The Highland bagpipe

by W. L. Manson

Young pipers should never play with their instruments out of tune, as this will accustom their ears to discords, and they will eventually be unable to tell when their pipes are in tune and when they are not. Suddenly moving the joints up or down to their full extent will be found capital practice for the beginner, as he cannot then fail to distinguish discords. He should then move them cautiously back as if feeling for something, and he will hear the jarring sounds gradually dying away until they blend in chord. In tuning, care must be taken that the pressure of wind on the reeds is exactly the same as when playing, otherwise discord is inevitable.

Beginners should use reeds in the centre and big drones only, as the pipes will then he easier blown, as well as easier tuned. The practice can be discontinued when the player is able to blow freely. The further down the drones are tuned the sharper the sound becomes, and the further up the flatter or deeper. So if the chanter should have a sharp sound the drone must also be made sharp, or vice versa. All new reeds are generally sharp, and become flatter the longer they are played on.

IV.—REEDS AND THEIR DEFECTS.

Reeds have many defects, and nothing but experience combined with care will make a piper thoroughly at home in dealing with them.

A new reed before being put into the chanter should be placed in water for a few minutes. If it has lain past for some time it should be left in the water longer, as the wood may have shrunk or the blades become too open or close. New reeds can never be thoroughly depended on, as they alter more or less with use. They should therefore never be cut or interfered with before being tried. They are also, as a rule, harder to blow than reeds which have been in use for some time; and, if after a fair trial, they are still found to be too strong, they may then be weakened at the discretion of the player. When a reed has a “dirling” sound on the low hand (generally A or G), it is either too weak or too lightly built. In the latter case, it will, combined with the “dirling” sound, have a want of fulness of tone, and cannot be readily improved. Should it be only too weak, it can be easily strengthened by being opened carefully and gradually with a specially made implement of some kind until it has a firm sound. This, of course, has to be done with great care, or the reed may be rendered useless. When a reed is too flat, the staple should be lowered into the chanter until the correct sound is produced. If the staple is as far down as it can be got a hairsbreadth may be cut from the point of the reed and the staple raised or depressed as required. If after this the reed becomes too strong, the blades may be slightly reduced with sandpaper. If the blades are already sufficiently thin, but the point of the staple too open, it can be made considerably closer by inserting a tapered instrument into the staple, and giving the latter a slight tap with a small hammer. In this, care must be taken that the instrument used is shaped as like the inside of the staple as possible. In the event of the reed being too sharp, the staple should be raised in the chanter as high as possible, when should it still prove too sharp, it may be opened in the way already described. This, however, should only be done when the staples or blades are too close, as although the tone is rendered flatter by the process the reed is more or less strained, which is apt to give it a sound insufficiently full, and render the playing laborious without any object being gained.

The player should always bear in mind that the longer reeds are in use the flatter they become. In cases where a reed is not very much out, it can be toned down by frequent playing, rather than by experimenting with it. When it is too strong and not too open in staples or blades it may be partly because it contains too much wood, a matter which can be easily rectified with fine sandpaper. A reed that is too strong owing to its being too open in the blades can be made considerably closer and easier to blow by taking a common cork, making a deep cut in the end of it, and inserting the blades of the reed into the cut, then tying a piece of cord round the cork sufficiently tight to close the blades, and leaving it in that position for a few days. The width of the staple should, however, be tested before this is done, as if it is too open making it closer by the process already explained will make the blades closer also, and save the trouble of using the cork.

It should be noticed that when chanter reeds have certain false notes, such as a sharp high A or a flat high G or E, this is caused by the reeds being improperly fitted, the points of the blades being too thin or the sides of the reed being too thick. Care must therefore be taken, when fitting a reed, that all the different notes are true, after which it should never again be touched except when actually requiring attention.

The beginner may find some difficulty in distinguishing the true sound when the chanter reed is in his mouth. He should therefore put it unto the pipe and sound it, when he will be better able to judge, as he will hear the sound from a greater distance. The chanter reed should always have a clear, distinct, shrill sound, accompanied with a full and firm tone in every note.

V.—DRONE REEDS.

The small drone reeds should sound smooth and firm, with a clear humming sound, and the big drone reed deep and bass, and strong enough to bear the pressure of wind required for the chanter reed. New reeds are often hard to “strike in,” and have a rough or sharp tone. This is owing to their newness and dryness, and goes away with playing. They are also frequently inclined to close or stop. This is caused by the steam of the breath swelling the wood, and causing it to fall into its natural set. In this case, the tongue of the reed should be raised as high as it will admit of without straining, and the centre pressed down. Should it after this become too rough or flat, it can be rectified by bringing the tuning string a little towards the point of the tongue. Should this make it too weak for the strength of the chanter reed, the best plan is to raise the tongue and put a hair (out of the head) between the tongue and body of the reed, and as far back as the tuning string will permit.