The Bagpipes and the Recorder!!

[wgority]

I know there is no bag, do you just blow on a chanter or is there a reed?

I am in highschool, where might I be able to get a practice Chanter that I can afford?

What Cleff of music does the bagpipe use? I am fluent in Bass Cleff, can get by in Treble Cleff and absolutely hate Tenor Cleff, (but can manage)

Okay Casey, let me answer your questions in order of asking.

1. The practice chanter does have a reed. Parenthetically, you'll find the practice chanter is generally harder to blow than the pipes themselves. I've been playing them 25 years and still find this to be the case.

2. High quality pracetice chanters can be had for under $100. In that range I recommend Gibson Bagpipes' Long Poly Practice Chanter. I would recommend spending about twice that amount and getting a Walsh Long Blackwood Practice Chanter. That is an instrument that will last your entire lifetime. I believe either of these can be had from www.toneczar.com

In any case, no matter what you choose, get a long chanter. They provide better tone and tuning, more accurately approximate the finger spacing of the pipe chanter.

3. Pipe music is written on the treble clef.

Remember.....there are only 9 notes (although they get combined in rather interesting and strange ways).

As mentioned above, seek out a pipe band in your area, and I'm pretty durn sure there are a couple in your area. They can provide you with good instruction at a reasonable rate (usually free). I'm moderately sure the 87th Cleveland Pipe Band practices in Brook Park, Ohio. Check them out and see what mutual good you can do each other.

Hope this helps.
Bill

[cwr89]

Thanks a lot!

couple more Q's now that I think of it,
(and I am sorry for asking some questions that have already been answered),

would it be more beneficial to just get a bagpipe rather than a chanter then a pipe sometime down the road?

I was looking at the toneczar site and they have small pipes, I see that they are a good 1000 cheaper, what is the difference?

also, bit confused, do pipes need reeds? I see that everything says stuff about reeds, but it looks to me from pictures, that you just have a mouth piece that you blow into. sorry for my complete lack of knowledge on this.

thanks!
~Casey

[Tartan Hiker]

OK...my son (he's the piper in the family) is not here at the moment but I can answer your latest questions.

1. No, get the chanter first, and as already mentioned get a "long" one from a quality manufacturer. You might want to check out the Dunbar polypenco chanters...excellent instruments and tough enough to last several lifetimes.

2. Smallpipes are just that...small in size and small in sound. They are designed to play indoors with other instruments, so they are keyed differently than Great Highland Bagpipes. You need to decide which way you want to go with this...do you want to play LOUD, and maybe join a pipe band, or do you want to jam with friends in the parlor? You probably can't afford both, so you need to pick one and stick to it.

3. Great Highland pipes use four reeds, one inside the chanter and one in each of the drones. The reeds fit inside the pipes..that's why you aren't seeing them in photographs. You don't put the reed into your mouth like a clarinet or oboe.
The bowpipe just inflates the bag...there's no reed in the blowpipe.

Hope this helps.

[cwr89]

3. Great Highland pipes use four reeds, one inside the chanter and one in each of the drones. The reeds fit inside the pipes..that's why you aren't seeing them in photographs. You don't put the reed into your mouth like a clarinet or oboe.
The bowpipe just inflates the bag...there's no reed in the blowpipe.

Hope this helps.

yea, but since you don't actually blow on a reed, ombature doesn't really matter right?

I have also been looking, I know these are probably "crap" next to anything else, but as a start, would either of these be alright as a start? http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ase?sku=445611
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ase?sku=445618


thanks for the info I really hope to one day play a pipe!
~Casey

[haukehaien]

To answer your questions:
1) There's no embouchure as such, although getting your lips into condition to maintain a good seal around the blowpipe can take a bit of time.
2) Dunbar makes good bagpipes. The P-1 model is fine, and not just as a student model. If you intend to play in a band, you may want to look into the P-2 or P-3 models, which have more traditional styling. The Pipers' Choice pipes aren't bad for practicing.
3) DO NOT buy a set of bagpipes now. If you must buy something, buy a practice chanter. You will use the PC your whole piping career - it's what you learn tunes on, even after you've graduated to pipes.
4) I would say, don't even buy a PC until you've found a teacher. Some teachers are picky about what PCs their students have. Some don't care.
5) If you're interested in learning a lot more about piping, I would suggest joining the Bob Dunsire forums at http://www.bobdunsire.com. You'll find a lot of pipers there and practically any question you have has probably been covered.

Good luck! It's a long journey, but well worth it.

[cwr89]

Thanks guys!

deffinantly gotten me off on the right foot. thanks!

~Casey

[porrick]

1. The practice chanter does have a reed. Parenthetically, you'll find the practice chanter is generally harder to blow than the pipes themselves. I've been playing them 25 years and still find this to be the case.

Eh, I've been on the pc for a little over a year, and am finally breaking in the chanter reed of my first set of pipes... Would you be kind enough to explain the pc being harder to blow than the pipes? There must be something that I have missed along the way, and am very eager to learn

[drobin]

In Highland Pipes the chanters are a double reed and the drones are single tongued reeds.......Many (but not all) Eastern European varieties of bagpipes have single tongued reeds in both chanter and drones, most especially those of the Balkans, Greece, Macedonia and Balearic Isles.

Bill

Thank you for the insightful answer, very intresting. Plus this is the first post were I figured out how to do that boxed qute thing.

[Mumbles]

you can buy an electronic practice chanter that comes with earphones that you can turn up so that you can practice in peace without disturbing any one. I'm not sure if they can drown out a hummer or a generator, but it's still a handy addition to have.

Good Luck.

Where can someone get ahold of one of these things? I am living in some dorms this year where the walls are paper thin, and Id hate to bother the people on my floor

Edit: I found some on the net, but they definitely aren't cheap. I think I will stick to practicing up in the hills outside of town for a while =P

[Tartan Hiker]

yea, but since you don't actually blow on a reed, ombature doesn't really matter right?

I have also been looking, I know these are probably "crap" next to anything else, but as a start, would either of these be alright as a start? http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ase?sku=445611
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ase?sku=445618


thanks for the info I really hope to one day play a pipe!
~Casey

These are pretty much the exact same make of pipes I have and they are a wonderful investment!
Polypenco is much more sturdy in Blackwood (the standard pipe-making material) and they don't change tuning wise in the weather. you don't need to worry about leaving them in the sun because they won't dry out and split wide open and they could probably take a bullet and still sound fine, not to mention you can drop them and not really worry (of course this i do not recomend)