I Need a Tip Regarding the 2nd Octave...

[The flying Yakman]

Hi there!

I am new with piping, and i have encountered a problem...

I noticed that its very hard for me to play the g (second octave), in opposite to the e, which comes out very easily...

I have to exert a lot of pressure on the bag in order to sound the g, like some kind of threshold strength has to be overcome. again the strange thing is that e is easily sounded but g is not!

I try to overcome this effect by pulling the chanter close to me, so the elbow can now exert naturally more strength...

have any ideas on how yo make adjustments so that the g of the 2nd octave will play more naturally, and easily, so i dont feel like going to the gym after playing?
)

thanks !!

[Hans-Joerg]

Maybe your "rig" is leaky? (If you have a new set, however, that is fairly unlikely) Anyway, check the bag and the bellows on absolute pressure-tightness and get in touch with other pipers.

[Pyroh]

Well, that depends on how your reed is hard, if it is played in already.

Anyway, I find it a bit difficult, to play it straight away as well, my friend showed me how to do it - basically to play tiny tiny bit of F#, and then open the next finger as well.

If you open two fingers at once, there are 3 scenarios - upper goes up slightly before the lower one, they go at the same moment, or the lower one one goes slightly before the upper one - and this is the third scenario.

[The flying Yakman]

Thanks a lot!

Pyroh, that's right...when i play it the lower octave usually goes before the higer...

so you say, to try and play like a F# configuration before lifting the finger to the g?...

may it be because of the reed's position? can i change something in the reed's opening to solve the problem?

[Marcelo Muttis]

Hi Yakman, be sure that the bag is top filled when you get 2nd 8ve G, is not the same the pressure that you reach with your arm when the bag is slightly deflated than the pressure you get with the bag top filled and then you exert slight pressure to get the note.
Be sure to keep the chanter airtight specially before you get the g, maybe some of the other upper fingers are leaking a little.
Hope this helps

[Mike Hulme]

Try playing the second octave G by just opening the g hole finger alone , then immediately open the F# as soon as the note sounds. That wil allow you to jump the octave more easily and the quicker you vent the F# the less out of tune it will sound. In other words, lead into the g from the note itself, not the one below.

[Marcelo Muttis]

I agree with Mike Hulme, it`s another option

[Christian Tietje]

Anyway, @1rst the pipes have to be as airtight as a good hard ball! Otherwise all other approaches might be difficult especially for beginners. Try to stop all openings with cork and pump it up with the bellows as it would be a football, @ minimum for 30 to 60 seconds!

[Marcelo Muttis]

I totally agree Christian Tietje

[drake A+]

second octave can also be hard to play if the edges of the reed aren't air tight as well.

[straycat82]

As a beginner myself I was recently having trouble getting my 2nd 8ve G for the tune, The Eagle's Whistle. What I have found after some good attention to my fingers (and diagnosis from a fellow piper) was that more often than not my fingers weren't sealing as well as they should be, or that the bottom of the chanter managed to sit at an angle that wasn't sealing on the popping strap. There still is a difference in pressure going from E to G (as should be) but I hit the note much more accurately when my fingers are sealing the chanter correctly.
One exercise that was suggested to me was to play your E to G transition staccato so that you will know you are (or aren't) sealing the holes properly. If you hear any squeaks or squawks when returning your fingers to the chanter after the E note then you are not sealing correctly and it will be harder to play the G spot on.

Thanks to Mike Hulme for the additional advice.

Johnny

[pancelticpiper]

I've seen a few pipers who play the one-finger high G quite a bit. Maybe on their chanter it's more in tune?

Anyhow on my chanter I've never had problems hitting that G. High A and high B are a different matter, and I have to "vent" those notes with a quick one-finger G.

I would be careful about getting in the habit of using sheer force to get high notes, because it may be that your reed is not adjusted correctly. I know a beginning piper who actually injured his shoulder playing a reed that was absurdly hard. He didn't know any better so he just blew hard. Any experienced piper would have immediately known that his reed wasn't adjusted correctly and would have fixed it straight away.

[Christian Tietje]

The high octave should be possible to be played only by lifting one finger, for example the g-finger or the a-finger. To achieve this please
1. Close all fingers
2. Give some more pressure on bellows & bag than for the lower octave, still all fingers closed and the chanter on your knee. You can now recognize the pressure in your finger tips.
3. Shortly lift the chanter from the knee and put it down again, may be as short as you can say "up"
4. between lifting and putting back to knee open the g- or a-finger, keep it open until the chanter is back down and still keep it open afterwards.

In this moment the reed should swing with double frequency up to the higher octave.

[simonknight]

3. Shortly lift the chanter from the knee and put it down again, may be as short as you can say "up"
4. between lifting and putting back to knee open the g- or a-finger, keep it open until the chanter is back down and still keep it open afterwards.

In this moment the reed should swing with double frequency up to the higher octave.

Not sure that's a good habit to integrate into your technique.

[Podge]

What Christian has described is "popping" and is a legitimate way to achieve a difficult high G or A though its not something I would use all the time.

If the OP could post an audio or video clip it may help diagnose the problem they are having.