Flattened or Relaxed Tongues

(Please note that the following procedure should never be applied to Glass-Fibre or Carbon-Fibre Tongues, as the angle in these tongues is thermoset [impressed with heat] and will not change over time or by exposure to heat. Any bending of Glass-Fibre or Carbon-Fibre tongues will probably result in breakage.)

This topic is an important one, and it is vital to observe that should you decide to implement the following procedures in order to reinvigorate, and, yes, to repair a balky drone reed that suffers from nearly terminal laxity, perform the outlined steps carefully and slowly, and your efforts will most likely meet with great success. Although the condition of a flattened or relaxed tongue is unusual, it is by no means unprecedented. Many factors may contribute, but the most common are:

1. That the reeds were stored (i.e., unplayed) for an extended period of time, without either moving the bridles up toward the hemped end of the reed to allow the tongues to spring upward, or without placing anything under the tongues (small strip of doubled paper, or smal latex or dental band, for example); or
2. They were left in an extremely hot environment (i.e., the boot or backseat of a car on a hot summer's day); or
3. Simply the pressure from the bridle on the tongue over a long period of time. This can, although not always, cause the tongue(s) to relax. This effect is, of course, mitigated by playing the reeds regularly, since the pressure from the bridles is offset by the vibration of the tongues during practice or performance. This is why the reeds should be left as they were when they first arrived, until you are able to begin to "seed" them in, by regular alternation of vibration and rest.

This is the break-in process, which is quite painless, really, and which will insure that the tongues will settle to a point of equilibrium and dependable condition. Since they are a mechanical device, the closer the tongues float to the body of the reed during playing, the greater the likelihood of a shutdown or stoppage. If the reeds shut down quickly, even though they are brand new, an only recently acquired, with the rubber bands and/or paper strips stil in place under the tongues, there can be two possibilities, both with the same solution. Either the chanter reed is too hard (maybe not), or the tongues are simply positioned too close to the bodies of the reeds (probably so). When the reeds are adjusted in a drone at the workbench, just prior to packaging, they are compelled to conform to a moderate to easy strength bagpipe. Our best guess as to the "Universal Strength."

In either case, a small, nearly imperceptible shift of the bridle in the direction of the fixed locus of the tongue (its attachment point) will allow the tongues to spring upward slightly, and thus prevent them from shutting off. You have been forewarned: the movement of the bridle will be very subtle, many times virtually imperceptible (see above, a the redundant use of this word is intentional.)

If, on the other hand, the reeds were acquired a while ago, but the pack-strips and/or rubber bands were removed, though the reeds were never played, the tongues may have relaxed more than designed to do, a a direct result of not breaking the reeds in as suggested in the manual accompanying the set.

If you have the bridle of the bass drone set so that the overall free length of it is more than 18mm or so, it is misadjusted. If the tenor tongues are set to a greater length than approximately 13.5mm, they are misadjusted. They will probably also be tuning very flat, which means that you are tuning down quite far (i.e., close to the projecting mount on the bass, and below the hemp line on the tenor tuning pins). The tongue(s) may have relaxed a bit, in which case, let me offer the following, which addresses both the tenor reeds (first), and the bass reeds (second).

You may perform a very effective fix for this condition in a tenor reed by the application of the following remedy:

1. You will need a pocket scale (rule), or some similar flat, thin, stiff object.
2. Move the bridle up toward the hemped end of the reed, until you can see the original crease line in the tongue. (This will usually appear as a whitish mark running horizontally across the narrow surface of the reed.)
3. Then, having aligned the leading edge of the bridle exactly with that original crease line: pinch down on the bridle with the thumb and forefinger of one hand, place the pocket scale carefully underneath th tongue with the other, and lift upwards at an approximate angle of 30-35 degrees, supporting the tongue along its entire length as you do so.
4. Push the bridle back to playing position, (to the mark around the body of the reed; or alternatively so that the tongues are approximately 13mm in length) and do your fine-tuning from there.

