Hello.
I am an impatient grunt.
Yesterday I bought a practise chanter because I have a liking of slightly odd instruments and needed a new one for playing along with something in a band in Edinburgh later in the month.
IN the Tim Burton short, Vincent, I saw the main character playing something which sounded like a middleeastern instument but turns out, a chanter is near to what it actually is, whatever it is…I stray.
I have no intention on taking up any sort of pipes in the near future, I just want to know the technique to getting a decent consistant sound of of this pipe. I’m usually a strings player, guitar/badly played mandolin, but took up the sax a year ago and ocassionally tinker very very badly with tin whistles and medlodicas.
Firsltly, as I am unable to identify notes by ear, how do I find out what key this chanter is in? Which holes signify which notes - is there a chart I can download?
I’ve heard a clip of the sound it should make from here - http://www.hotpipes.com/PCsample.ra - I can occasionally get it to sound like that.
Should I be puffing away at this thing getting dizzy, because I am doing that at the moment and it’s not a lot of fun. How do I ensure a constant consistant flow of air so this thing sounds less like a Commadore 64 loading tape?
Many thanks in advance nice people of Chiff and Fipple!
That’s not much to go by. Are you sure it is an uilleann pipes chanter? If so, you will need a bag and bellows to go with it. It is not mouth-blown (which will ruin the reed). Best to get Heather Clarke’s Uilleann Pipes tuitor, which is a book and CD. Everything you want to know is in this slim little book, and since its a book’s worth of information you are asking for here, I suggest it is your best path.
Actually I think it’s a scottish highlands bagpipes practise chanter which you do blow directly into…should I have pasted this in another forum? Just thought that people may have had experience with other types of pipes in here.
Oh God. Not one of those highland practise chanters with the little sawn-off drinking straw reeds! I nearly blew my brains out trying to get that thing to go. If it is a highland practise chanter you have, then there may be a few GHB players here who can point you to the best path.
Yes it sounds like a GHB practice chanter.
Most of them are appallingly out of tune and require considerable pressure to achieve stability.
They are used as a tool to learn tunes and practice gracing patterns, I’ve abandoned them for my Deger E-Pipe, which is a joy to play and sounds great.
