1. My crunluath is improving. Still working on the F. I have heard improvement because the F is becoming more prominent. It has been weak, but I can hear a better crunluath since the F has been balanced with the rest of the gracenotes. Still a work in progress. This particular movement is called a crunluath breabach. I'm also doing finger exercises to strengthen the E and F notes. Hands flat on the desk, then raise each finger up and down (both hands simultaneously) continuously for 5 sets of 10 reps. I raise the fingers up as far as possible during the exercise. Stretch and shake the hands afterwards.
2. The piobaireachd high G with a high A gracenote, in canntaireachd is pronounced "hee". My high A gracenote was big and floppy. I have shortened the gracenote to keep it in balance with the other gracenotes. It is somewhat prominent, being found in the first bar, 2nd and 3rd line of the urlar, T singling and doubling, C singling and doubling, for a total of 20. Correction has been made.
3. For some reason, while playing the full tune on Monday, my hiharin went south. The more I thought about it while playing, the worse it got. I've dropped back to the basics, and have the timing down and getting the distinct A-G-A. The right hand index finger and little finger should touch the chanter at the same time. Self 1 caused some problems. Correction has been made and Self 1 will be kept plenty busy. Self 2 is very capable to perform this movement. An interesting side note, Jimmy McIntosh calls this movement an "eallach".
4. The ebb and flow of music is very important. The next tweak has a bearing on this. The last bar of all 3 lines of the urlar, T singling, C singling. The phrase, "chay um toe", I was parking on the D (toe) much too long. This was disrupting the flow of the music. This is not a march. Play with feeling.
5. Instrument. High G was sharp and will correct with a little tape. I have way too much adrenaline going and need to play relaxed. Squeezing too hard will sharpen the notes and cause playing out of tune and unsteadiness.
I have been playing the C first, then the rest of the tune and finish with the C. Another exercise I have added is doing the John Cairns gracenote exercise with an F gracenote. Also, I have been working on listening at a higher level and staying in the zone. The Inner Game of Tennis is a must read for all pipers.
Winkie gave me positive feedback on my playing. Ebb and flow of the tune has improved. The transition from singling to doubling is much better.
Winkie also talked about playing too hard of a chanter reed. Don't. When manipulating a reed, start with one that is close to your finished water column in inches. Better to start with a 32" WC and finish at 29", than starting with a 38" WC. Food for thought from Donald Lindsay. She also suggested an alternate method of squeezing the bag. Rather than pinching it with the elbow against the body, use a slight arc. This will prevent the bag from sliding down your body. I've been working on this technique. I may try a smaller bag to get it up under my arm in a better leveraged position.
I love piobaireachd. Good bye band, hello ceol mor.
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