I'm trying to make myself some elder drone reeds, partly through curiosity to see what they sound like, partly because while post-flu clumsy I sadly destroyed my existing small d one recently. I know it's a skill, I know I'll probably get there eventually: others have done so, and probably a lot faster! What I'm struck with is just how persistent the original makers of such reeds must have been - they hadn't got good and helpful people to turn to who'd already done it, so they weren't even sure it would work, yet they kept on. OK, so you try it a few times, it doesn't work, the average human being concludes it ain't going to, and moves onto the next thing, but they went on in either sheer bloody-mindedness or conviction of something. In fact there's a lot about instrument making in general, and pipes making in particular, which only works once several variables are all working right at the same time, so feeling post-flu philosophical, I keep on being reminded just how important making music, and making The Right Sound is, that people who invented all this stuff did simply persevere until the thing worked! Richard, still in slightly surreal mode. --
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