Taking delivery of new bagpipes

seasoning being poured into corked bag

seasoning being worked into the inside of the bag

cleaning out the stocks with brushes to keep seasoning off the reeds

Season the bag

If your new set has a sheepskin or a hide bag this will have to be seasoned before the pipes can be played. To season the bag, take all the drones, blowstick and chanter carefully out of the bag and put your corks into the three drone stocks and the blowstick stock, leaving the chanter stock as the only opening into the bag. Gently heat up the seasoning until it is liquid and then pour about one third of the can into the bag, via the open stock. Put the fifth cork into the chanter stock and you will now have a 'closed off' bag with the seasoning inside it. Rub the bag on the outside, working the seasoning into all corners of the bag.

The two sides of the bag should slide against each other quite easily once the bag is seasoned. Remove the chanter stock cork and pour any excess seasoning back into the tin for future use. Remove the other four corks and clean out the stocks for any excess seasoning with brushes. Your bag is now seasoned and the pipes can be reassembled and are ready to play.

If your pipes are fitted with a synthetic bag such as the Ross, Canmore or other similar bag, you will not need to apply any seasoning to the bag.

squeeze the blades together

gently shave a little cane off each blade

flicking the tongue on the reed to allow more air to pass through

adjusting the bridle to allow more or less air to flow through the reed

Check the reeds and valve

There are four reeds in a set of Highland pipes - three drone reeds and a pipe chanter reed. Check these are all in position, sitting in their appropriate reed seats. These can occasionally fall into the bag, and if any reed is missing the bag will not hold air and you will not be able to play the set.

The valve is at the bottom of the blowstick and, generally, not much can go wrong with this. It allows the air to flow into the bag but will stop it coming back up the blowstick and into your mouth.

A new pipe chanter reed can be quite hard to blow. If need be, carefully remove the chanter and reed from the stock and firmly squeeze the two blades together. This will make the reed a little easier to blow although, long term, 'blowing the reed in' is the best way forward. If you find the reed so strong you cannot get it to sound, you can shave a little off each blade with sandpaper or a penknife. Be careful not to take too much off as although this will make the reed easier to blow it will also decrease its lifespan. Try taking just a little off each side at a time.

Most new sets come supplied with plastic drone reeds. These will play pretty instantly, although if the drone is stopping (probably due to the strength of the new pipe chanter reed) just flick the tongue (the plastic rectangular blade on the reed) up and down a couple of times and this will allow the air to flow through more easily and keep the reed going. You can also adjust the bridle (black rubber band) on the reeds and pushing these a fraction further up the reed will also allow more air to pass through and help to keep the reed going. Similarly, by moving this a fraction down the reed, the air supply will be reduced and the reed will become quieter.

Only the slightest adjustment is required as you do not want the reed either taking too much air, resulting in a harsh sound and more blowing required by you, or shutting down altogether and not sounding at all. The right balance is required and this depends on the strength of the individual blower and the strength of the pipe chanter reed being played.

The stocks are tied into the bag using a waxed string (for hide or sheepskin bags), and again this can eventually unravel or even during extreme temperature conditions during shipping can work its way loose. If you find you are drastically losing air, check all five stocks and make sure none has worked its way loose. If it has, the stock will need to be re-tied into the bag using the same piece of tying-in twine.

Your new set is now ready to be played. Bear in mind, the reeds need quite a lot of 'blowing in'x before they will sound as they should, depending on the strength of the new reed. Most novice players will start playing with only one drone, or even just the pipe chanter to begin with. This means less pressure is required, so they are easier to blow. It is also a good way to get used to the bag and to tuning the drones - one at a time.