An Embarrassing Situation

We love it when our pipes are “going like bells” as the saying goes, but it’s with despair when they respond less than perfectly. I’d like to pass along an experience to other soloists to prevent the same thing from happening to you.

I was invited to play for a memorial service in our church, for the processional and recessional. Twice before, I had played for the family, for another memorial service and a wedding. I had two weeks to prepare and I practiced conscientiously, having selected several hymns to lead the family into the service and to play while they were leaving. I planned not to play too long, but have a hymn or two to spare.

I practiced in the church recreation hall and in the local forest and the pipes were sounding well. On the morning of the service, on blowing up my pipes, I was astounded when it was impossible to get air into the bag. It was ten o’clock and at two o’clock the service would begin.

Did I need a new Wee Mac valve, or could the neck of the bag be choking off the air? I replaced the Wee Mac with a Moose valve, which I had in reserve and I tried cutting a flapper valve out of one of my work gloves but the problem still remained. Through constant bending of the neck of the pipe bag, to put the pipes in their case, the leather had become flattened and it adhered to the end of the blow stalk choking it off completely. There was no way of correcting this in the short time before the memorial began and I telephoned the pastor in charge to inform her of my predicament.

To my relief I was assured that predicaments can happen and that I was not to worry. Once corrected, it probably wouldn’t happen again. There would be a next time and I could look forward to the next invitation to play in church. I’m thankful for such compassion.

Since then, I lubricated the inside of the pipe bag in the area of the blow stalk, and also installed an angled pipe in the chanter stalk. I intend to do likewise for the blow stalk, to prevent the bag from ever flattening and sealing it off.

If anyone else has experienced this constant training of the bagpipe’s neck, which causes it to cut off the air from the blow stalk or to the chanter, I would be interested to know how you solved it. I wonder if a deeper throat to the pipe bag’s design would help? I’d be glad to hear from anyone who has had the same experience. If you’ve never had it happen, be sure it never does, because it’s a tough experience, especially when the piper is counted upon to be a part of an important ceremony.

In the meanwhile, here is a video entitled "Epic Bagpipe Malfunction".  I think it represents every piper's worst nightmare.