This can also happen to the bass tongue, but is more unlikely owing to its longer length. If the bass reed malfunctions in such a manner, the same remedy can be applied, only lifting the tongue upward at a slightly more acute angle, approximately 35-40 degrees; and then repositioning the bridle. It is important, as well, that the bridles be positioned in a uniform, concentric fashion about the body of the reeds, and not pushed up in front and down in back, or vice versa, or cockeyed in any way. This can affect performance greatly.

One final note: the utilization of the above technique can be very effective, resulting in the flawless resumption of that lovely tone and excellent steadiness that most pipers have come to expect. However, all plastic does suffer from a condition known as "plasticizer migration." This technical term can be reduced to "All plastic eventually loses its elasticity." In extreme cases, the re-bending of the tongues may only be a short-term solution, with tongue or reed replacement as the only viable, long-term remedy.

How long can you expect that your reeds will play without trouble, provided that they have been treated properly? My own current set of reeds has been in continuous operation and performing without a hitch since September, 1996. We do see local sets of our reeds on a regular basis, that were manufactured in 1995, and are still in service today. Your mileage may vary, due to many circumstances beyond both our and your control. But it would not be unreasonable to assume that 3-5 years or longer of solid service can be expected. Tongue replacement is a quick-turnaround service that we provide at a nominal charge, when this becomes necessary. The foregoing is a TUNING TIPS™ document provided by Wygent Reeds. Please refer to our Copyright Notice.

Blowing the Pipe

Blowing a bagpipe should not require the application of a huge increase of volume of air. Proper blowing technique is really nothing more than an exaggerated, controlled (albeit slightly accelerated) form of natural breathing, where our exhalations are about twice as long as our inhalations. Since the pressure on the bag is more easily controlled through the application of blowing, and not through the pressure of your arm on the bag, appropriate technique will almost always result in a longer time doing the former, and a shorter time doing the latter, in an approximate ratio of 2:1. This conforms (not coincidentally) to the normal and average way of breathing. In other words, most people spend twice the amount of time exhaling as inhaling.

Good method also precludes a death squeeze on the bag. Only gentle, constant pressure from your arm should be applied in between breaths, as this will result in a smoother transition between mouth and arm. (The arm will fall naturally inward to the body when taking a breath, thus eliminating an abrupt, and audibly noticeable change in pressure, marked by a subsequent alteration of pitch.)

If playing a synthetic bag, prior to strike-in the bag needs to be inflated to about 4/5 of its capacity. If using a hide bag, prior to strike-in the bag needs to be inflated to nearly full. Then a sudden (not violent) and coordinated movement which combines

• Pressing - the bag between arm and hand (with your hand positioned just under and slightly behind the bottom of the bass drone stock), and
• Blowing - is begun, maintaining a steady pressure until the bag is under your arm and both hands are on the chanter.

This will eliminate the high-pitched and undesirable squeal which can occur as a direct result of lazily and gradually filling the bag with air, instead of employing the technique above. If the reeds are shutting off when you finally sound the chanter, there can be two causes. Either the tongues have been adjusted so that they are floating too close to the bodies of the reeds, or you are squeezing the bag too hard when bringing in the chanter sound. The latter explanation is usually the appropriate one, as a common mistake when at the early stages of transition to the big pipe from the practice chanter, is to apply much too great a pressure (and in a jerky way) to the bag when sounding the chanter. Once the bag is under your arm, and all the drones are going, try increasing the pressure of your blowing (NOT the pressure from your arm) gradually until the chanter reed begins to sound. This should eliminate the drones stopping. Often times, and especially if the chanter reed is too hard for the beginning student, the technique of blowing will be very unsteady and jerky, with almost no balance or flow between the pressure from the arm and the blowing.

