Technical Tips and DIY

Pipemaking	Pipe Reeds	Musicianship & Tuning
Maintenance & Misc.	General Reed Info

David Daye VERY COOL David Daye's Bagpipe Page, one of the largest sites for technical info on Scottish and Irish pipes. Purely educational. Reeds, innovations, training, text, sounds, diagrams, photos.

Instrument Making

• Dennis P. Havlena - many projects such as PVC pipes and silicone blowpipe valve
• Making Bagpipes, article by Casey Burns.
• Uilleann Pipes Home Building Page. by the energetic David Daye.
• Making Scottish small pipes from CPVC and brass tubing, by Eric Reiswig
• build a quiet ''whisper-chanter''
• How I made a pennywhistle at home in my spare time by Eric Reiswig
• Casey Burns' Shopcam, see inside a pipemaker's workshop
• Making a Set of Northumbrian Bagpipes
• Making a Set of Northumbrian Smallpipes by Mike Nelson, Cambridge, UK - entire book online
• Musicians and Instrument Makers Forum (MIMF) discussion forum
• Uilleann Pipe Construction : By John Garland & Kevin Scott - info on tools and techniques
• Specials for Bagpipes - Pipe dimensions, electronics & software

Reeds & Reedmaking

• Gordon Speir's reedmaking article at Ken Gordon's FTP site. Some assembly required.
• Gordon Speir's paper on making bagpiping reeds - HTML version
• Tip on creating a longer life for cane double reeds, from pipemaker Michael MacHarg
• U.P. Plastic Reed David Daye strikes again
• Also see David's new online reedmaking book.
• Making Plastic Bagpipe Reeds by Casey Burns.
• Seth Gallagher's Uilleann reedmaking guide
• The Chanter/Reed Combo Experiment

General (non-pipe-specific) Reed Info

• Rico Reeds' Cane Plantation Tour
• Charles Double Reed Company, reed-making supplies
• REED STORAGE--A SIMPLE SOLUTION.
• CULTIVATION OF CALIFORNIA ARUNDO DONAX
• A treatment process for oboe cane. Journal of the International Double Reed Soc.
• International Double Reed Society
• Double Reeds, Incorporated Creating New Ideas in Making Reeds for Oboe and Bassoon
• BASSOON, REEDS AND MORE...
• the proboe shop: by VAR the best Reed Cane
• The finest reedcane in the world? Sardinian Cane
• Normal Modes of Clarinet Reeds
• Double Reed Suppliers - Brian's Double Reed Page

Maintenance & Misc.

• Keith Elliott offers advice on corking drone slides.
• Identification of ivory and ivory substitutes, National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory report
• CITES, International Affairs--U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Ivory info
• Wood, Oil and Water by Lee and Raymond Dessy.
• Question-and-answer with Michael Mac Harg, WQ columnist.
• The "McWick" UP Demand-Driven Humidifier. Could be used for any cauld wind pipes.
• ABCP--African Blackwood Conservation Project Home Page
• Cuillinn Craft: Notes From Pipey's Corner
• SilverMine British Silver Hallmarks - a wealth of hallmark info
• DN - Bag tie-in, Customized measurements

Musicianship, tuning etc

• David Daye's evil finger exercises, from Piobaire FTP.
• Brian D. Yates's lip exercises, from Piobaire FTP.
• BCPD Piping Tutor Page A piping tutor in Adobe PDF format (you need the Acrobat reader to view it). Also available as: Bagpipe Lessons with The Piping Tutor
• Canntaireachd reference document. Put together by the Murray Pipes and Drums of Gothenburg.
• Some notes on the scale of the GHB chanter., by me
• Some notes on tuning the GHB chanter using a standard chromatic tuner, by me
• NEW! Generate your own GHB chanter scale and tuning tables, by me
• The Bagpipe Resource - beginners help page
• Bagpipe Tuning and "How Do I Play Along with Bagpipes?" - courtesy of George's Music, BC
• Teaching The Young Piper advice from Bob Dunsire
• The Role of Drones, Bagpipes & Counterpoint in Evolution & Development of Harmony
• Piobaireachd Web site - Mediahouse Bulletin Board