(the audience for this question is current 'whistle players vice bagpipers, so posting in the 'whistle forum instead)
The pipemaker Seth Hamon, specialising in uilleann and Swedish bagpies, recently worked up molds to cast resin Swedish sackpipa of great affordability. While Seth and I were talking shop, we found a mutual interest in the “recreated” “Zetland pipes” we’ve both owned. I noted that those pipes, single-reeded, one drone bagpipes in D, had come with instructions to convert them to Dmaj open fingering, such as found on a tinwhistle, and could also cinch up the drones to get to E Dorian (that omnipresent Irish minor with the sharp 6th).
Seth noted that it wouldn’t be terribly difficult to just use the same drone (which plays D or E) as he already has molds for, same blowpipe assembly, and then just design a chanter (taking the same single-reed as a sackpipa) that fingers in open Dmaj. Such a product, though limited to an octave, would be in the right keys to play a large portion of ITM tunes, and also would have a sound very distinct from most pipes due to its single-reed chanter. It would use fingering very similar to the tinwhistle, but be far less expensive and complex than an uilleann pipe.
Sean was cool with me tossing the idea up on some forums for some brainstorming, so had a few questions:
Do folks see tinwhistlers as a potential market, to the point that the open-fingering would be the way to go? The ornaments of tinwhistling are greatly different from GHB/SSP ornaments, but as I understand it bear much resemblance to uilleann technique. This instrument would theoretically be a very easy “crossover” bagpipe for 'whistlers.
Any argument at all against scaling the chanter for Dmaj/Edorian for Celtic musicians? The only issue is that a Cnat hole, or tuning bead, would add a ton of versatility by allowing play in Em and Dmyxo. The only downside is that, visually, the chanter would have to visually resemble a sackpipa in order to get the double-holing (or at least that’s one way to do it), whereas if it were just a straight Dmaj it could look more “Western/Continental”.
Should the lowest note be the D, or should there be a C or C# leading hole?
Any idea on how to best target this product? To one degree ITM players may find it appealing, but the downsides are that ITM often uses 1.5+ octaves. Also, arguably, ITM folks are “picky about tradition”, but given their swift adoption of bozouki, tenor banjo, and the dubious historiocity of the bodhran, that seems more a claim than a fact.
Any brainstorms on this potential project of Seth’s would be great, and I’ll run it by some other trad music forums to get some additional ideas.
I’d say put in the leading tone and also a R thumb hole. The user can always tape over the thumb hole.
I’m not sure I understand how your proposed instrument differs from a mouthblown Scottish Smallpipe. It sounds like you’re talking about a D chanter, is that right? It would maybe work for a session, with a lot of octave jumps, but the tunes wouldn’t sound right that way for solo practice.
A right-thumb hole would be a good way to get a flattened third, though the only downside of that is that it’s not a fingering familiar to 'whistlers for that note. But like you say, it can be plugged/taped if someone doesn’t like having that option.
I’m not sure I understand how your proposed instrument differs from a mouthblown Scottish Smallpipe. It sounds like you’re talking about a D chanter, is that right?
It would differ in a couple major ways:
Single-reeded chanter, vice the double-reed found in the SSP. So that makes some difference in tone and handling. Here’s a bellows-blown sackpipa (with added modern bass drones): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUfRdzVmmJs
In Dmaj (sharp 7th) vice the D Myxolydian (flattened 7th) of a D-chanter SSP.
Specifically designed for open fingering, vice the forked fingering of the SSP. I understand that some SSPs, depending on manufacturer, actually finger decently open due to bore differences from the GHB, but this chanter would speficially be made around open, 'whistle-style fingering, though of course the cross-fingerings and half-holings wouldn’t necessarily be applicable.
So some noteworthy differences from an SSP, and at this point only with one same-octave drone.
I’d love an inexpensive D chanter plus D/E drone with whistle fingerings but I’d be somewhat concerned with the octave range. So much of the Celtic repertoire wants a bit more range. One could adapt of course and at the right price break I might be willing to. I’d prefer bellows blown for a variety of reasons though I’m sure that would raise the price.
Yes a leading tone or lowered leading tone and a flat third on the right thumb would be good.
If there is no cross fingering for an upper C natural perhaps a left thumb hole for the C nat or use of recorder fingerings (horror ) for the C C# and D might work.
Bellows: Seth does also make bellows, though I imagine adding bellows would add at least $200 to the price of the pipes. Though I’d imagine that for folks who already own bellows pipes it may be possible to just put the blowpipe stock on the side and plug one’s own bellows in (diameter permitting)
Right thumb: there doesn’t seem much reason not to have a right thumbhole for the flat 3rd, being that anyone who doesn’t want that deviation from 'whistle fingering could just plug the hole and not use it.