Piping is hard enough without huffing and puffing away, in a vain attempt to produce a better tone through suffering. When you pick a chanter reed, it should be ideally just slightly harder for you to blow than you prefer. This allows for a relatively short break-in period, as the reed will conform to your own preferred playing pressure rather more quickly than not. This will allow you to concentrate on your musical expression and technique, while maintaining a steady pressure on the bag. If you are unable to play for 30-45 minutes without great strain, then your instrument has been set-up to give pain, as opposed to pleasure.

When you have accomplished the above so that it becomes nearly an unconscious method, you will immediately notice that your reeds seem to be much better-behaved. In fact, the piper has become a better citizen. The foregoing is a TUNING TIPS™ document provided by Wygent Reeds. Please refer to our Copyright Notice.

Removable Reed Seats

Inverted drone reeds have been a notable feature of the bagpiping world for many years. They have been utilized most often in an attempt to remedy balky bass drones with unusual or troublesome playing characteristics, such as extreme double-toning, or shutting-off. The dynamics of airflow are altered by the repositioning of the tongue in relation to that flow, often resulting in improved performance, from both an operational and intonational standpoint. But until recently, playing an inverted drone reed necessitated the use of a separate reed. Now, with the introduction of SYNTHE-DRONE 2™ and DUATONE™ drone reeds (U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,226 - New Zealand Patent No. 337411 - Canada Patent No. 2,266,172 - United Kingdom Patents GB No. 2341966 and GB No. 2341968 - Other Foreign Patents Pending), one reed can quickly be transformed into another, as inversion becomes as simple as removing and reinserting a screw.

There is some small risk associated with the procedure, and it will be prudent to observe the proceeding advice.

1. Always grasp the reed firmly, taking care that your hand does not slip whilst removing and reinserting the tuning pin and/or removable seat. The tongues are quite thin, and catching them with your hand or a finger can damage them. (Pushing the bridles in such a manner as to cause the tongues to lay flat against the bed of the reed, and then continuing with the removal and reinsertion, provides the safest approach, but will necessitate the repositioning and readjustment of the bridles.)
2. Never use excessive force when reinserting the reed seat into the reed body. They need only be snug, not overly tight.
3. Be sure to remove or reinsert the reed from the bottom drone section not by holding it at its furthest exposed length, but by grasping it up where the reed body meets the bottom of the drone. This will eliminate the possibility of breakage. The further from the point of attachment you hold the reed, the greater is the leverage which you apply to the reed's seat, and the more likely you are to damage it by forcing it from side to side during removal or reinsertion.

The reed seats are molded from a glass-reinforced polycarbonate, and are extremely strong, although not unbreakable. Should you (unhappily) find that you have snapped a reed seat, and an extremely discomfiting emotion begins to wend its ugly way into your temperament, do not panic. The reed can be rebuilt; and the really good news is that it can be rebuilt by you! The original package included a strange-looking square and hex-shaped piece of plastic, on the end of which was attached a spare reed seat (a conical-shaped piece with a threaded and a tapered end.) Your repair is a three-step process:

1. Locate the above-mentioned pieces. If they are still attached to each other, separate them. This may require a little effort.
2. Insert the hextool into the broken end of your drone reed, and turning counter-clockwise, remove the broken end of the reed seat, just like you would remove a conventional screw. (Hold the reed tightly, and not at the tongues, being careful not to allow your hand to slip whilst turning the hextool in the end of the reed.) Now insert the hextool into the bottom of the drone, and carefully wiggle, turn, and coax the other broken piece out.
3. Grab the spare, pristine reed seat, and screw it into the reed body. (You can use the hextool to tighten it up a bit, but DON'T OVERDO IT! Just snug, not tight, is fine.) Add hemp to finish, being careful to wrap enough of it on to make a good, uniform fit in the bottom of your drone.

Voila! A new reed, and a new reedmaker is born; self-important, omnipotent, and nearly incoherent with the joy of his newly-found skill. The foregoing is a TUNING TIPS™ document provided by Wygent Reeds. Please refer to our Copyright Notice.

Double-Toning Drone Reeds

Our reeds were designed to double-tone, like any good cane reed. Lessening the severity of the double-tone can be accomplished through various means, either individually or in combination with each other.

