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The Anatomy of a Bagpipe Chanter
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Ever wonder what a bagpipe chanter looks like inside? Ever wonder why there is such a range of sound
and performance from chanters? This crude drawing will help you to understand what goes into the making
of a bagpipe changer.
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As you can see, the typical chanter has a number of bores. Specific chanters may have more or less.
Regardless, we're dealing with multiple bores and complicated specifications. Starting at the top, we
have the reed seat, a short tapered bore, and a parallel thru-bore. These three bores are critical to
creating the necessary back-pressure that enables the reed to behave as it should. If you want to, think
of the thru-bore as the vortex that receives sound waves from the reed and sends it out to the rest of
the chanter. Beyond the thru-bore there is a long tapered bore and a bell at the bottom of the chanter.
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Now, what's so difficult about making a chanter? All of the following factors contribute to the production
of sound:
1. The dimensions (length and taper) of each bore
2. The relationship of each bore
to other bores
3. The overall length of the chanter
4. The thickness of the wall of the chanter
at each point along the chanter
5. The positioning of each note (sound) hole
6. The size of
each note (sound) hole
7. The material (wood or plastic) used
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The physics of the chanter/reed determines the pitch and frequency at which each note is produced.
Taping a note hole or carving that note hole will adjust the pitch of the note however the frequency
(harmonics) is of internal origin and little can be done to alter this. Some chanters have notes that
do not harmonize with the drone sound. These chanters will be very problematic and should be avoided.
Other chanters produce excellent harmonics throughout and should be sought out. The pitch of individual
notes can be adjusted to suit the overall pitch you wish to play at and note-to-note trueness.
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Building a chanter is much more complicated than is expressed here. It takes years to fully understand
and appreciate the process. Research and development is long-term if not on-going, and very costly.
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