Finger position

[rorybbellows]

I,ve seen a lot of pipers hold various fingers in the position that this piper is holding his B finger .Is it the right way ?
I was told all my fingers should be perfectly straight !!!

[img][img]http://img200.echo.cx/img200/1937/fingers4rx.jpg[/img]


RORY[/img]

[ausdag]

Straight, normally. But if it works for him...

Cheers,

DavidG

[djm]

Neither. Your fingers should be aligned so that your forearms, wrists and fingers form a smooth arc (when looking down at them on the chanter). You don't want to do anything that would cramp your muscles. Strong shoulders and elbows, with soft, supple wrists and fingers. You might straighten your fingers for some moves, but relax them again immediately after.

Any time you tense your muscles you restrict bloodflow, and it takes several seconds for the muscles to let go again, which would interfere with your ability to hit the next note in time.

djm

[Patrick D'Arcy]

What djm said. Also, legs should be parallell with one foot flat on the ground out in front and the other under your seat - not splayed open like a 2 bit hooker.

Patrick.

[boyd]

......there's no need to bring rugby players into this, Patrick

[wharfedalecarving]

Nah", sorry guys but you are obviously all out of your depth here.
It seems pretty obvious to me that your powers of observation are lacking somewhat.
Look closely and you will see that our friend is playing the double voltage electronic version of the Uilleann pipes. It could even be the delux AC/DC delux set he is playing.
For sure there are TWO power points coming out of the wall and TWO cables powering the pipes. Maybe one powers the bellows.
Anyhow, using this type of setup it doesn't really matter whether the fingers are straight or curved
However, should he have just experienced a "power surge" (often called a "spike" I believe) then this probably accounts for the curly fingers .
Ah, a "flash" of inspiration has hit me! He's playing the "Spike Island Lasses".
Joseph (the "bright spark" UK one)

[djm]

Sorry, Sparky, but you have clearly misidentified the transformers that power his bionic butt (one per cheek). This sort of advanced technology gives him the power to sit on the edge of his chair for hours at a time, long after any normal human butt would have gone to sleep, causing its owner to slide off the chair. Yes, I've seen quite a few of these on the international tour circuit. All the big names have them nowadays.

djm

[IRTradRU?]

Sorry, Sparky, but you have clearly misidentified the transformers that power his bionic butt (one per cheek). This sort of advanced technology gives him the power to sit on the edge of his chair for hours at a time, long after any normal human butt would have gone to sleep, causing its owner to slide off the chair. Yes, I've seen quite a few of these on the international tour circuit. All the big names have them nowadays.

djm

Are those AC or DC transformers?

[Rick]

top hand position:
put your thumb on the back d hole perpendicular to the chanter, ring finger with the 1st pad on the A.
(it's so tempting to put "hole" behind that A.. )
Stretch index and middle finger (so they fall naturally onto the holes) and that's the position you want.

But like said above, whatever works for you...

[ausdag]

(it's so tempting to put "hole" behind that A.. )

Okay..I'll do it for you...."A hole".

There.

Cheers,


DG

[Joseph E. Smith]

(it's so tempting to put "hole" behind that A.. )

Okay..I'll do it for you...."A hole".

There.

Cheers,


DG

[patsky]

This method of using the first digits of the left hand is the way that many 18th and 19th century pipers held the chanter. In O'Farrell's tutor he describes holding the chanter using this method. The McPeake family and Joe Shannon held the chanter that way. There are also several pipers in O'Neill's using the first digit grip.

By the O'Farrell also says that the hard bottom D is a no no because it is too harsh; the soft D is the proper one.


All the best,
Pat Sky

[djm]

See how far we've come?

djm

[PJ]

This female piper shows a total disregard for all conventions of posture and grip when playing uilleann pipes, not to mention appropriate footware.