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Píobaire, An, Volume 8, Issue 2, Page 10

Píobaire, An, Volume 8, Issue 2, Page 10
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periodical Publisher
Na Píobairí Uilleann
periodical Editor
Chairman, NPU
periodical Title
An Píobaire
volume Number
2
issue Content
Píobaire, An 8 2 10 20120411 10 ~ TECHNICAL ~ SCULPTING TONE INTO DOUBLE REEDS DAVID DAYE D OUBLE REEDS work not as vibrators whose sound is amplified by the in- strument, but as high-speed valves, triggering the air inside the instrument to make the tone when they pop open and shut. This must happen abruptly to give the best response and tone. Perhaps because we blow our reeds dry, the shape of the interior surfaces at the lips is critical in this. The cross-sectional curve in- side the lips must be uniformly concave from edge to edge to get the cleanest cutoff and re- sumption of airflow. For uilleann pipe reeds more than for wet-blown reeds, it is commonly known that small amounts of warping cause dull tone and reduced loudness. I’m finding that much more of the interior sur- face is important than just the top few mil- limeters at the lips where I’d been concentrating my restorations till recently. It seems that the surface shape with its progression of increasing curvatures from the lips past the middle of the head might even be more important than the exact blade stiffness and exterior scraping in much of the upper half of the reed, and more important than smoothness of the surfaces. In any case, if a reed is dull or resistant, resurfac- ing the interior over the top half restores reeds to good response at a higher success rate than any other approach I’ve tried. I once worked building fiberglass boats and moulds, supervised by a retired auto industry pattern maker. He showed us how to make uni- form, fair curved surfaces using only sandpaper held against various sizes and shapes of sanding blocks and long battens of wood. This reed resur- facing method is the millimeter-sized practice of methods I first learned on a meters-long scale. It’s something of an art but it’s easily learned. If a reed, new or old, has resistance or dull tone, it is taken apart, and the inside of the upper half of the blades is carefully assessed using harsh light shining across the interior and magnification to note areas of warping. Then the interior outer end of the inside of each blade is sanded on a very wide cylinder to re-
issue Number
8
page Number
10
periodical Author
[Periodical]
issue Publication Date
2012-04-21T00:00:00
allowedRoles
anonymous,guest,friend,member

An Píobaire, Volume 8, Issue 2

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