Blair Digital Chanter: my SECRETS revealed!
Vložit
- čas přidán 12. 02. 2021
- A few hints and tips for the Blair Digital Chanter!
I shot this on my iPhone 12 Pro Max with my Zoom H4n Pro.
Murray's video takes a deep dive into sensor settings- • Blair Digital Chanter ...
Links:
blairbagpipes.com
www.g1reeds.com/blair-digital...
Lessons available - www.kylehowie.co.uk
Please do like this video and subscribe if you haven't already 💪
Kyle. I'm a retired chap, third generation piper, very active in the 70's but not played for many many years. The thought of having to get my pipes going again was enough to put me off playing. However I received my Blair chanter from G1Reeds this week and it it truly amazing. It has re-kindled my love of playing the pipes and also, very surprisingly, the muscle memory I developed all those years ago has not abandoned me and I can still play dozens of tunes from memory.
Brilliant stuff here Dave! Great to hear you’re still able to be playing all of your tunes without the stress of getting the big pipes back up and running. Happy piping! 💪
I use the Blair Digital Chanter engraved and it's BRILLIANT I practice with it every day worth every penny. It does take a bit of time to get the sensors right but once it's sorted its great. Keep up with the great video's.
Thanks for taking the time, changed my chanter night and day with your settings. Really enjoy it and I'd agree with all your videos you post an engraved chanter would be a great idea! hint hint :)
Glad to hear the settings work well for you Jeff! It was only when I started moving the numbers about in smaller increments that the sensors reacted much better for me 👌
Hiya Kyle, just got the BDC today. I played years ago with the Deger electronic chanter. Can't wait to get this going. Fist, I'll read the user manual and watch videos like yours or Matt McIsaac's and Matt Willis' to prepare myself mentally :-) I don't want to do anything wrong. Thanks for all the useful videos!!
Great info Kyle...seriously thinking about purchasing. I am currently trying out a borrowed one but was concerned about the sensor settings but has helped me a lot!
Thanks Kenneth! Glad to hear you’re thinking of going for one, they’re so much fun, once you’ve got your head round the sensors of course 😃 👌
Crackin' vid Kyle. Cheers mun.
Kyle. Love the videos. New Blair and sensors dialled in ok. Followed all your sound banks and used and all fine. May I ask what your settings are on Uillean and the Do G1 as I just cannot get these correct. Love the tune you play with Do G1 Cuttys wedding. Run and rerun your “secrets” video and hopefully I have not missed these but on my Blair these settings are illusive.
Great info on the chanter Cheers
Thanks Ian! 👍
Just bought it, it arrived today 😊
I would sooo love one of these.. my hubby hates the pipes & PC so it would be most welcome. Oh and if course I love your videos 😀.. loving the covid hair 😜
Haha yes my hair is getting a bit out of control now! 🤪 Yh the Blair is a brilliant alternative to playing practice chanter throughout the day, although I still practice with the actual chanter as often as I can too 👌
Nice one Kyle, I have both a Blair and a Fagerstrom. I find I play the Blair every day, it allows me to practice anywhere in the house or at work without disturbing others. It is a bit bulky to carry around when travelling and so I still use my Fagerstrom when I travel. The Fagerstrom is very rugged, durable and povket-sized, the Blair less so. I have found recently that my lip strength and blowing stamina have both suffered significantly. Since COVID I rarely get the mouth blown chanter out and have limited opportunities to get the pipes out. G1 Reeds do have very good prices on Blair Chanters. I have found mine to be a great investment but you do need to be patient and adjust the sensitivity to suit your style and skin tone. I find my sensors react differently if, for instance, my fingers are slightly discoloured by dirt or grime.
Agree Tim about the bulkiness, the case is huge! Haha but I did see in Murray’s Instagram page a new designed case that looks a lot more sleek! 👌 I got really lazy with the actual chanter at the start of all the lockdowns, same with the pipes too, didn’t touch them for a couple of months but I now try to balance my time between the Blair and the actual chanter just to keep the lips and lungs going 👍
You’re spot on too with patience, once it’s there, it’s there! 💪
I use the Fagerstrom chanter, but would love to get my hands on a Blair someday, for my own. Played around with a bandmate's one year at a competition and really liked it.
