Yes, Sheila's right.
anyone who got tired of the tuning debate on previous occasions is invited to
stop here ;-)
Question: Is your absolute pitch in equal temperament. In other words, does a
piano sound in tune - especially the thirds?
I have nothing approaching absolute pitch but very acute relative pitch. A few
of my friends with absolute pitch have told me that it can be more of a burden
than a blessing, and I'm inclined to believe them - particularly as I'm
regularly changing from A = 415 to 440 or thereabouts with my bigger viols and
baroque violin/viola depending on who I'm playing with and where, and I tune my
pardessus to something like "very low French chamber pitch" (Quantz) around 390
because a) it's more authentic and b) the top string doesn't break every other
day.
("up and down like the vicar's wife's knickers" to quote a colleague)
Sorry about that..
Seriously though..
In theory, at least according to some authorities, the nsp chanter is tuned in
just intonation (pure intervals sound better against the drones) and of course
it can only be perfect in one key. Even if it's "ideally" tuned for G major,
you have to decide whether you want the E to make a pure fifth with the low A
or a pure third with the C - you can't have both. And the B and A will be
considerably flat and a bit sharp respectively relative to a piano or other
equal temperament instrument (or tuning device).
In practice, of course, slight tempering can be applied and pressure tweaked
(oops, heresy aaarghh!!) to get things sounding subjectively more or less ok,
even in different keys - including, arguably, at a pinch, E minor (which some
authorities claim is impossible).
I hasten to add that I'm not an authority. The above is just a synthesis of
what I've gleaned from various sources.
To flatten a note semipermanently you can apply a small crescent of white
wood-glue (PVA) to the leading edge of the offending hole. Since the chanter is
oiled (we hope) it is a very easy matter to remove any glue again using a sharp
pointed object without damaging the chanter.
Recommendations for chanter tuning can be found here (not strictly just
intonation - the A, for example would be +4 if if were):
http://www.machineconcepts.co.uk/smallpipes/tuning.htm
Hope I haven't opened any cans of worms or trodden on any toes here.
chirs
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Wright Allan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 11:22 PM
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; nsp@cs.dartmouth.edu
>Subject: [NSP] Re: More choyting!
>
>Thanks Sheila and Colin for your advice, I'll give it a go and see
>how it works out.
>
>I'll try playing some A minor stuff to see if the E sounds right as
>the fifth in that key then if not, I'll give the maker a go - if I
>get no answer from him, I'll try the wax.
>
>What a helpful lot you pipers are! (I won't say 'we pipers' just yet
>as scales and a few simple hornpipes probably don't qualify me!)
>
>Allan
>
>
>
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