Ignorant Interrogative

[morgan]

A question from a non-piper:

Is the finger of the pipes the same as that of the pennywhistle? And if so, what is the equivalent stretch of the fingers (i.e., G whistle, low D, or whatever)?

Another question: is there such a thing as a "good" practice chanter (both in terms of quality and sound) for a beginner?

Many thanks.

[Lorenzo]

The Bb whistle has often been preferred by some of the pipers I've known because of it's of similar size and finger stretch. It's my favorite. Some D whistle players find it difficult to get up to speed on the reels when switching over to the Bb, so it might be a good challenge.

The fingering is basically the same, except there's a thumb hole (back D) and an Eb which gives all four fingers (not thumb) a position with the right (lower) hand. It's more complicated than that though. With the uilleann pipes, it's important to know closed-hole fingerings to bring certain notes into proper tune, otherwise the note may be flat.

There's several good makers of practice chanters. One of them would be Patrick Murray http://www.thepiperscut.com/thepipes.htm who comes with good recommendations...short waiting time and inexpensive, but a quality instrument made of Delrin (nothing wrong with that particularly).

Come give it a try!

[Pipey]

Lorenzo, I was interested in your answer on the whistle. I want to get my nine-year old going on the whistle to prepare him for the pipes, assuming he wants to (of course!). Question: should I get him a Bb to start with instead of a D? I don'tl play whistle so the answer may not be obvious to me. Any advice would be apprciated. Thank you.

[Bill Reeder]

I'm not Lorenzo, but I would venture to say that a Bb whistle would be too large for a nine year old's hands. A D whistle should be okay. Smaller whistles are available as well which will allow smaller fingers to reach and cover the holes. They do, however, tend toward being on the shrill side.