Northumbrian smallpipe tuning

[Jim McGillivray]

I'd be interested to hear from NSPers a little bit about the order in which they tune their drones. On my Colin Ross F set, when playing in the key of G, I tune the little d drone first, then tune the little g drone to it, then bring in the big G. In D I tune the d first again, then the a, then bring in the big D. Interestingly, on my previous Sloan set in G I had better luck starting with the d and leaving the little g to last. How do other folks tune?

I also find as I get more accustomed to this instrument after a couple of years of playing, that I'm very cautious as I diagnose tuning problems. Sometimes, what I've thought was a chanter tuning problem has actually been a drone steadiness problem. How do folks go about finding the source of tuning or unsteadiness problems? I have my own way, but I'm not sure it's the best.

I appreciate any feedback on these tuning issues.

Cheers,
Jim

[Ian Lawther]

I normally tune small G, large G, D, and follow the same pattern for other keys, including D with an alto A, where I would do d,D, high a.

Thinking about it I follow the same pattern of high tonic, low tonic, fifth (if applicable) with all pipes - GHB/SSP tenors then bass, uilleann tenor/ baritone/bass, borders tenor/bass/alto.

Ian

[Richard Shuttleworth]

I usually tune high g, high d, low G and I follow the same pattern d, A, D for the other drones.

I used to tune d, g, G but found that I ended up adjusting more between d and g (in other words I arrive at a final result faster by tuning the high octave first and then moving to the fifth).

On the question of tuning between the drones and the chanter, I find that my playing pressure increases slightly between initial tuning and after having played for a few minutes. I then have to retune my drones slightly. Not only do the reeds have to settle in, so does the player, at least in my case!

[Peter Dyson]

To expand this discussion just a little, what exactly do you tune your first drone to ?

Ian wrote:

I normally tune small G, large G, D, and follow the same pattern for other keys, including D with an alto A, where I would do d,D, high a.

So which notes on the chanter do you play to get started ?

Peter

[Ian Lawther]

I tune initially to a false d - that is get close to being in tune while playing d with the lower hand off to adjust the drone. I then fine tune to low G by a process of playing a true g, adjusting, checking true g again, twiddling, checking again, tweeking, checking........

At one time (on my old Hedworths) I could play a true g and hook my thumb over the drones and adjust the drone with that. But I've given up on that these days.

[John Dally]

Jim, when you tune the D drone first, are you tuning it to a true D on the chanter or a low G? FWIW, I tune my tune G drones to the low G on the chanter, starting with the low G drone, then tune the D drone to those two drones while playing a false D. I tune the D drone to the other two drones, not the false D coming out of the chanter, but I don't ignore it either.

As for blowing, finding the right "place" where all the notes of the chanter come in just right, and the drones lock on, I'm discovering it is really as much an art as blowing tone on a GHB, but different. Once I found the plateau that John Liestman described in his recent article, then I explored it to try to find that perfect place for tone. I'm constantly "walking" around this familiar territory or zone, learning about it and how it changes as conditions change, and in many ways still searching.

Hope that helps,