The best tune for sound samples

[rorybbellows]

What type of tune do you think is the best to play when giving a sound sample of a chanter that you are intending to sell ? I’d heard everything from a simple scale to some dazzling reel playing .
I think a nice slow tune played against the drones would be good .

RORY

[PJ]

I would prefer to hear a tune played reasonably quickly.

The problem with slow playing is that an experienced piper can manipulate the pressure to bring up a flat note or bring down a sharp note. Also, you can hide a weak or sinking back D when you play slowly. It's harder (but not impossible) to hide a problem back D when playing quickly (particularly going from the second octave to the first). Also, fast playing allows the listener to judge the over-all sound.

Playing against drones is a good idea too, but not if they're over-dubbed.

[CHasR]

Rorybellows, personally, I'd combine the two. Do a wee bit of slow air so the potential buyer can hear the vibrato, glissando, timbre;
then break into a reel/jig exploiting the full range.
Cut the repeats and it should come in under one minute.

[eric]

Play something that features top hand second octave. When listening to sound samples, I don't expect virtuosity. I don't care if someone plays slow, but I want to hear the whole range and tone of the chanter all the way up. I'm always a little disappointed in samples that barely reach second-octave G.

[Ugi]

Well, I'm not that long in the bussiness but the good old Kesh Jig shows a lot of the scale altough not the first octave E and Fsharp.

I think its always a good idea to play the complete scale first and then a tune.

[rorybbellows]

I think it is easier to hide the odd out of tune note in fast playing and brush over things like if the chanter plays a hard D, and a small bit of off the knee playing to see if things stay in tune would be good.
According to Liam O’Flynn the best tune for showing off a chanter is “The gold ring”.

RORY

[AlanB]

In keeping with Erics comment about often being unable to hear the full range of the chanter.
I think playing sequences of notes that are often troublesome is a good idea. e.g jumping high a to back d, high g to back d, c# to back d etc., (and vice versa) should give and indication of the strength of back d and how matched the pressure is over the ranges. Also long notes over a scale, you'd be able to detect any trickery there. Playing b - d a - d to see how well har d pops in. And of course hard and soft d so you know the chanter actually does that in its current set up. Maybe a few cnats to c #?