What a great idea indeed seems to be building momentum. I really
enjoyed watching Andy May's demo at Halsway of making/scraping a reed.
I suspect it's not quite as easy as he made it look :-) but as you
say, it's a skill we all need.
And fiddle tuning - while I was in a music shop some time ago a woman
came in with a violin, and asked them to tune it. Apparently she'd been
doing this once a week for ages!
Best wishes,
Richard.
R. Evans wrote:
For ten years or more I have been using second-grade chanter reeds
(and spare chanters) in hands-on workshops for the Lowland and
Borders Pipers Society. This allows people to practice adjusting
reeds (and, indeed, simply learn to handle them properly) without
any risk to their own pipes.
The basics of reed adjustment and setting are pretty easy, but need
to be learned like anything else.
I think this sort of thing should be part of any piping instruction
day/course and that players should be firmly encouraged in this
direction. Not being able to do this, or recognise when it needs
doing, would be like playing a fiddle without being able to tune it.
Come to think of it, there are a few people in that position too!
Cheers
Richard
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