How to organize a presentation on reeds(non-piper audience)?

[seisflutes]

I get to give a presentation (next Monday!) on various methods of reedmaking to an audience of people who have most likely never heard of uilleann pipes before and probably aren't all that interested. Whoopie. I want to make it as interesting to them as possible. How the heck do I go about this?

I can take the pipes and demonstrate what they're about.

I sort of have to do pros and cons of the different methods of reedmaking.
I was thinking of going over the normal method, the Benedict Koehler scraper method, and the David Daye stablized method.

I can't really do an actual reedmaking demonstration. I could maybe do a powerpoint or something.

Should I start with playing a tune, and then go into a "this is the reed, it's what makes the sound," kind of thing, and go on from there? Any organizational suggestions?

Thanks,
Kelly

[billh]

Kelly, what terrible thing did you do to earn such a penance?



(seriously, what's the purpose/intent?) it'd be good to have a few reeds on hand to demonstrate the crow, at least.

[Joseph E. Smith]

Should I start with playing a tune, and then go into a "this is the reed, it's what makes the sound," kind of thing, and go on from there? Any organizational suggestions?

Thanks,
Kelly

I like that approach, start with a tune. Then go on from there to other instruments that utilize a double reed and also those that use single reeds, perhaps.

Once you have done your bit, then finish with a tune... to round it off nice and neat.

[rorybbellows]

Why not tell them that Uilleann pipe reeds are made by flyagaric eating leprechauns ,and you happen to have one in your pipecase ,but you can only see him if you drink a half pint of Irish whiskey ,and of course you just happen to have a case of "Paddy" in your car !!
The presentation will be a great success!!!!


RORY

[CHasR]

Ive done this, its easy, but takes time to prep everything:

Pluck a couple of wide blades of grass + make a noise with them between your thumbs, (do you know how to do this?)

you can show them the difference between single-bladed + double-bladed reeds with the grass trick...

Next, show them how easy it is to make a reed:

Have them make their own 'reeds' out of drinking straws( will need scissors)

What Ive done in past is make up a presentation (pasted, glued or taped onto a piece of cardboard) they can pass around or come up + look at,

showing the stages in reedmaking from a tube of cane , all the way up to a finished reed;

tube, split, gouged, shaped/profiled/whatever, finished slip, (show the staple-making stages here), tied on, sand the face, scraped, collar fitted, snipped, (folded, bended + mutilated hahaha just kidding about that)

You can do same thing about making drone reeds too, to kill even more time;

OR you can show them reeds made out of other stuff than cane: (yoghurt containers, 7-11 drinking cups, etc., )

OR if you have a few different kinds of reeds lying around (who dosent?)
(I love to contrast the Biniou + Gran Zampogna reeds..sicko that I am...)

+ then you wow em by playing fantastically...they'll be eating out of your hand after the drinking straws...

Good Luck!

[Ceann Cromtha]

If they're not musicians at all, you can make an analogy to the human vocal tract and how the reed is like the vocal folds in the larynx. The lungs are the air supply (bellows and bag) and the rest of the "plumbing" (the throat, mouth, and nasal cavity) is like the chanter. It differs in that you modify the chanter by opening/closing holes, lifting it off the knee, etc., while we modifiy our supralaryngeal vocal tract by modifying its shape within, opening/closing lips, etc.

[Uilliam]

Take a sicky..what kinda audience would go to listen to a talk on reeds in the 1st place
Uilliam

[Joseph E. Smith]

Kelly, I am assuming this is a class project? If so, I think keeping it simple is the key to a good presentation.

[vanfleet]

I've given one presentation where I made some oversized drone reeds (I have lots of big pieces of cane for this) and passed them out for people to suck on.

For some strange reason I never got them back! But it entertained the audience, even the ones who didn't care about the subject . . .
JVF

[tansy]

I would take the various tools, shooting block, gouge, mandrel, etc. and a reed disassembled tie it back up, make it crow. Mention thicknesses, maybe a few passes with the gouge on a new slip. And play'em a couple of tunes, probably at the beginning and the end.
Make them laugh, conjure up a funny piping-reed making story.
Tansy

[David Lim]

You could mention Daniel Bernoulli and his principle. Then give some examples of how it shows itself in less important things than reeds eg. aeroplanes, rockets etc....

David

[DIAGONALINE]

A bit daunting but if you pitch your presentation at the one shy person at the back who has never heard the pipes before and your playing has lifted his spirit to new heights and given birth to a life long desire to play music, then the rest can go and be rock stars for all you care.

[seisflutes]

Kelly, I am assuming this is a class project? If so, I think keeping it simple is the key to a good presentation.

Yeah. I know it sounds awful.
Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm working on it.

[Joseph E. Smith]

Yeah. I know it sounds awful.

Not too much so. It hasn't been long enough for me to forget Speech and other related courses.

[Beau Comiseau]

Hey Kelly, be sure to let us know how it goes, I'm sure you'll be fantastic. By the way, how did you ever solve your bellows problem? Did you buy a new one?