Memorial Day Semi-Annual Back-to-Basics … Part 2

In part 1 of my Memorial Day Back-to-Basics, I talked about the need to strengthen lips, lungs and arm, in order to play the music we love. With these three working with strength and control, you will be free to relax and play the chanter with more skill. With the big three working together, your mind will be free to concentrate on musical performance. In Part 2, let’s look at the bagpipes themselves.

Maintaining your instrument is fundamental to playing well. Even before playing, you should inspect your instrument, tuning, and warm-up. We sometimes (I know, because I have done it!) jump right into playing our latest and greatest tune without making sure our instrument is ready to be played. This inspection is not necessary every time we pick up our pipes, but certainly before our weekly band practice and any performance. A good rule of thumb is to do the maintenance the evening before an important event.

Start with a quick inspection. Are the drones (both stock end and drone slides), blowpipe and chanter properly hemped? Do the fittings sit too loosely in there stocks. Do the drones’ slides move smoothly but firmly? The last thing you want is to loose the top of a drone when it bumps a door, branch, etc.  Inspecting and adjusting these is to control your instrument to minimize changes in pitch and air loss. If any of these is loose (or too tight), the piper should work with hemp, waxed hemp and Teflon tape to insure the pipes can be adjusted.

You should also check the air tightness of the bag on a quarterly basis. If I’m going through the effort of playing, I sure don’t want to waste any air in keeping my pipes going. Cork the chanter stock (the chanter is removed). Then blow up the bag to the point that the installed drones have all stopped. Set the bag down and listen as the air slowly escapes. Listen and time on a watch for which drone plays first, which is second and third.  The drones should all hold and then moan at about the same time, in thirty to 40 seconds. If they don’t, then there may be a need to adjust the drone reed and / or drone valve (if you use valves). Also listen to the blow pipe for any air exiting due to the flapper valve not seating properly. Fix or replace as needed.

Then look at the pipe chanter for any tuning tape applied. Review that the tape is new and not slipping from the hole it is tuning. If it’s slipping or sticky when removed and re-applied, then it is time to replace the tape. Some pipers use black electrical tape, others use a clear bagpipe tape. As the weather changes, so does our tuning. So always have a piece (or two) of fresh unused tape stuck to your chanter sole in case you need to replace a piece.

Do you use a moisture system with your pipes? Moisture is one of the enemies of our pipes staying in tune. I highly encourage the use of moisture control systems. I use one moisture trap attached to my blow pipe and then secondary moisture capture to each drone. There are many different ways to capture the moisture in our breath. Some people swear by one brand over another. The key is to be using one. To use one, also means to maintain them. So I use a pipe bag with a zipper that lets me access the bag and moisture systems. I will regularly clean and dry the moisture systems. Another time we can speak to the different types on the market.

One last comment about maintenance. Do you have a maintenance kit with your pipes? You need one with tape, drone stoppers, hemp (waxed and un-waxed), Teflon tape, small scissors, etc. When you are confident in your instrument’s maintenance, you are ready to warm up and tune up. Stay ‘tuned’ for part 3.

Happy piping.

On piping with a metronome

As a kid, I remember going to the El Ray Theatre in beautiful downtown Manteca, CA to see the movie: The Bridge on the River Kwai starring William Holden and Sir Alec Guinness. In one scene you hear the British prisoners of war returning to the Japanese POW camp, first whistling the Colonel Bogey March, then you hear their boots marching in time to the music; very stirring “in your face”, spirit lifting combination. The movie was early impetus for me to learn whistling. When I reached High School, our marching band director, Mr. LeRoy Darling, chose for our parade competition piece: The Colonel Bogey March. I was in seventh heaven. The music drives the feet to march in time to the music.

Bagpiping is similar in that in many instances, the music is composed to be played on the march. Learning begins on the chanter in order to learn music and musical embellishments. You then progress to the bagpipes, applying the music technique now drilled into your head. This allows you (after a wee bit o’ practice) to manage breathing techniques with the pipe bag and handling your pipe chanter to produce a continuous sound and hopefully music. Can you imagine adding marching on top of that? Yet pipers learn how. I’ll speak to marching technique next time. Now back to the music (on the march or not). Practicing music, especially march music is all about the musicality of the tune played and keeping the beat.

Most of us do not have a natural internal sense for keeping time. Over the years I’ve found that successful drummers in bands (rock, orchestra, jazz, mariachi, marching or even bagpipe) have an innate sense of timing. The rest of us need lots of help to train our brains to keep time in a tune. Practicing on chanter or bagpipes lends itself to practicing with a metronome in order to teach our brains to keep proper time. Whether sitting or standing, tap your foot (or feet) to the metronome and music. Tapping your feet reinforces the tempo in your head. Later, in the piping circle, only the pipe major and bass drummer will tap their feet.

My chanter practice almost always includes a section of practice with my metronome and a headphone ear piece. I personally use only one earphone in one ear leaving the other ear for the music. When I’m learning new pieces (I’m just starting work on a hornpipe, Jimmy Blue) I may lower the timing to say 50 beats per minute, practicing the fingering diligently with all embellishments. Slowly over time, I will increase the speed until it is of the correct tempo. The metronome keeps me grounded and my music on target, tempo wise. Using the metronome keeps the embellishment in the proper place. The D-throw or taorluath is to be on the down beat, not early, not late.

When I get a tune up and playing on the pipes, I will play the tune with the metronome in one ear as well. Once the tune is being played well, in tempo, the piper can add marching. The marching must hit the beat of the tempo and music, or the music will quickly fall apart. So use the metronome in marching as well. Take your time, and be patient as you learn to keep the beat.

One last word about metronomes: use them as a tool, and not as a crutch. When practicing, also include time away from metronome. This gives your mind time to apply what it has learned and become conditioned through using the metronome. If you find yourself speeding up in the fourth part of a march or jig, go back to the metronome, and work through. Soon, your marching and playing will be together and you’ll be ready to join a pipe band that marches.

Whistle with me now, swing those arms like you are in the British Army, and march…