bellows related exercises?

steph_c · Post by **steph_c** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:22 am

Hi all:

I'm wondering if anybody out there has some good exercises specifically designed to help make the bellows activity second nature.

I've done a fair bit of sifting through previous posts, and while I've found a wealth of pointers (particularly on the matter of keeping the hands relaxed) contributed for the beginning piper, I haven't seen my question discussed too much. (Errr, rather - have not *found*)

I understand that this probably just comes with time and continued practice. I've been focused recently on playing the bag and keeping my hands relaxed, but the one thing that remains constant is that there is still a pause whenever it comes time to refill the bag. I'm concerned that as the other things improve, that I am training my arms and brain and hands to 'take a breath' at the end of a phrase while I refill the bag.

Just been wondering if there was something I could do to isolate and work on this one thing.

Cheers and many thanks up front.

djm · Post by **djm** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 7:34 am

Steph, this is very much a "feel" thing. There are a few pointers, though. Move the bellows in a smooth, steady motion. Don't jerk or wallop the bellows. Movement of the bellows arm must be directly associated with the feel of the pressure in the bag. As your bag arm feels the bag getting more and more empty, you must slowly, steadily pump the bellows again.

Some people fall into the bad habit of controlling chanter pressure with the bellows. Don't! Control the chanter pressure with the bag arm only. Just keep the bellows arm moving smoothly so that it doesn't pull your hands away from the chanter, or move your body around. Working the bellows should not be a distracting movement to the rest of your body. Your bag arm must be sensitve not only to the needs of the chanter jumping octaves, but also to the feel of the bellows pumping more air in.

One way to practise is to play something really simple on the chanter like scales in two octaves. This should allow you to pay attention to your bellows work until it becomes a habit. Control bag pressure so that you can accommodate new air coming in from the bellows, but still be in control of jumping octaves. You must be in control, not the bellows or bag or chanter.

Give yourself several weeks to get a handle on this. Like anything that is learnt by feel, it is a matter of constant repetition over time that will finally give you mastery over this basic, but very important, operation.

djm

glands · Post by **glands** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 am

Very good question.

If you keep your eyes open at pipers gatherings, there are as many ways to "play" the bellows as there are ways to play the chanter.....most of them wrong. Some play with large strokes, some play with little jabs while some others play so that one can hardly tell they are working the bellows. Many, probably me included on occasion, wrongfully get to the second octave with help from the bellows.

It is quite easy to develop bad habits early on and then they become incorporated into your playing.

Benedict Koehler has given the most sensible advice to me on use of the bellows and I would suggest getting with him for advice and a demo at a tionol if possible. I'll see if he may be interested in writing an article for The Pipers Review.....a most useful publication that ALL should be signed up to receive.

Uilliam · Post by **Uilliam** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 10:25 am

Fill your bag and expand your bellows.Play the A note and keep it steady.See how long ye can hold the note before it starts to falter.
Next repeat the same but this time keep the note steady and deflate your bellows gradually, thus filling the bag,keeping the note steady at all times.After deflating/filling bring the bellows back to the open(ready )position for the next time,repeat.remember the object is to keep the note steady at all times with no jerkiness of the bellows,if necessary sit in front of the mirror and observe your movements.Remember it is a see-saw motion ye are aiming for.Ye will soon hear if ye jerk the bellows.
slan go foill
Uilliam

tdarnell · Post by **tdarnell** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:41 am

This is an excellent question and one I've struggled with myself. The single biggest thing that helps me with the control of the bellows is to play a tune as slow as I possible can. Doing this will requires me to control all aspects of playing the pipes more, from pumping the bellows to squeezing the bag.

I've found that I would get into a bit of a rut when playing a tune, I would always pump the bellows at the same part of a tune (I'm only using a practice set, no drones yet) . This didn't leave me with much flexibility for changing the speed with which I played. Slowing down forces me to think more about all aspect of playing the tune and taught me much more control. Now, I expand the bellows completely instead of doing a quick pump - I also have more control over the bag because as we all know it's the bag that plays the pipes, the bellows' only job is to fill the bag. I used to have a bad habit of trying to play the pipes with the bellows, playing slowly cured me of that because you can't do that when you're playing so slow.

Hope this helps...

brianc · Post by **brianc** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 12:03 pm

Uilliam nails it.

steph_c · Post by **steph_c** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 1:06 pm

Thanks for the feedback one and all.

tdarnell: thanks that was exactly what I was trying to sort out - being able to play the same note sequence or phrase without using the bellows in the same places - separating the motor mechanics involved with finger movement (or not) and the motor mechanics of refilling the bag.

