I always stress that the GHB may be complicated however it is 100% logical. If you take care of everything you’re supposed to take care of, the instrument will reward you with both ease of playing and superior sound.
If you’re not checking your bag to ensure it’s airtight on a regular basis, you may be working harder than you need to be. A good bagpipe starts with an airtight bag. With absolutely any bag on the market, first and foremost, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Check your bag periodically to ensure it’s airtight. It may require a spot of seasoning or the zipper may need lubrication. Stocks need to be secure and airtight.
I have another story…
Many years ago I was conducting yet another workshop. A new piper approached the table and was visibly frustrated at not being able to manage more than a few notes on his bagpipe. I did a quick check and all the stocks seemed secure. I inspected the stocks and there were no cracks. I put some rubber stoppers in the stocks and the bag was airtight, yet when I put the drones in place, the bagpipe was extremely difficult to keep going. I put corks into the bushings and blew up the bagpipe. Now I expected, based on what I had previously done, that the bagpipe would remain inflated. After all, the air had nowhere to go!
Wrong! The bag deflated quickly with just a little pressure applied. On a whim, I took the drones out of the stocks and inspected the bore of each stock. Every stock was non-concentric. The bores were more egg-shaped that round. When I had put the rubber corks into the stocks, they conformed to the oval shape and the bag was airtight. But when I put a hemped tenon into the stock, it did not fill the oval bore which allowed air to escape at specific points around the circumference of the tenon.
You may wonder how this happened. There are a few possibilities however it is likely that the wood was not allowed to “settle” during the manufacturing process. When you’re working with a piece of wood and change it’s physical shape, you alter it’s structural integrity. It will “move” according to stresses locked within the wood. Once it settles, finishing can take place with minimal impact on the shape. In other words, the shape that you’ve given the wood will remain in place. If you don’t allow the proper amount of time for the wood to settle before finishing, it will move and you may end up with bores and outside surfaces that are non-concentric.
To bring this story to an end, I wrote the fellow a letter, he sent the bagpipe back to the maker, and received a replacement set with proper concentric bores.
So, if you find yourself struggling with your bagpipe, dive in and find out what’s wrong. The problem may not be you! It might be within your bagpipe and it might not be obvious.
