Volume

[PJ]

One for the pipemakers: what determines volume - size of the bore? size of tone holes? Neither? Both?

I've heard some flat sets which seemed to have the same volume as concert pitch sets. I've heard other flat sets which were very quiet.

[Hans-Joerg]

IMO it is the opening of the reed. Thus some very widely bored chanters can be played very quietly (not all though) while some fairly narrow bored ones can be played quite loudly. Volume is due to the piper´s taste. A poss. general rule: The bigger the volume the smaller the number of overtones: Fat volume - poor schweetness.

[Sam L]

All three. Listen to some of the wider bore Rogge flat sets that tend to have a fair old shout, also some Egan stuff with a throat of 4.x is louder than say a Harrington. But Hans-Joerg is bang on that reeding has an awful lot to do with it. Size of toneholes is least important, but does have an effect.

At the end of the day I can reed a C set (3.7throat) quieter than a widebore concert at 5.52.

[brendan ring]

Never sacrifice volume for tone!

[uillmann]

All other things being equal, it is the elevation of the reed lips that will determine volume, as the amplitude of the wave emanating from it will be greater. Leaks and impaired efficiency in a reed will naturally reduce volume. A larger throat/larger holes/more undercut chanter will usually be louder simply because, with more elevation, it is easier to make functioning reed that will stand up to it. I would not, however, say that louder equates with less overtones. In my experience, there seemed to be a distinct correlation between hole size/undercutting and overtones. Counterintuitively, large throats, large holes and extensive undercutting do not necessarily require harder-to-blow or louder reeds, as they will naturally play sharper, and require more scraping to flatten, (or more elevation - hence the assumption.) Rare reeds with very little elevation can indeed be made for these chanters, (albeit with some difficulty,) which are exceedingly easy to blow and provide the ultimate in sweetness and tone relative to lbs/sq.ft. bag pressure. I often noticed that as I was starting the undercutting and the voicing of a D chanter, I would put a decent reed in it and ask myself, "Where the hell is the tone?" It was only after I had gradually done more undercutting that the tone and the overtones would begin to blossom.

[bcpipes]

In-tune is sweet and mellow at any volume.

[rorybbellows]

Never sacrifice volume for tone!

I wonder how many people agree with that? I think alot would have it the other way around,whats the point of having a loud chanter if nobody likes listening to it because of a harsh tone.

RORY

[uillmann]

Instruments sound loud or not depending on the situation. In a crowded snug, playing under a table and into peoples shins, a loud chanter can sound just fine, where a quiet chanter would never be heard. A strident chanter in a small hard room will be rather unpleasant, where the quietest of chanters will do just fine.

[Thomas-Hastay]

I don't wish to be argumentative, but...

...Using the laws of acoustics, BOTH the size of the bore diameter and the diameter and depth of the tone holes will have the greatest effect on loudness. Larger bores will favor high frequency harmonics and will be louder. Smaller bores, such as in a Parlor pipe, will filter high harmonics and render softer/reedier tones. Adding deeper/smaller tone holes will add to this softer/reedier tone. Another factor that will make a large difference in loudness is Bore Taper (conoid angle). A chanter with an angle that has less expansion (more cylindrical) will play quieter than a short/wide angle chanter.

[elbowmusic]

You make flutes and whistles don't you?

[uillmann]

I don't wish to be argumentative, but...

I don't think anybody would argue with you there. It's pretty simple - big bore, big sound.

[billh]

...Using the laws of acoustics, BOTH the size of the bore diameter and the diameter and depth of the tone holes will have the greatest effect on loudness. Larger bores will favor high frequency harmonics and will be louder. Smaller bores, such as in a Parlor pipe, will filter high harmonics and render softer/reedier tones. Adding deeper/smaller tone holes will add to this softer/reedier tone. Another factor that will make a large difference in loudness is Bore Taper (conoid angle). A chanter with an angle that has less expansion (more cylindrical) will play quieter than a short/wide angle chanter.

Actually these generalizations don't always seem to hold up for uilleann pipes - especially those relating to timbre. While a zero-order analysis/theory would suggest that larger toneholes favor more high harmonics, in practice a small-holed chanter can have high harmonics of greater relative strength than large ones. My experience is that the power spectrum of a "wide bore, large-tonehole" sort of concert pitch chanter has a lot more midrange whereas a narrow-bore small-holed flat chanter can have a lot of energy in harmonics above 5 - you have to consider how the whole system works together. I agree that the reed is the biggest factor - however the bore characteristics will strongly influence the sort of reed that works best, and therefore determine whether a design performs best with a "relatively" loud/open reed or an inherently quieter sort of reed design.

The bore taper/conoid angle argument is complicated by the fact that the instrument is generally played with a stopped end.