A frequent question I receive about practice strategies concerns what percentage of your practice time should be split between pipes and practice chanter.
I think most people would like to hear that they should play their chanter a lot more that their pipes, but the truth is exactly the opposite.
Beginners and intermediates will spend most of their time on chanter because they are learning the basics. Beginners don’t even have pipes yet. At that stage they are learning their first tunes and figuring out fingering and technique, and all of that is best done on chanter.
Once you’re past that stage, you should play your chanter when you have a specific reason to: memorizing a tune, improving technique, or trying to refine the expression of a tune. Too many pipers default to chanter because it’s easier than pipes, and they fool themselves into thinking they are doing more good for their piping than they actually are.
When I was actively competing and trying hard to improve, I played my chanter a lot. But it was for very specific reasons. I was learning lots of new material, including piobaireachds and band tunes, and I was working very hard on my technique, playing exercises that would eventually become Rhythmic Fingerwork.
I would spend 45 minutes playing these exercises three or four times a week. This was done in addition to my bagpipe playing, not instead of. As my technique got better (and it did very quickly with all that exercise playing) I discovered I was able to finesse my expression better than I could before. So I also spent time on chanter playing tunes into a recording machine then listening back to see how I could further improve my music. That was fun, because, while I was no Gordon Walker, my fingers would now do mostly what I wanted them to do. (I often find when I’m teaching, that what often appears to be an expression problem is really a technique problem. The player — and sometimes they are very good players — just doesn’t have the facility with the technique to play the required expression.)
The above was all work that was best done on chanter, not pipes, though I was continuing to practice my pipes from 45-90 minutes 5-6 days a week during the competing season.
These days, things are much different. All that chanter work many years ago was like money in the bank, and I still live off the interest. Today, I play my chanter only when I’m learning new tunes, teaching classes, or running a chanter practice. All of my serious playing gets done on pipes.
Often I even learn new tunes on pipes. You know that first 10 minutes of your practice time when your pipes are unsteady and your fingers are cold and you play through some tired old 4/4 marches to get things going? Use that time better. Set up a music stand, put the sheet music on it, and use that first 10 minutes to memorize tunes. If you’re blowing in a new reed, shut your drones off and learn a tune while you’re doing it. Memorize while you blow in that reed.
The message I’d like you to get here is that my practice was on chanter or pipes according to what I needed, and that has changed over time. Your practice should be about what you need to improve your playing. It may be on chanter; it may be on pipes. But don’t take the lazy way out.
Great post Jim. I am not so sure I agree you had/have any less technique than wee Gordon – I am a big wee Gordon fan, but you had and have some pretty superlative technique – some of your you tube stuff, done recently, shows that. I also find the chanter good for exercises, and have found doing exactly what you say, playing exercises on it, to be very beneficial. When younger I used to play tunes on the chanter – now I tend to play phrases or exercises. Anyway thanks for a great post – this blog is great, keep them coming please – we all benefit from your superb knowledge and ability to convey it as well to others.
I’ve found putting my practice chanter in a drawer and leaving it there is one of the best things I’ve ever done for my piping. I learn all my tunes on pipes. I think this is something more people should endeavor to do. While it may take some a bit of getting used to it will pay off in the end.
At the end of each season I learn 4 piobaireachds. This once took a considerable amount of time away from pipes. Often two or three months depending on the pieces. When it came time to put the tunes on pipes I ended up being full of biterness because I wasn’t able to do what I could on the practice chanter. My left hand wasn’t able to produce clean gracing because it wasn’t used to the pressure exerted from the bag. After a few weeks of regular practice I would finally start to see progress and become happy with what was starting to happen. This transitional period was always a very difficult time of year to keep focus and stay positive. It let a self defeating attitude creep in and either ruin or cut short valuable practice time. By learning my tunes on pipes I’ve eliminated my least favorite part of playing. It’s also added anywhere from 120-180 hours of time on pipes I wouldn’t be getting had I not abandoned something that wasn’t helping my playing. Now the only time I play my practice chanter my lesson night every two weeks. I find it foreign and rejoice when I return it to it’s new home at the bottom of a drawer.
This is exactly the kind of info I need to hear. It’s one thing to know something, and it’s another thing to put it into practice. Persuasive reminder always help me keep up good habits. A couple of posts ago Jim wrote about “Practice Chanter Champions” and I realized I was becoming one! I’ve been on the pipes almost every day since, 30-45 minutes and have made HUGE progress in only a month or so. This post is a great follow-up.
For those of us alone in the piping wilderness (and inherently prone to laziness and poor habits) it’s fantastic to have a guiding voice. While I’ll never be a Jim McGillivray, it’s invaluable to get the pearls of wisdom that keep one on the pathway to some kind of improvement. As with your other posts this is great counsel. Hard to face, but great counsel. Thanks, Jim. Keep writing.
A couple years ago, I discovered a strange modern device called a Music Stand. Apparently it is possible to use one of these while playing the Pipes… not only that.. it is possible to sit in a chair while doing it. I do like a larger sheet of music for this… 11 x 17 “Biggie size” which I keep in an art portfolio.
Practice Chanter… more often than not I don’t use a proper PC anymore… but I do play a Practice Goose. I made a custom chanter stock, tied that into an old Ross bag that is beyond its useful life (its kinda leaky) then tied in some giant rubber stoppers where the Drones go. Its amazing that Geese are not more common.