Morning - for those who hanker after multi-key extended chanters (or
are wondering at the minutiae of what is being discussed) here's a
little exercise that will demonstrate one of the key differences.
First; take a pencil and hold it as you would a chanter - almost no
effort is required to hold it and the centre of gravity is between the
two hands.
Now take a long feather duster with a wooden handle - (3' or 1m will do)
(http://www.jbsgroup.ie/catalog/feather-duster-with-long-handle-p-1448.html)
Turn it upside down with the feathery bit pointing at the floor (but
not resting on it and hold the top of the handle as you would a chanter.
The centre of gravity of the instrument is now well below the bottom
hand and the natural tendency is for the stick to swing to vertical. A
much greater effort is required to main stability in the neutral
playing position. Now 'play' a few notes including the two thumbs and
the you should be able to feel how the whole stick is trying to jump
about.
The effect is more pronounced the further you normally hold your
chanter from vertical.
For a standard length chanter (simple, 7k, or 7+accidentals) the
centre of gravity for the chanter is approximately at the centre
between the hands. This means that when removing either thumb, the
hands are mainly focused on maintaining balance and chanter can be
held still with relatively little effort. When you switch to an
extended chanter (bottom B or longer) the centre of gravity moves a
lot lower - certainly below the back thumb and sometimes below the
right hand. When the player removes a thumb, the hands have to do a
completely different mechanical job to maintain balance in the
chanter. The tendency is for the chanter to move more. Many players of
extended chanters choose to anchor the base by planting it on the leg
to counteract this.
Actually playing the keys is a subject for another day.
cheers
Rob
(http://www.milecastle27.co.uk/rob/)
To get on or off this list see list information at
http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
