Do you also find that you have to let off on the pressure for back D or else it sounds flat? It's different from a whistle where you can blow a flat note in tune by pushing a little harder. On my pipes anyway, if I blow a little harder on back D, it goes flatter. It's kinda weird really...going up the scale, and after increasing the pressure a bit for the upper half of the first octave, letting off really fast for the back D.
Pretty tough in a fast passage I imagine. Well, anyway, I've recorded a short bit of The Parting Glass, and I'll let ya all tell me what ya think. I'm sending it over to Tony at Clips and Snips.
Slán!
Bri~
New reed questions...
That's pretty impressive that DDaye would have 4 humidifiers going.
Brian, sounds like you're making great progress. Try to play an f# grace note in front of the high octave g...just a wee little f# first, barely perceptible, as you are lifting the two fingers to play the g when going up from G or any other first octave note. It is a useful trick that I use when the reed is requiring a little more pressure and it adds to the piping as well. I think S. Ennis did this a lot.
The other reed problem sounds like a low humidity issue and will get better soon or whenever you humidify the room.
Brian, sounds like you're making great progress. Try to play an f# grace note in front of the high octave g...just a wee little f# first, barely perceptible, as you are lifting the two fingers to play the g when going up from G or any other first octave note. It is a useful trick that I use when the reed is requiring a little more pressure and it adds to the piping as well. I think S. Ennis did this a lot.
The other reed problem sounds like a low humidity issue and will get better soon or whenever you humidify the room.
My bit of 'The Parting Glass' is up on clips and snips, and it doesn't sound nearly as good as I thought it did when I played it at first. Oh well! Mirrors and digital recordings don't lie! LOL!!!