Uilliam: sounds like a mighty suggestion. Cheers.

eric_smith · Post by **eric_smith** » Wed Oct 20, 2004 9:22 pm

Sometimes as a party trick, I'll strap the pipes on someone else and have them pump the bellows and squeeze the bag while I play a tune on the chanter with the drones going. As long as the tune doesn't go above G in the upper octave, this all works fine. The point being that getting the reed to overblow is largely a matter of finger control, not bag pressure.

My only instructions to my friend will be to maintain constant pressure on the bag by pressing in and down with their elbow. I explain to them that the bellows is merely to "top off" the bag as it deflates. Most people get the hang of it in about 10 mintues. The point here is that all that matters is a steady flow of air out of the bag; the bellows is an after-thought.

My suggestion is to concentrate on keeping even pressure on your elbow pressing against the bag, and let your mind forget about the bellows. You definitely don't want it to become something that you pay attention to.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 3:20 am

Uilliam presents an excellent exercise. After getting the single steady note, move on to a single phrase or lower octave ascending scale....the idea being to keep the bag pressure constant, the notes steady while your fingers move, and the bellows arm at the ready to refill the bag as needed. In time you will find that it will become second nature...and something you will hardly give a thought to. It just takes a little time to get comfortable with. Like Uilliam suggested, practice in front of a mirror...it will make a difference.

steph_c · Post by **steph_c** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 10:33 am

Uilliam your exercise has really worked wonders. I hardly notice my bellows arm anymore. I'm playing around with Jimmy Ward's, and so long as I stay nice and slow, I find that I get through it having not made any conscious effort to move the bellows.

I think the key is creating an association in the brain that the bellows expansion occurs automatically after compression, so that it's not a separate action altogether. I'm using the bellows compression as my trigger so to speak, and whether or not that's the correct thing to do, I'm finding that expansion is happening automatically and doesn't require a conscious thought to initiate.

Likewise, I'm concentrating on just my bag, and somehow my arm and ear have become my trigger for bellows compression, which in turn is my trigger for expansion.

It'd be very meditative if my chanter wasn't so loud.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this and whether I'm setting myself up for some habit-breaking down the road.

fancypiper · Post by **fancypiper** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:41 am

When I got my practice set, I took a cork that fit the chanter stock and bored a hole in it to take about as much air as actually playing the chanter.

When not otherwise occupied (watching TV or doing something else that leaves the arms free), I would strap on the bag and bellows and practice getting the feel of the left arm's position where a full pump of the bellows would "almost" top the bag off (I had an overinflation problem that wouldn't let me back to the lower octave at will occasionally).

A couple of weeks and I haven't thought of it since except for a few times (in public of course). Then I have to think about it the next turn of the tune at that place, but I can think of more things now while playing after a few years with the pipes.

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:39 pm

Fancypiper:"I had an overinflation problem that wouldn't let me back to the lower octave at will occasionally".
===============================================

I know a couple of beginning pipers who'd give their eye teeth to reach, let alone maintain second octave.

fancypiper · Post by **fancypiper** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:44 pm

Joseph E. Smith wrote: I know a couple of beginning pipers who'd give their eye teeth to reach, let alone maintain second octave.

That was my case until I took my first reedmaking class. Reeds with one side of the head cracked are pretty poor at reaching the 2nd octave and the second reed I got from the maker was an arm-buster and I am a puny geek type...

craigh · Post by **craigh** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 3:28 pm

Uilliam wrote:After deflating/filling bring the bellows back to the open(ready )position for the next time,repeat.

I have a question on this particular statement. In a class with Benedict Koehler, I recall that he said that when you are not in the process of operating the bellows, the bellows arm should be simply relaxed and at your side with the bellows deflated. The bag filling motion then becomes a two step process, (1) open the bellows, filling it with air, then (2) deflate bellows, moving air to the bag. At this point, the bellows is deflated and your bellows arm is relaxed and hanging at your side until the next point in time that you need to add air to the bag.

Is this just a difference of style? Some folks keep the bellows inflated while others only fill it right before filling the bag?

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:12 pm

There is no law written about this. It is simply what works best for you. Some people may find it uncomfortable to keep the bellows arm cocked open all the time in anticipation of the next pump. Keeping your arm relaxed and pumping as required is less distracting.

Learn the feel of the bag, and pump as required. What you play while you practise learning bellows technique is less important than getting the feel of the bag, recognizing when it is getting low, and making a smooth, steady movement to first inflate and then pump the bellows.

djm

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bellows related exercises?

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