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We have all heard the perfect set of drones, being played by a truly great piper, with chanter and drones
set up, tuned, and being blown perfectly. To take the music to this level takes years of practice and
study. It also takes considerable skill and talent. You may not be able to take your instrument quite
to those levels however you can tune your chanter and drones to a very respectable degree just by following
a few basic principles and by practicing regularly.
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Tuning is not just about drones and it's not just about the chanter. It's about both and it's about
a whole lot more. It's about the bag; it's about what's in your bag (canisters and ehnancers and plugs
and whatever!); it's about our reeds and the make of your bagpipe and how you blow and how you feel on
a given day. Tuning is very personal and is a direct expression of the pipers.
We will assume
that your chanter is in perfect tune, although I'm not sure how to achieve this without constant reference
to drones that are perfectly in tune and rock steady. We have covered how to set-up a chanter earlier
and we should probably bridge that page with this one.
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Tuning drones is nothing more that blowing your bagpipe to pitch and then adjusting your drones to produce
a harmonic sound that blends perfectly with your chanter and with each other. In the simplest example,
you want to eliminate all of the "wha wha" that the drone produces when out of tune. In a more sophisticated
sense you want to create a wall of sound that envelopes the piper.
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Never try to tune your drones without sounding the chanter fully. Make sure your chanter is fully blown
and then listen and adjust your drone.
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Play simple tunes that allow you to listen to the harmonics while tuning. If required to blow a single
note (most often Low A) most pipers will blow flat. If you tune the drone to a bagpipe that's being
blow flat, what happens when they blow up-to-pitch? You've got it! The drones are out-of-tune!
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The sound off your bass drone is the most important of the three drones. It needs to be rich, full,
warm, and dynamic. Search for a bagpipe with a superior bass drone and then search for a reed that brings
out the best. Don't be afraid to try a cane bass reed. You'll be surprised!
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