C#/Cnat: I’d think it’d be best to keep the left thumbhole for the octave, again to minimise deviation from 'whistle fingering. As I understand it, Seth would have little/no trouble getting a double-hole on the 7th (as are found on sackpipa), but the “tradeoff” would be that the chanter would have to resemble a sackpipa chanter, with dishings-out for the fingers. Not necessarily a huge deal unless folks would find the cosmetics/feel offputting. I can ask him if there’s any other option (tuning bead, non-simultaneous double holes one of which is plugged, etc) which can be used, as it’d be kind of neat to have a more tubular whistle-ish profile. Actually, would be kind of neat to have a downward tapering profile (Clarke-style), though not sure if that’s be too much hassle to design.
The concerns in your last sentence are quite unnecessary. Practically nobody who wants to play Irish music is going to want to adopt an instrument with a range of one octave, except possibly those who play in groups and might like the texture for the odd song or tune that it would suit. I wouldn’t waste any more time on the project if I were you.
If you’re using smallpipe reed/bore design, a chanter that fingers “the same as a tinwhistle” (has the same six holes as the whistle) wouldn’t have a range of an octave, but only a range from Bottom D to C (sharp or natural, depending on the placement/size of Hole 1).
Smallpipe reed/bore design is resistant to “breaking the octave” therefore to get a full octave D-d you would need a thumbhole. So, the idea that this smallpipe would finger “the same as a tinwhistle” has to go out the door.
Smallpipe reed/bore design is very forgiving of alternate fingerings and any Scottish Smallpipe can be played with open fingerings, with only a small effect on tuning. Chanters always require a bit of fine-tuning anyway, so there’s no reason that anybody can’t just purchase an ordinary SSP and use open fingering and whistle ornamentation on it.
There have been many threads over the years on various forums including the non-uillean forum here about using SSPs in an Irish session. It all boils down to this, as I recall:
a vast number of ITM tunes are playable as they stand, or are easily adaptable, to the range of an SSP.
however to get the tunes to sound in the usual session keys, one would need SSP chanters in various keys. To play the vast majority of the ITM session repertoire one would need SSP chanters in D and G Major and E and A dorian. All chanters could well be played in a set having drones in D, as the uilleann pipes play in all these keys (and more) over D drones.
gaining acceptance of SSPs in normal ITM sessions might be difficult, as there are unwritten “rules” as to what instruments are acceptable ITM instruments. Of course this depends on the makeup of each individual session, but the people who are very serious about ITM session playing have definite opinions about which instruments are suitable. Good musicianship trumps all though, and if somebody showed up with a suite of SSP chanters and could play all the usual ITM session tunes well at full speed in all the right keys and with a good traditional “feel” I think they would be accepted immediately.
About the cnat/C# thing, smallpipe reed/bore design is typically resistant to alternate fingerings and each chanter will therefore have its “built-in” note.
The lower leading tone would probably be the same.
So the D Major chanter would have C# top and bottom, the D Mix chanter Cnats top and bottom. You’d need both.
The G Major chanter would have F# top and bottom.
The E dorian chanter would have Dnat top and bottom, the A dorian chanter Gnat top and bottom. (Why not play E dorian on the D chanter, and A dorian on the G chanter, you ask? Because you couldn’t play normal one-octave tunes on an SSP chanter that way. The minor/dorian keys need their own dedicated chanters due to the limited range of a keyless SSP chanter.)
A few tunes would require an A Major chanter which would have G# top and bottom.
FWIW, SSP do get played in the session I attend, but usually as a solo interlude. There’s no tradition-based bias against them, but it’s hard to make them fit into the ensemble playing of standard session fare.
The bad thing is, usually when somebody shows up with SSPs at an Irish session they’re totally clueless about the repertoire, keys, etc.
So they’ll play a bunch of jigs that Don Bradford wrote last year, or worse yet, the GHB pipe band “hornpipes” or strathspeys or other inappropriate stuff.
Or they’ll be clueless about keys, and show up with an SSP in the key of B flat.
Or play tunes that they think of as Irish, but would never be played in an ITM session like The Minstrel Boy etc.
Or play a few actual Irish session tunes, but the horrid mangled GHB versions of them, like the GHB version of The Kesh Jig that’s in the wrong key (A instead of G, which is why you need a G Major chanter too) or the abreviated GHB version of The Gold Ring, which may have as few as two parts, and is also in the wrong key (D instead of G).
Having played in the Scottish pipe band scene since the 1970’s I’m often amazed at how clueless most GHB players are about ITM. (And visa versa, it must be said. I’ve heard ITM players hack through the most bizarre mixed-up versions of certain GHB tunes such as The Clumsy Lover.)
) for the C C# and D might work.