Here's my 2 cents on the temperament issue: It's all well and good to have the chart showing the variation of each note from equal temperament, and I speak as a scientist-type who likes things to be clear, concise, and preferably in a table where I can look them up. With that said, I don't think the chart is the best approach.
Here's my strategy for tuning my strings and tangents: 0.5) Play for a while with the strings pretty much in tune, to get the instrument warmed up. If you do the steps below when the instrument is cold, you'll have to do it all again when it warms up. Apply fresh cotton to the chanters and trompette. 1) Tune the first chanter to a standard (such as an electronic tuner) 2) Adjust the chanter nut so that the octave tangent is straight up and down. The tuner can be helpful here, but your ears should ultimately be able to tell you when the octave is in tune. 3) Check that the chanter is still in tune to the standard. 4) Tune the second chanter to the first. 5) Adjust the chanter nut of the second chanter, also adjusting the tangent so that both tangents hit the strings at the same time. 6) Disengage the second chanter, and tune the trompette by ear to the first chanter. Use the appropriate key if you need a reference as to approximately where to tune the trompette (i.e. a 4th or a 5th) but in the end the trompette should be tuned to a pure interval with the chanter. With practice, you'll know it when you hear it: it will sound "right", as in, "Ah, that's it." (If you check the trompette tuning with an electronic tuner, it will be "off" by a bit. This is expected, because you used a pure interval.) 7) Use the trompette as your reference to tune the tangents on the first chanter. Some intervals will be easy to identify as being right, some not so much - just do the best you can, and practice, and refer to a tuner if needed, but remember that your ears are the best judge. Check the tuning between the chanter and the trompette regularly so that you know that it's still pure. 8) Disengage the trompette, engage the second chanter, and use your newly tuned tangents as the reference point for tuning the tangents on the second chanter. Remember that these tangents must not just be in tune with no warbles or beats, but must also touch their respective strings at the same time. 9) Use either one or both chanters as the reference for tuning the remaining drone strings: mouche, petit bourdon, and gros bourdon. 10) You're in tune: play! Your mileage may vary on this method, and it's best for just playing with other HG's or anyone else in just intonation in your key of choice. When I started playing HG, I was a tuner addict - the tuner was God, it told me what the note should be, and I should adjust it to that note or else. I first started to realize that something was wrong when I'd tune the C key tangents with the tuner and tune my trompette in C by ear to the G chanter, and find that my C key was discordant with my trompette. If I tuned my trompette with the tuner, it didn't sound as good with the chanter. Cali encouraged me to use my ears more and my tuner less, and I've slowly found my way away from the electronic aid. It's not that tuners are inherently bad, it's just that they don't always give HG players the best advice. Enjoy, and happy tuning, Alden
