All but one.

A forum about Uilleann (Irish) pipes and the surly people who play them.
AaronFW
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Tell us something.: I started with playing bamboo flutes. But I transitioned to primarily playing the Boehm flute a few lessons ago with the aim of getting good music instruction. However, I've been transitioning to playing Irish Traditional Music on simple flutes.
Location: Ohio

Re: All but one.

Post by AaronFW »

tommykleen wrote:A “flat” B might actually be the product of just intonation and therefore blend better with the drones. Personally, a flat B drives me nuts, and I tend to leave my B on the sharp side, especially when playing with equal-tempered [there’s a joke in there] instruments.
What I thought was weird was that it wasn't a flat B, but a spot on B-Flat. Though I do agree with having drones. I tried some drones for the first time this past weekend and fell in love.

And this set seems equal-tempered. :-? awildman would know better than I do.
awildman wrote: I would tend to look first at bag technique or leaky fingers and branch out from there. You really need to nail down a local piper. :wink:
The answer I've come up with so far is that it might be bag technique. If I apply more pressure to the bag, I can relatively easily get it to go from B-Flat to a B. It isn't my favorite solution, but it is doable. Which brings me to the question for other pipers: is that normal? It seems like I have to apply a fair bit more pressure for the B than I do for other notes.
awildman
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Re: All but one.

Post by awildman »

It is designed to be in tune with itself. Not equal temperament.
AaronFW
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Tell us something.: I started with playing bamboo flutes. But I transitioned to primarily playing the Boehm flute a few lessons ago with the aim of getting good music instruction. However, I've been transitioning to playing Irish Traditional Music on simple flutes.
Location: Ohio

Re: All but one.

Post by AaronFW »

awildman wrote:It is designed to be in tune with itself. Not equal temperament.
Alright, good to know.
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dyersituations
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Re: All but one.

Post by dyersituations »

AaronFW wrote:And this set seems equal-tempered. :-? awildman would know better than I do.
It's safe to say that the chanter was made with just intonation. There are some chanters with equal temperament, but they are rare. In a basic sense, just intonation means that all of the notes on the chanter sound good with the drones. Equal temperament is how most concert instruments are made, so when compared with a chanter with just intonation there are some tuning differences. When I play my pipes in my band I typically have to tape 3 holes to get the tuning closer to the other instruments and singers.
AaronFW wrote:If I apply more pressure to the bag, I can relatively easily get it to go from B-Flat to a B. It isn't my favorite solution, but it is doable. Which brings me to the question for other pipers: is that normal? It seems like I have to apply a fair bit more pressure for the B than I do for other notes.
Without trying the set myself, it honestly sounds more like a reed problem, though not a reed problem I've encountered. The differences in pressure needed between notes is very subtle, and there shouldn't be any noticeably extra pressure needed between really any notes of the lower octave except the hard D. Getting to the second octave does take more pressure, but not as much as you probably think, at least that was something I learned when I was first starting. This is often where leaks become a problem, other than random squawks, since you need a closed chanter to more easily jump octaves.
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