STRIKE-IN

The most effective way to control double-toning is through accomplished and coordinated strike-in, which is a combination of sudden (not violent) and controlled pressure ON the bag from both hand and arm, and simultaneous pressure directed INTO the bag through blowing. The exact amount of pressure and blowing will, of course, vary from bagpipe to bagpipe and player to player, and is dependent (among other factors) on the relative strength of the reeds, the make or design of the instrument, and the relative position of the tuning sections of the pipe. Practice makes perfect.

TUNING PIN PLACEMENT

As a general rule, the shorter the tuning pin (i.e., fewer threads showing),the more severe will be the double-tone, with the inverse, obviously, being generally true. Try lengthening the pin.

BRIDLE ADJUSTMENT/TONGUE ELEVATION

If the tongue is allowed to float too far from the bed of the reed, it will naturally be more resistant to the airflow, and double-toning will be more severe; and, if seriously out of whack, coarse. Try coaxing the bridle a HAIR'S WIDTH in the direction of the threaded end of the reed, your intent being to allow the bridle to exert slightly more pressure on the tongue, lowering it a wee bit closer to the bed of the reed, thus making it less resistant to the airflow, and easier to pass through the initial tone to the second and final tone. Bridle movements should be infrequent and exceedingly small.

WATER-LOGGED REEDS

Yes, it is possible, for synthetic and composite materials to be adversely affected by moisture over prolonged periods of time. Our reeds, if never allowed to air dry, can become recalcitrant, and may begin to misbehave. The symptoms are a noticeable lowering of pitch, and a more pronounced double-toning. Do what comes naturally, and allow your reeds to breathe free from the confines of your bag on a regular basis. Or rotate between two sets: while one is being played, the other is on your dresser drying out.

The following is a test that you can perform easily...

If you remove the drone from its stock, leave the reed in its seat, and blow the reed with your mouth with no howl or screetch, the ONLY adjustment you need to make is with your strike-in technique. The reed is not at fault. You can easily test this assertion for yourself:

1. Try blowing the reed at almost no pressure (in the drone) and slowly increase the pressure. You are bound to reproduce the howl. This is caused by insufficient air pressure on start-up.
2. Try blowing the reed initially harder, but not overmuch, and the double-tone will emerge. (This is the right pressure to MAINTAIN while going from strike-in to under your playing arm.)
3. Try blowing harder still, and the double-tone will be non-existent (or nearly so.) This is the pressure that Pipeys the world round just love to hear, cause they know everyone's paws are going to be on the chanter before "E" is sounded.

The foregoing is a TUNING TIPS™ document provided by Wygent Reeds. Please refer to our Copyright Notice.

Preventing the Plummet

In the future, in order to prevent your drone reeds from taking a precipitous and undignified journey to the bowels of your bag, you may want to employ the following precautionary steps:

1. Make three short lengths of waxed yellow hemp; about 3-4 inches should suffice.
2. Attach the hemp to the reed seat (overlaying the hemp that's already there) by means of one or two half-hitches.
3. Reposition the drone reeds in their respective seats at the bottom of each drone, allowing the excess "tails" of hemp to hang unceremoniously off to the side.
4. Now replace the drones in their stocks, being careful to position the tails so that they are wedged between the bottom of the drones and the wall of the stocks upon reinsertion.
5. Carefully trim away any excess, glaringly obtrusive hemp that reveals its inappropriate presence between the ferrule and the projecting mount.

Having accomplished this, the next time the reeds decide to take a sudden vacation southward, they will be prevented from traveling to the forbidding and dangerous land-of-no-light without your permission. Of course it goes without saying that we NEVER apply Teflon tape to the seat of a reed. The simple fact that it is one of the most slippery substances that humankind has thus far devised to invent, should be reason enough to avoid its application in the foregoing instance. The foregoing is a TUNING TIPS™ document provided by Wygent Reeds. Please refer to our Copyright Notice.