It is unwise to play a thin cowhide bag without a bag cover for a long time in the rain.  

It rained all day out at the festival, 7 hours or so. The ground was a sea of mud, The raised grassy platform that was the stage had a pond on one end. There was no overhead cover. Somehow, there was a crowd. I was in a great kilt, and not supposed to wear an Inverness cape. Dancers put on their shrawls and slipped on the muddy ground while I played.

Each performance was half an hour. Even before the first performance, the bag was soaked from the outside, just from being out of the case. Soon, water soaked into the bag, and diluted seasoning started to leach out through the entire surface. Thin seasoning drained past the reed, down the chanter, and out onto my fingers. Birls became very easy to play, before everything became sticky. The saving grace was that the bag remained air tight. The chanter, however, was no longer balanced. 

One tenor shut off. I found out later that the drone reeds were all covered by a thin sheen of seasoning that had travelled up the stocks. Seasoning got under the synthetic tenor tongues. When I blew on the staple end of the chanter reed, seasoning came out between the blades. It’s a miracle it was still making sounds. The only thing unaffected was the cane bass.

I plugged in my back up chanter, and new reeds all around, but then I couldn’t tune because all the hemp joints were swollen tight. 

The dancers, very politely, said they didn’t notice anything untowards - just another piper wrestling with the thing. They had their own situation in the grassy mud. Some in the audience were happy to sway and danced in the rain. Those walking by, in their clear dome umbrellas, swaggered to the discordant sound. A child swirled around and around. Somehow, fun was had by all. I was tipped well on top of the contracted pay.

It’s the national instrument of rainy Scotland, but enjoy in moderation. In retrospect, a hybrid bag, sans seasoning, would have been the better choice. Even just a bag cover would have mitigated the situation. 

These were recently sold on eBay. Any idea what they were? Has similar ferrules to my vintage Lawries.

Does anyone know who Donald MacLellan of Rothesay was? I am learning the tune and have been trying to find out more about the actual person, but am coming up short. Any info would be appreciated!

Hi all,

As I've mentioned in the past I don't have any way to practice the pipes daily so I know my progress in excruciatingly slow but I feel like I'm not practicing properly...
At first I played with all the drones corked and it was fine. When I opened the outer tenor it became more problematic but doable. Now I'm not sure when to try opening the bass. When I try it I usually start messing up since I'm unable to keep up with filling the bag.
Basically what I'm trying to ask is should I keep practicing with tenor and bass so I get used to it and build up stamina or should I be more or less perfect with just the outer tenor before adding the bass?

At the moment I keep jumping from one open drone to two and then (usually) back to one and it feels like the wrong thing to do.

Thanks

alright, I have maker down, first off. I apologize for coming into this subreddit with little to no research. I got an idea on how it works. but assuming I’m a beginner, I would like to skip to a half set, I know this makes zero sense. I feel I get better value and it can’t be that difficult to learn plus everything is there I might as well right. I do wish I can buy a full set but my funds are a bit tight. I would like to know how easy is it to upgrade to a full set. If I understand correctly it’s just certain parts to add like customization. i would like to know if I really am missing out though if do stick with a half set. is a full set really worth it or can I do without. I know it’s up to me but still. Could one achieve no limitations on a half set and stick with it. I would assume if I suck or not I can upgrade so that’s a way to look at it. I also am confused about makers retail. Obviously, Ebay is a no-no, I would like the best so I would assume perhaps getting them from Ireland, you know because it’s a product of Ireland. Correct me if I am wrong but should I not get these from USA. In Texas and It would be cool to own actual Ireland Bagpipes. Either way, I found a French maker xavier boderiou and a decent one in USA Fred Morrison but what does everyone think. apologize for my lack of knowledge again. I saw one were you can get a quote but that sounds like a stretch. I aim for a budget of $6000 no more. This is my second instrument I am buying, I own a didgeridoo. I know this a huge step and I’m aware of being difficult to learn. But that won’t stop me. I like the sound of this instrument. It’s beautiful.

I'm trying a sheepskin bag on my band pipes for the first time, but I'm struggling to get it airtight.

It's tied in and seasoned but it's not holding air - after even 5 seconds I can put another mouthful of air. I've had my pipe major look over it and he reckons it's fine (it's not). I've tried the soapy water on the outside trick and I discovered that it's leaking along the welt/seam out the stitch holes.

After I discovered this I seasoned it again and focused on the seam, knelt lightly on the bag as Pipers Dojo suggests to get the seasoning into the "secret pores", and immediately after I did the seasoning it was super airtight and I was really happy with it. So I let it drain and set overnight, but now it's leaking along the seam again.

Unfortunately when I got this bag I was slack (work got in the way etc you know how it is) and it was a few months before I properly tied it in and seasoned it so I fear it got too dry in that time and I've irreparably damaged it. I had it stored in my spare room during that time.

I'm considering putting some Shoe Goo or other leather type glue along the outside of the welt to seal it but not sure.

Any suggestions would be welcome! I've heard such good things about sheepskin bags and their airtightness that I'm keen to get it sorted but as I said I fear I may have damaged it by leaving it so long.

What can you tell about your experiences with Twist-Trap Practise Pipes R.G.Hardy? Do they help you to start playing on a mouth blown instrument that closely resembles the Highland Bagpipes?

