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HAND POSITION AND THE SCALE


Place your hands on the chanter left above right (reverse if you are left handed),  knuckles in line with the front of the chanter and fingers straight. Your left thumb covers the hole at the back and your little finger on that hand rests away from the chanter.  Place your right thumb on the back of the chanter between your index and middle fingers. Your wrists must be straight to ensure that you play with your fingers,  not your arms.  

hand position

With the exception of your little finger and thumb (called by their own names),  the fingers are named after the note they sound when lifted off the chanter.  The first finger on your top (left) hand is called your ‘G’ finger,  middle finger is ‘F’ and so on.

In all of the diagrams that follow,  “X” represents a closed hole and “O” represents an open one.
XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XO OO
X X X X X X O O O
X X X X X O O O X
                 
X X X X O X X X X
X X X O O X X X X
X X O O O X X X X
X O O X X O O O O
                 
LOW G LOW A B C D E F HIGH G HIGH A

scale

NOTE NAMES      LOW G, LOW A,    B,           C,          D,          E,          F,     HIGH G,  HIGH A

Please, follow the note names up in sequence as different browsers and screen settings may display the note names in different positions.

HINTS:

1.         When changing from one note to the next, ALWAYS MAKE THE NEXT NOTE BEFORE YOU CLOSE THE ONE YOU ARE PLAYING.  This avoids mistakes known as “crossing sounds” - extra notes that are not intended.  Another way to think of its is when changing from a higher note to a lower, change from the bottom up,  and when going from a lower note to a higher,  change from the top down.

2.         Try to feel and memorise the position of all of your fingers when playing each note.  This helps your co-ordination to develop.  

Getting Started

How to Practice
Rhythm and Reading Music
 
Rudiments Index

Hand Position and the Scale
Crossing sounds
G Gracenotes
D Gracenotes
E Gracenotes
G,D,E Gracenotes exercise
Strikes
Throws
Doublings - general principles
Low G Doublings
Low A Doublings
B Doublings
C Doublings
D Doublings
E Doublings
F Doublings
High G Doublings
High A Doublings
Grips
Taorluath
Birl
Tachum
Hara

Moving on

Exercises
Tunes

Bagpipes

Transition to Bagpipes
Tuning a Bagpipe

Getting Better

Using Midi files
Intermediate exercises
Advanced

Band repertoire

Contact details:
skype: lindsay.davidson1973
lindsaydavidson@lindsaydavidson.co.uk