Chanter review?

[Colonel MacNeal]

Help!?

Need some advice on Chanters. Mein Frau bought me a practice chanter a few years ago, but my fingertips lack sufficient sensation to find and cover the holes. I've even thought about putting corn pads around the holes.

Used to play the Sax and Clarinet when I was a kid, but operating those keys is a lot easier than working the holes in a chanter. Help! I either need a chanter with easy holes or is there a chanter with keys?

I would love to learn the pipes, but my damn fingertips are so damn numb. (yes I know what is wrong with them so please don't offer medical advice)

Thanks in advance, ColMac

[EagleJCS]

Help!?

Need some advice on Chanters. Mein Frau bought me a practice chanter a few years ago, but my fingertips lack sufficient sensation to find and cover the holes. I've even thought about putting corn pads around the holes.

Used to play the Sax and Clarinet when I was a kid, but operating those keys is a lot easier than working the holes in a chanter. Help! I either need a chanter with easy holes or is there a chanter with keys?

I would love to learn the pipes, but my damn fingertips are so damn numb. (yes I know what is wrong with them so please don't offer medical advice)

Thanks in advance, ColMac

Unfortunately, you may be out of luck. AFAIK, there are no practice chanters with keys (although I've read rumors of a 'Brian Boru' chanter???).

There are some makers that countersink the holes of their practice chanters (Naill comes to mind - I have a standard polypenco). That may make it a little easier to feel the holes until you get used to finger placement. Most bagpipe chanters are not countersunk though.

Putting pads around the holes may work, but I'd be concerned about being able to completely cover and seal the hole.

Best of luck!

[george7]

Are you a piper????????????????????????

The whole (or should I say hole) idea... and I MEAN THE ONLY REASON practice chanter holes are countersunk are to imitate the feel of a real chanter. The holes on a pipe chanter are the same diameter as the larger part of the countersink of a practice chanter. Practice chanters only need a tiny hole to resonate the pitch.

Unfortunately, you may be out of luck. AFAIK, there are no practice chanters with keys (although I've read rumors of a 'Brian Boru' chanter???).

There are some makers that countersink the holes of their practice chanters (Naill comes to mind - I have a standard polypenco). That may make it a little easier to feel the holes until you get used to finger placement. Most bagpipe chanters are not countersunk though.

Putting pads around the holes may work, but I'd be concerned about being able to completely cover and seal the hole.

Best of luck!

[EagleJCS]

Are you a piper????????????????????????

The whole (or should I say hole) idea... and I MEAN THE ONLY REASON practice chanter holes are countersunk are to imitate the feel of a real chanter. The holes on a pipe chanter are the same diameter as the larger part of the countersink of a practice chanter. Practice chanters only need a tiny hole to resonate the pitch.

Yes, I'm a piper. I agree that countersinking the fingerholes on the practice chanter makes them feel much more like the actual bagpipe chanter - no question. It's not just the size of the hole, but the placement as well.

I have seen practice chanters that do not have countersunk holes. Some of the practice chanter kits sold at Highland Games fall into this category. There are also older practice chanters from some makers that are not countersunk. Countersinking the holes is a relatively recent - the last 15-20 years or so - innovation.

My instructor showed me one of her older PC's - no counter sinking, and the holes were much smaller. Very hard to feel them under your fingers. That's why I suggested countersunk holes. They offer a better tactile response than one that's not countersunk. The spacing is also different - shorter - than the actual bagpipe chanter. If you can't feel the holes very well, it may help to at least get your fingers accustomed to the correct spacing.

Muscle memory makes a big difference. If you learn finger placement on a practice chanter with a shorter distance between the holes, then it may take some time to adjust to the full-size bagpipe chanter - almost like learning a completely new instrument.

Sorry to derail the thread...

[JimB]

All I know is that I think I got stuck with a chanter that doesn't work.
It makes the most awful sounds