Yh it’s a brilliant bit of kit, Bryan! Like I say, once you’ve got it set up to how you play you’re good to go with it 👌
Thanks for the info Kyle. Most of my sensor settings are on the plus side. Your fingers must float over those holes Kyle haha Great chanter, recommend one if you can afford it.
Haha no problem! 💪
Great chanter, bought mine 3 years ago, agree it is worth every penny and I play it almost every day
It’s definitely saved my lockdown experience from only binging on TV, something I still have still managed to do a lot of but certainly less thanks to the Blair! Haha
Brilliant even in normal times too! 👌
Very happy with my Blair! Do need to practice blowing more however!
Your Scottish accent is wonderful ❤!
A very informative and well presented video. I have the chanter which played all individual notes without any problem. The chanter then all of a sudden would not play below d then when did play always played fuzzy when on C.
Am still experimenting with the sensors and hoping to resolve this problem😀
Seems to be playing better but still needs “ slight sensor adjustment👍
Thanks, Charles! I used to move the sensors about in 5s, for example I’d go from 10 to 15 etc but once I started moving about in 1s or 2s it started to react better to the playing 👌
@@KyleHowie thanks Kyle really useful info👍👍👍
Is it possible to play the Blair chanter also without the connection to the computer? You don't have to blow it, do you? Have you had any previous experience with the Fagerstrom electronic practice chanter. Comparisons?
Hi Kyle, love yer vids mate, my question is a simple one, does it decrease your resistance to actual playing? ie. Playing the practice chanter offers some resistance to air escaping out the holes, you obv feel the pressure, and using your cheeks, I'm interested in getting one but honestly is it as, good as a normal chanter? I'm torn between a maverick or a blair? Is it the same as playing a normal chanter the whole resistance thing kinda gets me, If you know what I mean? I mean I kinda have pressure on a chanter when I play, but imagine with a blair it would not consume the same muscle memory as a normal chanter?
Thanks in advance bro 🙏
I have just received my Blair digital chanter and I’m finding it impossible to get the sensors right on every note! Got any advice for me? Cheers!
What about giving a tune sample of the Blair Digital ?
I would love to have blair chanter with all the sounds but they are very expensive. I have one, but mine broke and it still works.
Yh they’re definitely not cheap! 😅 As I mentioned though, worth every penny! Just depends on how much playing you do really, I play every day so it’s a great investment for me 👌
I’ve been trying several sensor combinations without any luck. Murray has offered suggestions but the unit is going back due to a faulty screen.
I’m still trying to get the scale sorted. The closest I have got is a full scale except for problems on E. When I sound E I first get a D until I lift my finger quite high up. This means my E gracenotes are actually Ds. A low A strike from E sounds E D A D E. Quite annoying.
Any suggestions for sorting this out before it gets shipped back? I’m feeling defeated.
Yh it can be quite stressful Duncan, drop me a message on my Facebook page if you like and we’ll see if we can get it going well for you 🤞 - m.facebook.com/kylehowiepiper/
Now here's a question: if you pick up someone else's Blair chanter, do you set the sensors to the exact same value? In other words, how much of the variation is your fingers/playing style and how much is the sensors themselves?
I’ve had others play my Blair chanter and sometimes it’s worked great and other times it’s definitely been in need of changing the sensors to suit them! 👌
We'd be interested in hearing all these settings that you are describing in turn 👍
Which settings in particular? 😃
Thanks for the info I don't have one, am thinking about purchasing one how does it improve your playing ? I'm worried about not actually blowing my mouth muscles need exercising what's your opinion please
An EXCELLENT question, Gareth! Haha it improves your playing in that you can play any time of day without upsetting neighbours, good for travelling too etc etc. Like you say, if you only ever played the Blair your lips would lose strength so I just try to balance everything best I can. I’ll play light music on my actual practice chanter/Blair then stick to the Blair for the Piob! 👌
Thank you for your reply Kyle I got given a ross electric which is ok but I find the thumb is in the wrong position and it turns to the right as it's heavy I like the way you want to help people too which is very nice
Yh the Ross chanter has a wild design to it, very too heavy as you say. The auto-harmony is very cool though, I loved messing about with that! 👌
Is there a way to download different pipe sounds. I see you mentioned a few instrumemt types that are not on my version
Murray's website has all of the available sounds ready for download- for free! 😃
I like playing the C smallpipes with reverb at 440 w/pre dly 0, st width 10, volume 13 & everything else 30 but with the D smallpipes I have to turn it off because it's so loud other than that it's a nice piece of technology but the only con about it is the charging since it doesn't show the percentage just a flashing battery symbol.
