If it's in tune, and if it makes life easier, use it.
On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 6:08 PM, Kevin <[1][email protected]> wrote:
Hi to All,
I am curious to know if any of the pipers who play open-ended
pipes,
such as the Border Pipes, mouth blown of with bellows, use or have
come
across a finger style/position that use a 'closed fingering' for
the
top A (or top note of your chanter). I am not taking about notes
above
the octave.
I got my Border pipe chanter in the early 90s, tuned in A and
plays 9
notes, it has a sharpened 7th (G#) hole and can get a G natural by
cross fingering.
The top A note is/was obtained by lifting the top hand off but
keeping
the ring finger down as in the Highland finger position (i believe
this
to be the standard way to get the top note: [bottom hand] oxxx
[top
hand] xoo o).
But, recently I have come across a different and what seems to me
a
easier way of playing a top A which is in keeping with the 'closed
fingering' of the Northumbrian/Scottish Border tradition, and i am
wondering if anyone has used or uses this fingering style?
the top A would be played like this: oxxx xxx o
i have been trying this out on various tunes i play on the Border
pipes from Peacock, Bewick, Dixon etc. and this finger style for
the
top A goes very well with a lot if not all of the tunes.
if your chanter is a little sharp in the top A, this will
flattening it
a fraction, which can add colour to the melody as well as putting
a out
of tune chanter in tune!
if you have a G natural hole/note, without cross fingering, the
runs
are easy to play as well, but what i find 'natural' to finger, is
the
tunes where there are jumps from the lower notes to the top A or
from a
high A down to the lower notes, such tunes as Newmarket Races,
Blackett
of Wylam...the list is endless... one can play these jumps without
leaving go of the chanter with the top hand, a lot steadier and
notes
are obtained faster.
By playing both finger positions for top A, (often in the same
tune
depending on runs and note order) can add to a versatile
technique,
also a leap from cross fingering to closed fingering (Border Pipes
to
Northumbrian Small Pipe) is a step closer (?).
I am still experimenting with this finger position but i find i am
naturally using it with out much difficulty for my chanter, it
would
make life easier if i had a chanter with a G natural hole, but
when i
play G# the top A is not so difficult to play, by alternating the
top A
finger positions I find playing the difficult passages more
steadier
and quicker (i consider myself having a slow tempo).
I would be curious to know if any of the chanters who model their
style on european fingering use this finger position? such as the
John
Swayne chanters?
Best wishes,
Kevin
--
[2]http://www.ethnopiper.com
[3]http://www.youtube.com/kevnsp
[4]http://kevnsp.blogspot.com
[5]http://facebook.com/kevin.tilbury
[6]http://soundcloud.com/kevnsp
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References
1. mailto:[email protected]
2. http://www.ethnopiper.com/
3. http://www.youtube.com/kevnsp
4. http://kevnsp.blogspot.com/
5. http://facebook.com/kevin.tilbury
6. http://soundcloud.com/kevnsp
7. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
