Basic Suggestions For The Adjustment Of The Chanter Reed - Seivane Manual De Instrucciones

Basic suggestions for the adjustment of the chanter reed

For various reasons and on particular occasions, you may find that the chanter is not tuned correctly
because of an imbalance in its scale, due to the emergence of higher or lower tonal deviations in the high
part of the chanter with reference to its keynote. The most common cause tends to be the particular whims
of the chanter reed, as environmental conditions have a very direct effect on them. Sometimes it is pos-
sible to correct these deviations by playing for some time to acclimatise the chanter reed and chanter, but
this does not always work. A new chanter reed will usually need readjustment whilst a used chanter reed
tends to be more stable. However, there comes a time when it will reach a period of tiredness, when it is
then recommended that it be adjusted once more in order to continue using it.
Moxenas pronounced that "The bagpiper spends half his life tuning and the other half playing out of
tune". Although at the present time this is, in general, less true, this assertion should be understood as
the concern and meticulous nature of the bagpiper in order to control the tuning of his instrument, as this
determines his overall success and level of satisfaction.
Chanter Reed
• If the entire scale of the chanter is too high, you should add some thread, Teflon or a thin piece of paper
to lift it slightly from its slot. You can bring the tuning lower by scraping the chanter reed a little which,
at the same time, also makes the chanter reed softer and thus requires less pressure to make it sound.
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Trimming Scraping