A or B flat chanter?

[SDOWNS]

Reading the thread on chanter pitch has me wondering - if you were to play the pipes to accompany guitars and such, would you pick an "A" chanter or the "B-flat" chanter?

[bullet08]

Reading the thread on chanter pitch has me wondering - if you were to play the pipes to accompany guitars and such, would you pick an "A" chanter or the "B-flat" chanter?

if this question is about GHB, there is no b flat chanter. it's all one chanter that place 9 notes that has been played for sometime. and the bottom note with pinkie up is always called low a, even if it's actually more close to b flat.

pete

[PiobBear]

if this question is about GHB, there is no b flat chanter.

Actually, the standard great Highland bagpipe is considered to be in the key of Bb, although in reality it is much sharper than 466 Hz. My dear old blackwood Naill commonly tunes around 475 Hz, and I used to have a poly McCallum that could tune well in excess of 480 Hz (Dunbar now offers two chanters; essentially a flatter one for solo folks and a sharper one for band). Also, the bagpipe chanter reflects a mixolidian scale, rather than the chromatic scale of everybody else, which is why pipes are quintessentially solo instruments, or accompanied by other bagpipes (preferably with matching chanters & reeds). To accompany other instruments, some companies now manufacture chanters in the key of A; 440 Hz. To tune your drones to 440 Hz, you might need a set of drone extenders from Dunbar, depending upon how low you can tune your drone reeds without the drone tops falling off.

The short answer to your question; I should think that you'd want an A chanter if you accompany other instruments on a regular basis.
Yes; there are Bb and A chanters available.

[acadianpiper]

PiobBear is quite right. For playing with other instruments, you would normally want to use a concert A chanter (440 Hz). There are also a couple of makers who are producing small numbers of Bb chanters (466 Hz) for specialty uses. Both of these pitches cause difficulty tuning modern drones, which will tune much too high on the pin, unless drone reed extenders are used. Much more common than a GHB in concert A pitch are Scottish smallpipes (SSP) in that pitch. Smallpipes are more often used in Celtic folk groups than GHBs. As a result, they are usually made to play at concert A pitch, although smallpipes in D are also quite popular, particularly for Irish music. Some makers produce a smallpipe in Bb (John Walsh, for example), but these are not recommended for accompanying other instruments. Border and lowland pipes are also sometimes made to play in the key of C, which blends quite well with a number of other instruments.

An older chanter (early 1970s or earlier vintage) can work quite well as a substitute for a true concert A chanter when playing with other instruments, but it can be difficult to find a modern reed to suit it and the drone tuning problem remains.

[Bagpiper]

I recently went to a workshop at a piping school (National Piping Center) that featured "How to play Bagpipes with other Instruments".

One suggestion by an instructor from the who plays in alternative bands was to tape all of the holes on the chanter to flatten the overall pitch to b flat.

I have a second set of pipes that i was going to setup like this and try it out.

I did record the workshop and I will listen to the tape and try to highlight some of the excellent points that were made that day.

[bullet08]

I recently went to a workshop at a piping school (National Piping Center) that featured "How to play Bagpipes with other Instruments".

One suggestion by an instructor from the who plays in alternative bands was to tape all of the holes on the chanter to flatten the overall pitch to b flat.

I have a second set of pipes that i was going to setup like this and try it out.

I did record the workshop and I will listen to the tape and try to highlight some of the excellent points that were made that day.

last time i took my hardie chanter from 86, everyone was saying how flat it was. my naill solo chanter (those plastic ones) and my naill blackwood chanter are both much sharper than the hardie chanter from 86. i guess i don't have to tape my hardie chanter as much :)

pete

[PiobBear]

One suggestion by an instructor from the who plays in alternative bands was to tape all of the holes on the chanter to flatten the overall pitch to b flat.

Tape's a lot cheaper than a new chanter, but if you have to tape over 1/3 or more of the hole, it'll really muffle the note.

Pete, what reeds do you use with your '86 Hardie?

[bullet08]

Tape's a lot cheaper than a new chanter, but if you have to tape over 1/3 or more of the hole, it'll really muffle the note.

Pete, what reeds do you use with your '86 Hardie?

i haven't used it in.. over 20 yrs. soon after i got my set of hardie, our band bought matching band chanters. and my nail chanters, i haven't used it in last 6-7 yrs. i stopped piping after my first kid. i'm trying to get them going again. just ordered ross chanter reeds and an ez pc reed for my nail chanters. i doubt i'll be using my hardie chanter any time soon. i don't even remember what reeds i have in my nail chanters. but i know they had it when i stopped piping.

pete

[PiobBear]

and my nail chanters, i haven't used it in last 6-7 yrs...i'm trying to get them going again. just ordered ross chanter reeds and an ez pc reed for my nail chanters.

Ross reeds (formerly McGarrity-Ross) work well for me in my blackwood Naill; it's a great reed.

[fifefighter]

One thing you could do is make a "rush" for your chanter. Basically used by uilleann pipers to lower the pitch of their regulators. All you need is a set of guitar strings, the cheapest, use the fattest string first. Measure as not to block the reed hole at the top of the chanter. Insert string with a "J" at the bottom of the string and make sure the holes are not covered. By creating a smaller area inside the chanter, the pitch lowers.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p96d9a179517d4f1dae1803f0abf59851/e9b4303d.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pad838ed146ba52b278102df320f68b6b/e9b43038.jpg.orig.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p2c7bc24146a8b09ece147e3a1187d056/e9b43035.jpg.orig.jpg

My 80's Kintail chanter which pitches at A 472, will pitch at A 466 with one big string inserted.

[fifefighter]

One thing you could do is make a "rush" for your chanter. Basically used by uilleann pipers to lower the pitch of their regulators. All you need is a set of guitar strings, the cheapest, use the fattest string first. Measure as not to block the reed hole at the top of the chanter. Insert string with a "J" at the bottom of the string and make sure the holes are not covered. By creating a smaller area inside the chanter, the pitch lowers.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p96d9a179517d4f1dae1803f0abf59851/e9b4303d.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pad838ed146ba52b278102df320f68b6b/e9b43038.jpg.orig.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p2c7bc24146a8b09ece147e3a1187d056/e9b43035.jpg.orig.jpg

My 80's Kintail chanter which pitches at A 472, will pitch at A 466 with one big string inserted. Now other instruments that can transpose to B flat can play with the pipes. My drone have drone extenders.

[fifefighter]

One thing you could do is make a "rush" for your chanter. Basically used by uilleann pipers to lower the pitch of their regulators. All you need is a set of guitar strings, the cheapest, use the fattest string first. Measure as not to block the reed hole at the top of the chanter. Insert string with a "J" at the bottom of the string and make sure the holes are not covered. By creating a smaller area inside the chanter, the pitch lowers.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p96d9a179517d4f1dae1803f0abf59851/e9b4303d.jpg

My 80's Kintail chanter which pitches at A 472, will pitch at A 466 with one big string inserted. Now other instruments that can transpose to B flat can play with the pipes. My drone have drone extenders.

[fifefighter]

One thing you could do is make a "rush" for your chanter. Basically used by uilleann pipers to lower the pitch of their regulators. All you need is a set of guitar strings, the cheapest, use the fattest string first. Measure as not to block the reed hole at the top of the chanter. Insert string with a "J" at the bottom of the string and make sure the holes are not covered when inserting the string. By creating a smaller area inside the chanter, the pitch lowers.

My 80's Kintail chanter which pitches at A 472, will pitch at A 466 with one big string inserted. Now other instruments that can transpose to B flat can play with the pipes. My drone have drone extenders.