My “Do wah diddy diddy” post got nothing, but the follow-up “flippy thing” got action? I would have thought it the other way around. Go figure!

Today I want to talk about something that REALLY bugs me. The D-Strike.

So often I see/hear pipers massacring this simple embellishment by overlapping two distinct movements. The mechanics are simple. Make a D grace note on D. STOP. Now strike the chanter with your bottom hand fingers. If it’s an Open D Strike, strike the chanter with your index finger briefly sounding C before opening back up to your melody note D. If it’s a Heavy D Strike, strike the chanter in such a way as to briefly sound Low G before opening back up to your melody note D.

That’s all there is to it! The leading G grace note is separate from and prior to the strike. Stop overlapping the G grace note with your strike.

Oh, the strike. There’s nothing worse than a lazy strike. Think of your bottom hand as being a rattlesnake and STRIKE the damn chanter!

Ringo’s #1 Rule…Everything is separate, distinct, and sequential. Nothing else is correct!