Tips to Adjust Your Drone Reeds for Maximum Efficiency
If you’re a bagpiper looking for ways to increase the efficiency of your bagpipe, read below…
The efficiency of a bagpipe is dependent on the efficiency of the drone reeds. If the air consumed by the drone reeds is more than necessary, it would be more difficult for you to blow/play your instrument. However, the air consumed by the drone reeds can be controlled by adjusting the bridle. Once the reeds have been adjusted, they would not consume more air than necessary and produce a pleasing sound – just the way you want them to. A lot of you might have questions on how to actually go about adjusting the bridle/reeds. Well, here’s a detailed explanation of the same…
You need to move the bridle to adjust the efficiency of the drone reed – if the tongue is short; the air taken by the reed is less. Conversely, if you increase the length of the tongue, the air taken by the reed will be more. You then need to cork off the bass and one tenor drone. Radically, decrease the length of the tongue on the other tenor drone reed so that it does not sound when ‘mouth-blown’. Now, this is where you put the reed in your mouth (while it’s seated in the drone) and blow. Next, the tongue needs to be moved back slightly so that the reed begins to sound. Once this has been done, it is time for you to place the drone into your bagpipe and fire it up! Now, sound your chanter. If the drone reed happens to shut down, you will have to move the bridle to increase the length of the tongue. It is good to be conservative at times because small amendments can deliver huge results. Fire up your pipes again and sound the chanter. When your reed is properly adjusted, it will continue to sound while the chanter is being played to pitch.
Now you need to slightly over-blow your bagpipe. Your drone should stop sounding, as the excessive air would cause the tongue to flatten against the body of the reed and prevent the flow of air. This way you would come to know that you have balanced your drone reed to the strength of your chanter reed.
Read also:- A Brief History of Bagpipes
This process needs to be repeated for the other tenor and bass reed. Once all the three drone reeds have been adjusted properly, they should produce a continuous sound while playing your chanter upto pitch.
If you are looking for hire a bagpiper for wedding or event, read the useful article:- Tips for Hiring a Bagpiper