Practice Chanter and Book Advice

[OC Richard]

Yes welcome to the world of piping!!

I got my first Practice Chanter in 1974, it was like Christmas! It was the typical (for the time) RG Lawrie standard-size PC, African Blackwood, with nickel ferrule and Catalin sole.

I got the famous College Of Piping "green book" and off I went.

In the old days all the PCs were what's now called "standard". They did have "child's" but often the PC was the same, just the top was shorter.

I think the "long" or "fullsize" PC, the plastic PC, and the plastic mouthpiece with integral valve were all inventions of George Alexander in the 1960s.

In any case nowadays the "long" or "fullsize" PC is standard. Every piper in every Pipe Band I've been in over the last quarter-century has played the "long".

Be aware that the "long" PC plays at a lower pitch than the old-school "standard" PC, so you will want the "long" in order to play along with YouTube videos etc since nearly all teachers use the "long".

Also the "long" gives you a better feel for how the actual Pipe Chanter feels in your hands.

In the various Pipe Bands I've been in over recent years everybody has used one of three brands: Naill, McCallum, or Gibson. With the right reeds all of these will play right in tune with each other. (I'm not alleging that these three brands are the best, or any better than others, just that they're the ones I've seen nearly everybody use.)

Personally I use a McCallum with a John Walsh reed. My McCallum PC is red plastic, which I like because at band practice I can tell it from all the black ones! I also have a Gibson with a Gibson reed which is very nice too.

Though face-to-face lessons are the best, I think as long as you're on the PC internet lessons are OK. With Practice Chanters there's not as much to go wrong with the instrument itself, and a teacher will usually be able to diagnose a beginner's problems online.

Once you get to the actual full set of bagpipes then it must be done face-to-face, because it's impossible for a teacher to "set up" and troubleshoot your bagpipes over the internet. A teacher can't reach through your monitor and adjust a bridle! Or shave a reed! Or blow your pipes to test your setup! It can only be done in person.

I think lessons from the get-go are needed to get a good grounding. People who flounder on their own often end up learning some things wrong. The more they practice the more ingrained the bad habits become! Because they're practicing their mistakes and fixing them into their muscle memory.

Then when a teacher comes along, before they can start teaching you how to play properly they have to spend a lot of time undoing the ingrained bad habits. I've heard Pipe Bands where nearly everybody in the band has deeply ingrained problems. Anybody put in the position of trying to get them to play better would have to take them back to the beginning, to re-learn the fundamentals.

You don't want to be a piper like that! It's far easier to learn things right from the get-go.