Bagpipe Chanter Reed Lore
Want to start an argument? Just ask a group of bagpipers what is the best way to “break in” a new cane reed for a bagpipe chanter.
Answers will range from “do nothing and just blow it in” to wetting the reed to using sandpaper or scraping the flat sides of the reed box with a knife or a razor blade.
I belong to the knife scraping cane reed clan. Ask me sometime and I will be happy to show you how I do it…. And what not to do! 🤘😎
Two years ago I met with Greg Abbott, a bagpipe reed maker, in Valle Crucis, North Carolina while attending the North American Academy of Piping and Drumming (NAAPD). Watching him prepare his own reeds for playing dispelled for me a lot of cane reed lore/superstition. Two take aways:
- If the reed cannot perform at your bagpipe’s operating pressure you need to adjust it until it does;
- Some reeds will be awesome, some will be just OK, some will be duds. (Pitch the duds. They will never get better.)
Cane chanter reeds are expensive, yes, but they are supplies not equipment. They will need to be replaced. So don’t get emotionally invested in one. I recommend purchasing reeds in groups of three and then immediately adjusting all three reeds to your bagpipe. Chances are good that at least two of the reeds will tune well. If you do this, you can have an emergency spare reed in your breast pocket at gigs for when you need it most. When I perform for funeral services, for example, I carry a second chanter pre-loaded with a tuned reed in my bagpipe case.
My two cents! Andy