Do I need the practice chanter?

by Christina
(Gothenburg)

Hello Bill!
I was recently on a vacation to Scotland, and bought myself a bagpipe. The store owner told me that i could use the bagpipe's chanter to practice playing. Well, I got home to Sweden and realized that i couldn't possibly make the chanter sound in any way.

So my question is; do I need a practice chanter, and is the chanter of my bagpipe even playable if not connected to the bag itself?

Yours sincerely
Christina

Bill's Reply
Yes, Christina, you need a practice chanter with suitable reed and good tutorials programme to commence learning to play the Highland Bagpipe. Even pipers use the practice chanter often to go through technique routines, revision, and to study new music etc.

I wonder if you bought a complete set of bagpipes. It would be interesting to know the make/manufacturer of the bagpipes. The maker should have a name on the top of the chanter above the top hole at the back. The instrument should be complete with well set good reeds, a good quality bag (synthetic type better for a beginner). The seller should not have sold you bagpipes if you said that you wanted to learn to play. You should have been advised to start with the practice chanter complete with its reed, and a suitable tutorials package, at least a manual with CD, if not an interactive DVD like mine. I suspect that you have been sold the proverbial “lemon” – an inferior product.

You may send us a detailed photograph/s of your pipes including the bag with some of the bag cover aside to show the bag material, and the reeds which can be found either in the drones and chanter when removed carefully, or in a box supplied with the pipes. If you paid say about British Pounds 200 to 500, you might have been sold a set made in Pakistan that in some cases are not playable (meant to be an ornament), or of very much inferior quality even with good quality reeds.

I am interested in following this, and would like to know the name of the shop/supplier if you do not mind.

The attached extracts from my maintenance section of my manuals will provide you with some indications about the Highland bagpipe and how various parts look.

I trust this helps.

Regards

Bill