Bagpipe Essentials Collection #9: D Gracenotes
⚡ The Short Version
The D gracenote is played with the bottom-hand index finger. It's probably the second most common gracenote after high G, and it's built into many of piping's most popular doublings, plus the bottom-hand embellishments — the grip, the D throw, the taorluath — and combinations like the GDE.
It works on low G, low A, B, and C — but not D itself. Since a gracenote always has to be higher than the note it's played on, and the next note up from C is D, you can't play a D gracenote on D because that finger is already up.
Bottom-hand thumb position matters here too. It should sit directly across from the space between the middle and ring fingers — many pipers hold it too high, which forces extra squeezing to control the bottom two fingers.
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Bagpipe Essentials Collection #9: D Gracenotes
Full video lesson available to Inner Circle members
⏱️ In this lesson
00:03Most Common D Gracenote: The Second🔒
00:16D Up Shows the Gracenote Where🔒
00:35C on Low the Gracenote Playing D G Through🔒
01:14Exercise Scale The D-Gracenote🔒
01:56the Keeping and Crisp Small Gracenote🔒
02:09Bottom-Hand Revisited Position Thumb🔒
02:25Thumb a Fixing Gradually Too-High🔒
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About this lesson
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