Tuning drones in a noisy room

[bogman]

Stethoscope. I thought everyone used them...

At first I thought that was a joke but then realised it's probably a great idea - with the listening bit on the bag....does it work?

[PJ]

I've used someting like this before with reasonable success - not on Uilleann drones but I imagine the principle is the same.

http://www.absolutemusic.co.uk/catalog/ ... w/id/19854

Now that's interesting.

[MTGuru]

Now that's interesting.

Yes, a clip-on contact mike works. That assumes you have a tuner that will accept an external input. And since, PJ, you mentioned only your clip-on guitar tuner, I assumed that's not the case and that you're tuning by ear. If you do have a regular tuner, you might be able to position it near enough the drones to work even in a noisy room.

Actually, a guitar clip-on ought to open wide enough to fit on some part of the drones; I know mine does. The problem with this (or a contact mike) is that the secondary tube vibration may not be strong enough, since it's really the air column that's sounding. But it's worth a try. I sometimes tune my D or C whistle with a clip-on, much to the amusement of others (it looks quite strange).

Of course, Michael Loos' suggestion makes sense, too. The tuning ritual is a natural part of the performance - unless you have to start cold on the first note, e.g. for a bridal procession or similar situation.

[Nanohedron]

but when I put them over my right shoulder they're right next to my ear,

Ah, that was you, the piping Lady!
I have seen you on ebay some time ago.

scnr
Thomas

!!!! Now where the heck did I put my perky pink hat?

Does anyone still have that photo? We should make a sticky of it. Piping Lady should be the board avatar.

I did some looking, but nada. The method is catching on, though; will this guy do?



He obviously needs some guidance.

[MTGuru]

Does anyone still have that photo? We should make a sticky of it. Piping Lady should be the board avatar.

I did some looking, but nada.

I think this was the original thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=25763

But the off-site photos are long gone. OTOH, I'm sure I saved a copy somewhere ...

[MTGuru]

Now where the heck did I put my perky pink hat?

Here it is, Cathy!

[mike spencer]

PJ,when I was playing in a highland pipe band we used Korg ca-30 tuners with a Korg cm-100 mike plugged into the tuner and clipped to the drones.I've never tried it on the uilleanns,

[Calum]

Re contact mics vs clip-on tuners - I think the latter are optimised for string instruments and while they're OK, I find the contact mic plus tuner works far better (IMO better than into the tuner's mic).

[oleorezinator]

Piping Lady should be the board avatar.

Hear! Hear!

[pancelticpiper]

I use a Snark.

[Ceann Cromtha]

I've found that the Snark works really nicely on the chanter but I've never gotten it to work well on my drones. Any tips on that?

[TheSilverSpear]

My answer is usually enough swearing to do a Quentin Tarantino movie proud.

"How the f*** am I supposed to tune these f***ing with all this motherf***ing noise and I can't hear a f***ing thing! I'll just not f***ing play them. It's what the f***ing "off" switch is for!"

[Cathy Wilde]

Now where the heck did I put my perky pink hat?

Here it is, Cathy!

Thank you!

And just to report ... I used the Bag Lady OTS ("BLOTS"? ) method just yesterday for last-minute drone-check at an Easter Sunday service, and it worked. In fact, I think it was the only option, since the PA was blasting loud inspirational music right up until the service started throughout the entire downstairs of the church. I don't think my tuner would have functioned, although I did use it when I first warmed up about a half-hour before.

But blast it, I sure missed my pink hat.

[Cathy Wilde]

Oh, I really hate to give up Mrs. Doyle, but I might have to switch profile photos

[tommykleen]

Aw ya will...

Ya will, ya will, ya will!

T