Yh I like the C smallpipes too! Agree with the battery symbol, I don’t know I’m running low til my High G starts to go a bit funny, thankfully I’ve only been slightly caught out by that a couple of times haha! 😃
Hi Kyle. How are you connecting your Zoom H4n Pro to your phone?
It'll be easier to explain in a video, hopefully have that up soon! 😃🤞
Where do you get the E pipes and SLOT chanter sounds from?
Additional Instruments page on Murray’s website, Lachie! 👍 Here it is if you haven’t found them yet- blairbagpipes.com/downloads/#tab-id-3-active
Thanks for sharing your settings. I've been using the chanter for a month and thought I had settings pretty good but then all of a sudden got the gurgle on some notes, probably from a low battery. Just out of curiosity I changed my settings to same as yours and the chanter sounds brilliantly crisp, so will see how it goes long term. I'd love to know how you record your playing and do the split screen harmony. Really enjoying the channel.
Thanks Brian, glad you’re enjoying the channel too! 👍 Great that my chanter settings are working well for you too, it should feel exactly like a normal practice chanter as you play 💪
Here’s the link to Acapella that I’ve been using for all the Blair tune videos 🔥 - apps.apple.com/gb/app/acapella-from-picplaypost/id924635678
I finally got my Ergo pipe bag for my Blair today and so far it is the most awkward thing ever. With my fingers in the E position, it was going in and out of E to F then back to E in a warped sort of way. Other notes were the same at times. I tried to play a march but it was a disaster. Then I tried a slow air and even that sounded like I’d only been learning for a couple of months. I really wish I’d never wasted the money on it. I never had this much trouble with my real pipes. I thought it was my Blair needed charged but it has a full battery. It was sounding nice and crisp with the chanter mouthpiece fitted so this bag is a big disappointment. Oh well, I now have a pipe bag shaped pillow.
I have the ergo bag too, it did feel weird for the first few plays like you say, I’ve found I have it lower and further forward than my highland pipes. That’s worked for me as it’s roughly in the same position as where my reelpipes would sit 👍 Although I usually just play the chanter like a normal changer as I’m usually sitting at my desk when playing 👌
@@KyleHowie
Have you had in and out of high pitched sounds when you know your fingers are on the notes? I most often get it going from E to low A, sometimes with gurgles. Is it sensor settings?
It’s ok, the low battery indicator came on (facepalm). It’s probably that.
Do you have another website Kyle?
Just my photography website that's up at the moment, might resurrect the piping site at some point when I get the time 🤞
Hello dear. Do you know how much the price in dollars for the oboe you have used electricity. I need to buy one. But I don't know the price. Can you help me ??
It is called an " equal temperament " which means that the semi - tones are evenly placed in the western scale.
Effectively, it is out of tune to sound in tune- see pythagoras theory and the wolf for more info.
Equal temperament that’s the one! Us pipers have a wild tuning setup, Low and High G much flatter than compared to a properly tuned G on a piano etc, I quite like the slightly flat High A and D which is fine for playing by yourself but not great when playing with groups 👍
@@KyleHowie we call that intonation, which comes after tuning, which is what gives the instrument it's musical " colour" - l tune the high A slightly flatter too as - the wolf in the chanter is in HG and D or B sometimes....
I was a professional piano tuner in Germany for 30 yrs and tuning is a honed skill mastered by few - scientifically, we also naturally hear the top diskant tones FLAT - which is why " deaf" tuners tune notes in pianos sometimes a tone too high - owing to this syndrome which we don't know why happens - it happens in all instruments.
When l tune the pipe- it's LA / HA (the octave) first E, C, then D, , F B, HG, and LG is oddly usually ok - tuning is not an easy skill to master....but definitely learnable....
Nice video. You shure know this chanter. Small sound excamples would have been nice,- just a 10-15 sec's of music.... thanks.
Ah yes, might do a separate video on that! 👌
I don't see a functional difference between blairs chanter and the old Fagerstrom, both are just discrete note inputs outputting analogue or midi via a hard wired interface.
Show me analogous note inputs and a bluetooth interface for that money.