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Understanding Harmonics—Part 2

How many pipers have a firm grasp of the physics of sound that causes the unique and rich sound of our bagpipes? We are told that we should maintain a pressure in the pipe bag that is at the chanter reed’s “sweet spot”, that pressure that causes the reed to maximally vibrate and bring out the most “harmonics” and richness of sound of the reed. But what, really, are harmonics?

Exploring the "Pitch-Time" Continuum

Do you know pipers who take their pipes out of the bag, put the drones together, and start playing without taking any time to “warm” them up? Unfortunately, the resulting sound is enough to make anyone dislike the sound of the pipes. But even if we play the pipes for a few minutes before tuning, how many of us have a deep understanding of reasons behind warming up?

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