Col Mac- Part of your problem is trying to use the fingertips. Pipers don't normally finger with the tips, but with straight fingers. An instructor is almost necessary here. There are only a few people who ever manage to self-teach to any degree of competence and even thy normally suggest that people look to getting a teacher if possible.

On the subject of practice chanters, there are a lot of good makes out there. I've not played a Shepherd, but I have a Walsh poly and it is good. I've played Gibson, Dunbar, Piper's Choice, and all are good chanters.

I have a 30+ year old Hardie practice chanter (standard length, from a time when few people had long chanters available). It is my favorite chanter. It sounds good and it feels great. My teacher does not insist on any particular make or model of practice chanter, but she keeps several reeds to swap between her two blackwood chanters so she can match the pitch of any student's instrument. I would not expect this from most teachers, though.

My children both have blackwood chanters and they do sound and feel better than plastic. Part of my intention in giving them chanters that cost twice as much as the poly they started with is that they learn early on how to care for a wooden instrument properly. They disassemble the chanters, oil them, use caution when handling. All skills that they need for when they are playing on the bagpipes.

If someone will not take care of a wooden instrument, then plastic becomes an appropriate option. If they take care of their instruments, wood will deliver better sound and feel, whether in full pipes or in the practice chanter. My opinion, but it seems to be accurate, based on the pipers in our area. After all, plastic has only been an option for a relatively short time, compared to how long pipers have been taking proper care of wood instruments.

-Patrick