Kilberry Blog

The tone from the bagpipe chanter is ultimately what is going to make or break the sound from the highland bagpipe. There is no exact key that the chanter sound should relate to, but most people accept that it is in or around the key of B flat.

Individual bagpipe players tend to set the pitch of the chanter by ear. The further into the reed seat that you push the reed, the sharper the overall pitch you will achieve from the pipe chanter. If you push it in too far, your chanter will sound too sharp. Equally, if you do not push the reed in far enough, the chanter will sound too flat.

There will also be variation in each reed, so it is really just a question of trial and error, until you get the sound you are happy with. If you find an individual note is too sharp, then you can partially cover that hole with black tape (even cellotape will do) and by reducing the size of that particular hole, you will flatten off that particular note.

There is no way to sharpen an individual note, so  if anything, it is better to sink the reed well into the reed seat until you have a good balanced tone, but if you end up with a couple of notes on the sharp side, it is then easy to tape them, thus flattening their sound, and therefore achieving the ultimate aim of a balanced pipe chanter.

Once you have achieved this, you tune your drones to the Low A of the pipe chanter and you will have the correct sound from the highland bagpipe.

For many years, the bagpipe was supplied with a sheepskin or hide bag. The hide bag was usually a cow hide but many people also played an elk skin bag, which came in from abroad.

Nowadays, most people want a synthetic bag. There are two main advantages to the synthetic bag:

1. They do not require any maintenance i.e. you do not have to season them. This saves pipes a lot of time (and also money, as you do not have to buy the bagpipe seasoning).
2. You can get access to a moisture control system via most synthetic bags

Many pipers discover hat they are wet blowers - this means that they are putting too much moisture into the bag and this can affect the tone of the drone and pipe chanter reeds. To control this moisture, there are a number of different control systems on the market. The most basic is a simple water trap tube, which captures the moisture but allows the air to flow through to the bag, and subsequently, the reeds.

The more expensive synthetic bags have zips on them, which allows the player to unzip the bag, empty the moisture from the trap, and then re-zip the bag. This can be done in seconds and on a frequent basis, thus ensuring that the reeds remain in a good, playable condition.

Verdict: Synthetic bags beat the traditional ones hands down.

Most bagpipe players are aware that they have the choice of traditional cane drone reeds versus contemporary plastic ones. In our opinion, here are the pros and cons of both:

Cane reeds:

Give a very mellow tone if set up correctly and possibly a bit less volume. These are more suited to the solo player. Can be a bit tricky to set up, due to moisture within the bag and outside humidity as most new cane drone reeds will have a tendancy to shut down, so you have to keep springing the tongues. Many people put a hair in the gap of the tongue which helps to keep it open.

You can adjust the bridle of the reed. Bringing the bridal down the reed will close down the tongue and make it take less air, making it sharper and resulting in the drone top tuning lower down the pin. Moving it up the reed will have the opposite effect and will allow more air to pass through, vibrating at a lower frequency and producing a flatter tone, and tuning further up the pin. You have to set the reeds just right, for the strength of the pipe chanter reed, so that just enough air is getting through the reed for the pressure you are putting on them. Too much air and the reeds will sound too loud for the chanter. Not enough air and the reed will stop when you are playing.

Plastic reeds:

Probably more suited to the band player, as bands are looking for a big drone sound and they want the sound to be in unison. In principle, plastic reeds operate the same way as the cane ones, but being made of different materials, they can react differently when blown in the drones. Generally speaking, they are easier to set up and get going for the novice player. Most sets of plastics are tested by their manufacturers and therefore can be put straight into the drones and be played successfully. This still depends on the strength of the pipe chanter reed being played with them. A strong chanter reed needs more pressure on the bag and therefore you have to have your drone reeds set up accordingly, to take a decent amount of air. A weak chanter reed means less pressure and you can therefore adjust the bridals of the drone reeds and make sure just enough air is getting through.

Verdict:

Plastic reeds came in around the mid 1990’s and there are some very successful makes out there, doing a great job. Cane reeds still give you the ultimate tone however !