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How to use Korg CA-20 (Rich Mao) posted on rmmb GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF TUNER CHARACTERISTICS/TERMINOLOGY First, every electronic
tuner is calibrated by default to the note A equal Use the tuner in automatic mode. It turns out that when you blow the "A" on the bagpipe chanter, when played into the tuner (the bottom of the chanter from about one-two inches away from the tuner's microphone)...the tuner will display the nearest chromatic scale note being played as B flat or A sharp (synonym for the same note)....some where... usually for modern chanters about A sharp plus about 20 cents (on the display scale..remember all the display scale needle readings must be interpreted relative to the chromatic note being displayed on the face of the tuner [e.g. -40 cents when the chromatic B is being displayed on the face of the tuner is actually sharper than +40 cents if the chromatic Bflat is being displayed on the face of the tuner]). Chromatic A sharp is 466 hertz...that's where that number comes from. Please note also that Asharp 466 is 440 hertz (concert A) plus 26. So you don't have to SET anything...it is naturally built into the tuner. TUNING PRECONDITIONS I assume you can blow
a steady pressure/pitch for one note on the Second... blow the
pipe chanter reed (with or without drones) for at least GETTING YOUR CHANTER TO TUNE TO ITSELF USING THE KORG CA-20... The more a beginner you are... the more you should consider doing this with your drones off (but you should strive do it with full drones going)...Play a tune (e.g. Scotland the Brave) in front of your tuner (your tuner is on, isn't it?) with your chanter about 1/2 foot away to one foot from the tuner...closer is all right.......when you reach a High A... keep playing that High A (at a constant pressure.and getting a pure tone) and observe both the needle reading and the note reading on the meter... The meter note being displayed should read B flat (or A sharp on the Korg CA-10)... (same note) because though our music is written such that we call our chanter tonic note "A" the general pitch of the pipes over the decades has risen above concert A (440)... and B flat is right and proper for current day tuning... Now take note of the needle reading (say, plus 10 cents, relative to Asharp)... Now, without changing
pressure ... switch to blowing Low A... (all your Goal: Wherever the High A of the chanter needles out to...the Low A on the chanter when played should needle out to the same place...(i.e. your target is for the notes to be an octave apart).. If the High A is sharper (to the right of the Low A reading, as you face the tuner) than the Low A pull the reed out a bit adding a bit of hemp to the bottom of the staple to keep the reed in place. Because the air column
for the High A is so much shorter than for the Low If the High A is flatter
(to the left of the low a needle setting) then sink Once the two notes
are reading the same needle setting (say, plus 15 You will probably
need to go through this tuning cycle in another 10-15 Comments: This is
not to say that you are in tune with an arbitrary band This is not to say
that the rest of the notes of the scale are in This is not to say
that the chanter is tuned to/needles out to where the Each of the above topics would require another explanation NEXT, TUNE DRONES TO THE CHANTER Once the two needle
settings are the same...While you are blowing the full pipes The reason I say to
use a friend .. is so that you can maintain your regular playing/blowing
pressure (the same pressure that you used when the High A and Low A's
were brought into line) while the drone pitches/length are being brought
into alignment. The alternative when you tune totally by yourself is that
you have to learn to keep pressure/chanter pitch constant (both through
blowing and Comments: Use the tuner both to tune and to train your ear as to what being in tune sounds like.. Listen for the throbbing, wah, wah to disappear. As you bring one drone in alignment with a previously tuned drone. Listen for the drone to become synchronous with the Low A of the chanter. Most pipers tune the outside tenor to the chanter Low and High A's and find that they can tune the bass drone and then the middle tenor to the outside tenor.rather than keeping tuning/referring to the chanter Low A. Your goal should be freedom from the tuner. Optional: Some people
don't like to tune to a variance (e.g. adjusting the BTW, I don't like
to recalibrate/displace the concert A setting because the calibration
never stays constant from session to session..ambient TUNING THE CHANTER'S SCALE First read thoroughly Ewan MacPherson's treatise on tuning at Ewan MacPherson's
Hot Piping Page This is where I am getting the displacements mentioned below. Wherever the High
and Low A common needle reading is.the notes of the Chanter Low G, reads as a chromatic Gsharp on the tuner, strive for -4 cents below the High and Low A common needle reading Chanter Low A, reads
as a chromatic Bflat on the tuner, strive for 0 cent Chanter B, reads as
chromatic C on the tuner, strive for +4 cent Chanter C, reads as
chromatic D on the tuner, strive for -14 cent Chanter D, reads as
chromatic Eflat on the tuner, strive for -2 cent Chanter E, reads as
chromatic F on the tuner, strive for +2 cent Chanter F, reads as
chromatic G on the tuner, strife for -16 cent Chanter High G, reads
as a chromatic Gsharp on the tuner, strive for -4 Chanter High A, reads
as a chromatic Bflat on the tuner, strive for 0 cent Hopefully the note
is sharp to the desired differential and you can tape the note downward.
If the note is persistently flat to the desired Throughout this process
you must be blowing at constant pressure the same as when you established
High and Low A common needle readings and the same as when you tuned the
drones. LISTEN and LEARN.. If your drones are really stable.. Harmonics
of each of the notes, especially E, C, D, F when they are in tune with
the drones will sound louder/enhanced/fuller because of harmonic multiples
of the chanter note being in synchronization with/reinforced by/equal
to harmonic multiples of the drones (or no worse than being in simple
numeric ratios with the drone frequencies (chordal relationships)). Ultimately
your ear will be a You will have to cycle through this procedure a couple of times.because tape onone note can affect the tuning of other notes.or at least will require other notes to be taped to stay in chordal relationship with the note you've changed. Play slow airs and
revel in the sound of bagpipes in tune.filling your room. If you ever change
chanter reeds. you'll probably have to strip every piece KORG CA-20 vs. CA-10 COMMENTS What I like about the Korg CA-20 is the price (about $20) versus value. The needle is just enough less touchy than a full analog needle that if you have verrrry minor variations in pitch...the needle setting remains steady....and your audience will be happy. Korg CA-20 takes smaller batteries than CA-10. and is smaller (business card case vs. cigarette pack size). Korg CA-20 has automatic battery saving power down after, I think, 20 minutes. Korg CA-20 shows Bflat, Korg CA-10 shows Asharp for our chanter A. Korg CA-20 remembers any Concert A displacement you made from power up to power up. CA-10 resets to A=440 hz every time. Korg CA10 is easier to stand up on a shelf. |
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