Chiff and Fipple Forums

There's an article in an old An Piobaire which briefly describes how Medir, in Spain, harvested & prepared its cane. Vol. 1 # 7 page 57 (1971) Online at NPU's Website: https://pipers.ie/source/media/?galleryId=1010&mediaId=25883 Other articles about Medir & cane are in An Piobaire vol. ...

[Thread revival. - Mod] Well, I got my half set and my Arundo donax is now about 12' tall, so I got to wondering how to prepare the raw canes for reedmaking. Most of the cane that I have seen for sale is tan, not green, so I assume that it has been dried or processed in some way. Does anyone know w...

So how late in life can you start learning to play the fiddle? Anyone here started learning to play past the age of 50?

(I know... I know... You are supposed to start learning an instrument when you are a kid. It didn't happen.)

Also, in the absence of in-person lessons (or Skype lessons as offered by some instructors), Na Píobairí Uilleann's "Art of Uilleann Pipping" DVD series is a very good resource. In the US, you can order them from Ossian USA: https://ossianusa.com/ They seem to be out of Volume 1 at the mo...

If you only want to play nine notes, it's not limiting at all. If you want ten, or eleven, or twenty, it's very limiting. Precisely. Here is where I get branded as a heretic, I suppose, but rushing in where angels fear to tread... I have read that many years ago some of the smaller chapels in Irela...

OK. This isn't really about piping. That won't come for several years, I guess, but I just saw today that my Arundo donax has survived the Winter so far and is sprouting. Yea! But I guess it will be a long time before it's big enough to get reeds from. Now to find a decent used half-set for a reason...

I’m not sure where you live, but I’d caution against planting what is confirmed to be a quite-invasive species in your area (Arundo). Well... Not to worry. Actually, I have planted it in a very large (25 gal.) plastic pot. From what I read, any seeds produced will likely be sterile, as the plant no...

I have managed to get some Arundo donax from a fellow in Florida and I have planted it. We'll see how well that works. But even if it *does* work, it sounds like I have several years to wait before I get canes large enough to make reeds from, so I have a question... I am told that botanical "ex...

It depends where in the world you are. It does grow wild in warmer climates and I could never see anyone complaining if you harvest some for your own use. But, it does need to be dried correctly to achieve the correct hardness. I bought some a couple of years ago, and it’s struggled to produce anyt...

For you pipers who are growing your own arundo donax, where did you get it? I have looked around on the net, but all that I have found so far are variegated varieties, and I'm not sure that's what I want. I think it would grow where I live if I could find some. So where did you get the arundo donax ...

Peter Duggan wrote:You get a lot more than nine with a Lindsay System Chanter, which also still plays as a conventional nine-note chanter when you want it to.

Hmmm... So you can have Scottish smallpipes with a greater range? That is very interesting. I'll have to look into it further. Thanks!

Pipes and piping have been niggling at me for several decades. When my children were little, there was no question that getting a set of pipes was NOT going to happen. There was no money for it. But now the children are grown up and on their own and I am facing retirement. I expect that will mean a ...