Chiff and Fipple Forums

...wa wa wait wait a minute! There's always two sides to every story. Some of the best tunes came from some of these "bitter" guys...and who's to say they were wrong without a cause? Ever try composing a good tune rather than yielding to the temptation to lose your composure? It may have s...

I've seen quite a bit of discussion about the proper way to hold a chanter, with special emphsis on relaxing the hand and holding the chanter naturally. It occured to me that some readers of this forum may like to see a GREAT example of how NOT to hold a chanter. Go to this link for a fine picture o...

No, the bottom of the chanter does not need to be sealed, or setting on the knee, in order for the reed to make descending tones. This is only done to produce stacatto, to bring certain notes into more perfect tune, and to accomplish the pressure needed to get into the upper octave. As you cover the...

I'm going to take a stupid shot in the dark here. Pardon me if I've totally missed the real cause by offering this simple possibility, but you offer a hint of what might be wrong. You say that the same note is being produced no matter what finger holes are covered. If this is the high "D" ...

Amanderthad...sorry to hear of your Pakistani experience. Your story should help warn others of the consequences of venturing out on a dare in haste to acquire some nice looking zirconium for the price of real diamonds. Weigh two alternatives carefully before making another bad decision: 1) either s...

...another interesting insight (wooden vs. metal flute embouchure). Years ago my girlfriend, who was an excellent metal flute player, picked up one of my cheaper wooden flutes, a Meyer w/ivory head, and tried playing it and making it sound like I did. She was both startled and embarrased. She could ...

I thought your fluting was great. I played it over a few times, tapping my foot to the rythm. I didn't notice much of a timing problem for the pace, but what might make it sound like a timing problem is the breathing pattern. I was always told to carry the breath through the first note or two of the...

Claudine...assuming you are new to the flute, wooden or metal, here's some things that can either ruin the embouchure or discourage new students: alternately playing brass or reed instruments..like clairinet or trumpet, holding the flute at the wrong angle to the mouth(vertical or horizontal), air l...

I have an extra set of Rowsome bellows that came with another vintage set of pipes I have. They are obviously quite old, but still exhale okay. The name W.Rousome is stamped on nice grained Mahogany. I emailed Kevin Rowsome and he confirmed that there was a time in the family's history when William ...

Larry, Larry...not so serious now. That alone can cause inflamtion in the relationship, whoops, I mean the joint. And it's not my story, I'm just the innocent tattler. And, it's three rings "ON" the bag (the drones), not "in," at least I'm hoping no one is on their 3rd marriage a...

Larry...there's an story about a piper whose hand developed symptoms like you are describing and he was advised to go stick his hand in the bog, it containing seveal healing properties, and whilst he was soaking it in the bog one day, his wedding ring accidently slipped off, and this gave him a grea...

Tell us a little more, whose chanter, D or flat pitch, total length of reed, total width of blade tips, opening size and opening width of blades, etc. If you have other reeds that work right, is there a difference in measurements? Is the eye of the staple the right size and distance from the blade t...

For those not completely matured as mischievous leprechauns, perhaps what Roger is trying to say is that, like him, perhaps Larry should try removing his ring to cure the problem.

Lorenzo

A reserve is often just a tool to test the waters to see if bids may go higher, you never know, but it's worth a little pocket change to find out. The auction also puts you in contact with buyers who may prefer buying them after the auction. I was surprised someone would actually pay more for the Pa...

Where are you guys getting your information about the two sets that were just on eBay? Mike, the owner of the boxwood-Ginsberg set told me by email that the set was unaltered (a broken chanter?)...also he said he had 8 standing offers (off eBay) to buy the set outright for his reserve. As for the Pa...