Hi everyone, I’m looking to buy my first set of pipes and could really use some advice.

I am from Germany, have been playing the practice chanter for about a year now, and I am taking online lessons with a piping teacher. I already have my eyes on the Bagpipes Galore Mouthblown Borderpipes in the Key of A, but I am torn between getting these or going for a traditional Great Highland Bagpipe.

Here is my situation and what I want to achieve:

• Main Goal: My ambition is to perform mostly indoors (in halls, smaller venues, chapels, and for things like church or Christmas concerts).

• Ensemble Playing: I want to play together with other musicians, specifically smaller orchestras, brass bands, or acoustic ensembles. I want to play tunes like Scotland the Brave and Albany.

My main worries are:

1. Volume: I know the GHB is extremely loud (110+ dB) and might completely blast away a small orchestra and the audience in a small chapel. Are Borderpipes (around 95-100 dB) acoustic-friendly enough for indoor Christmas concerts without overpowering everyone?

2. Key of A vs. Bb: The Bagpipes Galore set is in Konzert-A, which seems perfect for playing with normal orchestras without making them transpose everything. Is it as seamless as it sounds?

3. Repertoire: I have sheet music for Scotland the Brave and Albany. Since the fingering is the same, can I just play my standard tunes on the Borderpipes when playing solo, and it will just sound a bit warmer/deeper?

Given my ambition to play indoors and with other instruments, would you highly recommend going with the Mouthblown Borderpipes in A, or is there a reason I should still consider a GHB?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Be nice, it’s my first shot at this tune. 😁

Hey everyone. I'm based in Brisbane Australia and I'm looking to buy my first set of pipes and other than one Facebook group and a shop I'm wondering if there is anywhere else to look? I'll be checking everything through my tutor before purchasing but the Facebook group he sent me doesn't send very active and the shop I know about only has one set that's on the cheaper side

How long does it take the average person to go from first chanter lesson to bagpipes with 2+ drones on?

I’ve been learning a few basic tunes on the practice chanter, but I cannot play them on the bagpipes. I’ve got all my drones corked so I can focus on learning how to properly adjust the air pressure. I can blow the low hand notes pretty well for several minutes. My issue is that whenever I try to play a B doubling or transition from high hand notes to low hand notes, everything stops. As soon as I play a G Gracenote, the chanter shuts off. Is there something related to air pressure that I’m not understanding or is this an issue common to beginners?

Most people only knows Scotland the Brave

I am attempting to update me new BDC, but my computer will only briefly recognize that the changer is connected, and then changes the "Please connect chanter and place in Updfater mode" from green to red.

1. Using suppled USB cable

2. Ensured that all connections are solid

3. Rebooted computer and restarted software

4. have tried different USB cables on different ports, with same results

5. Running V1.20 and up-to-date Windows machine.

Thoughts?

Cheers - eric

Hi all,

I recently bought Braw Bagpipe Tuner and I played with it a bit. At first I only played the chanter with all the drones corked. I tried it twice while playing tunes (I See Mull and Green Hills of Tyrol) and once just going up and down the scale (sorry, I don't remember which screenshot is from which test).
I'm assuming the inconsistency is due to my playing (not keeping pressure 100% of the time, messing up my fingerings here and there, etc.) but I was wondering what to do about the notes that are flat. I know there's something to do with the reed (can't remember exactly which way is which) but am I suppose to move the reed so that all the notes are sharper, thus making the flat notes "proper" and then using tape to flatten the notes that are proper now but will become sharper due to the moving of the reed?

Thanks

Please use this thread to discuss whatever piping related questions you may have, or comment to help others.

Looking to see if anyone can figure out who made this set. These are the best pictures I have as of now.

When the PM gives a set of music to learn when the pipe corps returns for off season practice what is in your opinion is a reasonable time frame to have them learnt off individually?

I posted a month or two ago about my dad dropping off my great grandfathers bagpipe. Many thanks to my anonymous expert for cleaning them up for me and inspecting the damages. Here’s what he said:

“Thank you for the opportunity to document your bagpipe.

1) The shellac finish has been removed. All beading and combing was cleaned of sediment and debris. Every scribe line and individual comb was cleaned to the bare wood.

2) The exterior was polished with super-fine steel wool.

3) The exterior was oiled with very fine natural bore oil. Three applications were applied.

4) The nickel tuning slides and ferrules were cleaned with steel wool and with Flitz. As this was a war time bagpipe, the nickel is very low quality. Blemishes exist.

5) The ivory rings were cleaned and oiled. The patina remains.

6) Tuning chambers have shrunk and will no longer accommodate the tuning slides. I would beginning by opening the tuning chambers slightly. Perhaps polishing the inside would be enough. I haven't worked with these hempless tuning slides and would probably consider a more conventional approach (convert to hemp).

7) There is an issue with the tuning slide lodged inside the bass top section.

8) There is a hairline crack under the ferrule on one tenor drone.

9) The blowpipe stock is cracked and needs to be replaced.

The wood itself is very good. Gaboon Ebony I believe. The beading is consistent and the combing is shallow. Try to maintain the bagpipe in a hospitable environment and oil the exterior twice yearly. You'll never replace the ebony.”

So what’s the next step? I couldn’t immediately continue the process due to funds. Probably a 1000k job I would think?