Bagpipe Tuning

There are several pages out there that go into great detail about tuning the Great Highland Bagpipes. The real trick, for me, is making sure that the chanter is in tune. I am not blessed with perfect pitch and it can be difficult to do this by ear. On top of that, my instructor doesn’t want to spend all lesson going over the tape on my chanter and fiddling with the reed. The whole band has been given a directive: show up to practice with your chanter in tune at band pitch so we spend a little time getting our drones set and can spend most of our time playing. We use a 449 A and tune to B-flat. Our scale is thus:

Chanter Note Tuner Note Variance
G G# flat by 31 cents
A B flat
B C flat by 1 cent
C D flat by 15 cents
D E flat flat by 1 cent
E F flat by 31 cents
F G flat by 5 cents
G G# flat by 31 cents
A B flat

Published by pirateguillermo

I play the bagpipes. I program computers. I support my family in their various endeavors, and I enjoy my wonderful life.

One thought on “Bagpipe Tuning

  1. Lise Quintana – Northern California – Lise Quintana, head of Zoetic Press, is a writer, editor, and podcaster from Santa Cruz. She blogs about her own weight journey at http://www.lisequintana.com
    junglemonkee says:

    If only I knew what it meant!

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