Teach Yourself Bagpipes by Lindsay Davidson - Intermediate Finger Exercises and RSPBA MAP Tunes

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Hand Position and the Scale for Medieval Bagpipes in C/dIn G/a

Place your hands on the chanter left above right (reverse if you are left handed),  knuckles in line with the front of the chanter and fingers straight. Your left thumb covers the hole at the back and your little finger on that hand rests away from the chanter.  Place your right thumb on the back of the chanter between your index and middle fingers. Your wrists must be straight to ensure that you play with your fingers,  not your arms.

hands

In all of the diagrams that follow,  “X” represents a closed hole and “O” represents an open one.

medieval scale Cd

An alternative fingering to top D exists:

OO
X
O

O
O
O
O

Use this when your other fingering sounds out of tune.

HINTS:


1.         When changing from one note to the next, ALWAYS MAKE THE NEXT NOTE BEFORE YOU CLOSE THE ONE YOU ARE PLAYING.  This avoids mistakes known as “crossing sounds” - extra notes that are not intended.  Another way to think of its is when changing from a higher note to a lower, change from the bottom up,  and when going from a lower note to a higher,  change from the top down.

2.         Try to feel and memorise the position of all of your fingers when playing each note.  This helps your co-ordination to develop.







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Lindsay Davidson
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