfactory:

http://www.bagpipes-henderson.com/buy/p ... _poly.html

Celtic983 · Post by **Celtic983** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 7:55 am

I wouldn't get a "regular" length practice chanter. As mentioned before the long chanter better simulates the actual Highland Bagpipe Chanter spacing. The other thing that I would look for is countersunk holes. Again, it makes the practice chanter more like the "real" one. I believe the maker that lexxicos suggested, the gibson long, has all of these features. However, I think you can find the same chanter for a bit cheaper

http://www.aberdeenbagpipe.com/store/chanters.html

Its around $80 there. Don't waste your money on a blackwood practice chanter. They are nice to look at, but in reality, sound just like a plastic one. Save your money for your pipes

kmag · Post by **kmag** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:53 pm

Hello,
I am not sure if you are looking for a practice chanter for GHB or others. I know that you can get a practice chanter for small pipes that is also the chanter for the set of smallpipes. That is, a chanter that is made into a practice chanter and also attaches to a set of smallpipes if and when you decide you are ready.
I know Mark Cushing makes these and a search for smallpipes will reveal others.
Kurt

Lexxicos · Post by **Lexxicos** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:21 pm

kmag wrote:Hello,
I am not sure if you are looking for a practice chanter for GHB or others. I know that you can get a practice chanter for small pipes that is also the chanter for the set of smallpipes. That is, a chanter that is made into a practice chanter and also attaches to a set of smallpipes if and when you decide you are ready.
I know Mark Cushing makes these and a search for smallpipes will reveal others.
Kurt

This is probably a chanter for what is known as a "Practice Goose", or that is what most readily springs to mind for me. Regardless, they are used as practice for bag control before the GHB, and regardless of whether or not the chanter connects to a bag, it is the same fingering system and style. SSP and GHB may vary slightly in embellishment and use, but in the end one can relatively easily switch between them. Also, the GHB is the only bagpipe (at least that I know of) that utilizes a practice chanter. As such, I guess it doesn't matter which one you choose, just as long as it will help you in transition to the GHB, finger wise. As such, your best bet is polypenco. Anything from a wood like Rosewood or Cocobolo that costs 12 bucks is not worth it, nor is a Blackwood chanter that costs 200.

kmag · Post by **kmag** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 9:59 pm

The practice chanter I am speaking of has a top like a practice chanter that can be removed and the chanter is then put on a set of smallpipes, the same chanter. They are interchangable. Making for a very easy transition between pracice chanter and set of pipes. These are available for smallpipes, I don't know about the great highland bagpipes.
Kurt

Lexxicos · Post by **Lexxicos** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:08 pm

kmag wrote:The practice chanter I am speaking of has a top like a practice chanter that can be removed and the chanter is then put on a set of smallpipes, the same chanter. They are interchangable. Making for a very easy transition between pracice chanter and set of pipes. These are available for smallpipes, I don't know about the great highland bagpipes.
Kurt

For all intents and purposes, in learning them, SSP and GHB are the same instrument.

For me, at least, the hard part about the GHB was the endurance to play it, a set of SSP does not mimic that, only pressure regulation, which does not do the GHB justice. Basically, one just blows into a GHB bag as hard as one can for pressure regulation, at the start of learning them at least.

For this reason, I would simply suggest a quality, affordable practice chanter, and then move onto GHB afterward. If you want to play SSP after PC, then by all means, jump on the Goose.

Yuri · Post by **Yuri** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:13 pm

Lexxicos, completely off topic. Every time I come across one of your posts I involuntarily shy back at the photo. is it you? or is it someone else? If it's you, my sincere apologies.

Lexxicos · Post by **Lexxicos** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:22 am

Yuri wrote:Lexxicos, completely off topic. Every time I come across one of your posts I involuntarily shy back at the photo. is it you? or is it someone else? If it's you, my sincere apologies.

Ah. It's some random person. Thanks for asking though. I was thinking I should get a better one... This 'un doesn't really suit me.

Yuri · Post by **Yuri** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 2:46 am

Perhaps something more swelte - note the wobbleyou in the aristocratic spelling...

Celtic983 · Post by **Celtic983** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:59 am

kurt,
I think I have somtihing similar to what you are talking about
http://www.hotpipes.com/kpipe.html
They don't help with endurance but the do help to bring out the music in tunes as I am practicing.

AaronMalcomb · Post by **AaronMalcomb** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:33 am

A good plastic PC is fine. The Pak-A-Way Practice Chanter has received some great reviews by good pipers. Any of those from Lexxicos' link are good too. For the extra money a long PC is worth considering but not crucial. Most are tuned around the Bb of a tenor drone but there are some in A.

As for SSP chanters, they tend to have different hole spacing than PCs. The holes are further down the chanter and the bottom hole is a noticeable stretch, even for a long fingered person like me. So birls take extra effort at first. The other factor is that the chanter is the same octave as the tenor drone so a lot of low hand technique is muffled. So most good SSP players don't just play tunes as they would on the GHB.

The use of arm pressure is crucial to good tone on any bagpipe, even the GHB. While the GHB probably requires more blowing strength than most pipes, the majority of the pressure should be managed by the bag. The 'goose' is a good teaching tool in that regard, getting the student in the habit of squeezing the bag whereas blowing is the big focus when first playing the big pipes.