As many notes on an NSP chanter can be bent about a quarter tone
without putting the drones far out - at least on a good reed day - I
guess one difference between a good piper and a fairly good one is the
former will squeeze notes into tune unconsciously and accurately, the
latter consciously and only fairly accurately.
I often think of singing the note, so I have an idea of the pitch
in my head, to aim for. Listening to the chord with the drones - if
these are in tune - also helps with some notes. It is the notes that
harmonise with the drones which are most exposed if out of tune, so
recognising a just 3rd or whatever tells you you've got there. The
singing trick doesn't work so well if you are still thinking
equal-tempered, mind. So chords are better.
Long notes are good practice for this - I wonder if this is one
reason Tom Clough liked playing hymn tunes? 'Oh God our Help in Ages
Past' (aka St Anne, or 'The Goldfish') is a good one for this, dead
slow.
I sometimes use this to see if the drones are 'really' in tune.
When I started playing NSP after playing the flute for years, my
embouchure would bend to try to bring notes in - ineffective of itself,
but I found I was doing something useful as well, as the notes came
more into tune (I pinched a non-existent thumbhole to get the top
octave on the whistle, as well). That first set I had needed a bit
of variable squeezing to bring some notes close to where they should
be.
Intonation is a mystery on most instruments, and the hardest part
to get right. A related issue is tone colour - finger vibrato alters
the harmonics of a note substantially, changing the colour a lot;
pressure vibrato much less so. Taking a lower finger off the chanter
may vary the pitch up or down, so you can use finger vibrato to improve
the intonation as well as the colour. Or worsen the intonation, if you
use the wrong finger.
Knowing which lower finger moves which notes in which direction is
something one ought to learn. I tend to use the same finger whatever,
if it works.
John
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