A good chanter sound starts with picking the right reed, not with tuning a mediocre one. I see players spend all their time tuning a reed when the real problem goes back to the beginning — the reed just wasn't a good one to start with.
I test reeds in three steps: a visual check, a lick and mouth blow, then a test in the chanter itself. I discard anything broken or off-center first, then listen for a clean tone through the crow, and finally check in the chanter that the volume is balanced from the bottom of the scale to the top.
Watch for warning signs like a collapsing F, a crowy high A, or chirping gracenotes — they tell you something about the reed. A collapsing F early on can mean the reed is too hard or seated too deep, while one that shows up after months of good use is usually just a sign the reed has reached the end of its life.
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Selecting and Adjusting Pipe Chanter Reeds
10m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
⏱️ In this class
00:00matters Why reed tuning more than the🔒
00:43Step the check one: visual🔒
01:25moisture of reed the touch a Giving🔒
02:02blow into and piles mouth sorting The test🔒
04:02a hard a reed gentle pinch with Softening🔒
04:44the to top Testing chanter balance in bottom🔒
07:30high F A, Warning crowy signs: collapsing chirping,🔒
08:47What in as happens a reed breaks🔒
About this class
🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.
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📜 Full class transcript
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