Hello Richard and Barry, I agree entirely with the comments here. Comfort and the avoidance of stress are essential for the effective use of any instrument, and consequently for musicality.
One aspect of this puzzles me. I have studied a large number of paintings and engravings showing pipes bags of the past. I have also examined many examples in museums. Whether they are from Breughel, Praetorius or any other picture showing a bag without a fabric cover, they are invariably inverted bags, i.e. with the seam inside the bag which has been turned inside out after sewing. An extra folded strip of leather is sewn between the cheeks of the bag but this does not project.Musettes are always constructed in this fashion and so are early bags from the time of the Reids and Dunn. In contrast modern bags have the sewn seam projecting as a narrow edge. This is not necessarily more uncomfortable than an internal seam but it has infinitely more potential to be so if the bag is an awkward shape or held in an inconvenient position. I wonder when and why this older and better method was discontinued. Examples here: Praetorius: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Syntagma07.png Dürer (click to enlarge - 150%?: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/d/durer/2/13/4/076.html And of course, here! : http://www.richard-york.co.uk/past/bagpipicsmod.html Francis Francis On 26 Jan 2010, at 21:27, Barry Say wrote: > Hi Richard, > > Excuse me while I mount my hobby-horse. > > The size of the bag relative to the body shape of the player can have a > crucial effect on the perceived difficulty of playing the pipes. I observed > the posture of many players in piping meetings and I came to the conclusion > that those who had the bag tucked well up into their armpit leaving the > forearm detached seemed to have the greatest freedom in playing the pipes, so > I resolved to adopt this position. > > When playing, my bag rests in the crook of my elbow and 2/3 to 3/4 of my > forearm is not in contact with the bag. The problem with adopting this stance > is having the confidence that the bag will stay where it is put. It took me > several years to get my pipes and my stance comfortable, but now I find that > I can play almost any non-leaking pipes with relative ease. > > For a long time, the corner of my bellows was rubbing on my right wrist and > causing an abrasion. Now there is 3 inch separation between the wrist and the > corner. I dont remeber how I got rid of that problem. > > I am currently considering taking an inch off the neck of my bag to bring the > chanter to a more comfortable position. > > I experimented with playing with the bag more in front of the body, but I > found that this required active pressure from the arm to squeeze the bag, > whereas with a standard bag I feel as though it is the weight of my arm which > is compressing the bag. > > Does this help? > > Barry > > > Richard York wrote: >> I'd welcome comments/advice on nsp bag shape, please. > > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
