Mccluskeyarundell > Leon > Music
Playing the Tabor Pipe
The pipe is normally held in the left hand, and the drumstick in the right. You will probably find it easier to learn a tune on the pipe first (see below), before trying to play the pipe and tabor together.
My simple notation
In this notation the ">" symbol indicates the mouthpiece end of the pipe. The three holes are each denoted by "O" if they are uncovered, and by "X" if they are closed.
So, for example, "> XXX" means all holes closed, and "> XXO" means the two holes nearer the mouthpiece are covered, and the farthest hole is open.
A half-covered hole is indicated by a "%" sign.
> X%O
Overtones (higher notes, obtained by blowing harder) are indicated by a number. E.g. "2" denotes the second overtone.
>2 XXO
Holding the pipe.
The pipe has two top holes, and one lower hole. It has a range of close to two octaves.
For a short pipe the size of a normal penny whistle (e.g. high D), the end of the pipe is held in a scissor grip by the little and ring fingers of the left hand. The little finger sits below the pipe, and the ring finger above.
The middle finger covers the top hole farther from the mouthpiece, and the index finger covers the nearer top hole. The thumb covers the lower hole.
With this fingering, the pipe plays its lowest note.
> XXX
A more comfortable hold for a longer pipe (e.g. low D) uses the thumb and index fingers as for a short pipe, but reverses the middle and ring fingers. The middle finger rests above the pipe, between the two top holes. The farther of the top holes is covered by the ring finger.
Forming the basic notes
Playing the pipe takes lots of practice. The tabor pipe requires much finer breath control than a normal recorder or penny whistle. It took me two years of practice to master the range from D to high B. Hopefully, with these tips (and a good pipe) you will get there a little faster than I did.
This description assumes that you are holding the pipe as described above for a short pipe, with your middle finger (rather than your ring finger) covering the farther top hole. The notes given here are for a D pipe.
First, lift your middle and index fingers, and move your thumb away from the lower hole. This opens all three holes. Blow gently into the mouthpiece. To play
gently enough, you may need to allow some breath to escape through your nose. This forms the fourth note of the scale (G).
> OOO
For the third note of the scale (F#) cover the thumb hole. Keep both your middle and index finger holes open, and blow gently.
> XOO
Next, cover your index finger hole as well as the thumb hole, and blow gently. This gives the second note (E).
> XXO
Finally, cover all three holes and blow very gently. This gives the same note (D) as the bottom note of a similarly sized penny whistle.
> XXX
For practice, repeat the above notes in reverse until all the holes are again open. If a note does not sound clear, it may be because one of the holes is only partly covered.
A penny whistle scale has eight notes (D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D). A tabor pipe, because it has only three holes, can play only four notes - D, E, F# and G - in its bottom range . For this reason it is usually played in overtones, where it can play all of the notes of the scale.
Playing the pipe - the first octave.
Hold the pipe as described above, with all three holes covered. Blow gently to play the lowest note (D).
> XXX
Now blow harder, until the pipe jumps an octave to its first overtone. For most practical purposes this (D) is your lowest note.
>1 XXX
Blowing slightly harder and lifting your middle finger, your index finger and your thumb in succession, as described above, gives the next three notes (E, F# and G).
>1 XXO
>1 XOO
>1 OOO
To get the fifth note of the scale (A), cover all three holes and blow harder until the pipe jumps again, to the second overtone. If you blow too hard, the pipe will jump to its third overtone (high D). If this happens, adjust your breath until you get the correct note.
>2 XXX
From the fifth note (A), you can lift your middle finger, your index finger and your thumb in succession, to get the sixth (B), seventh (C#) and eighth (D) notes.
>2 XXO
>2 XOO
>2 OOO
Playing some tunes
With a one octave range, you can play tunes such as "Amazing Grace," "Rose of Aranmore," "Cock o' the North," (also known as "Chase me Charlie," or "Auntie Mary") and "The Vicar of Bray." These may need to be transposed into a key that suits the pipe.
If you increase your range to include high E, high F# and high G, you will find that most tunes come within your reach.
Another way to increase your range of tunes is to play in another key. As with a penny whistle, it is not difficult to play a tabor pipe in one other key. For example, a D pipe can also play in the key of G.
The second octave
This description applies to a D pipe.
The second octave starts with the eighth note (D) of the first octave. This note can be played in two ways - either as the second overtone, with all holes open, or
the third overtone, with all holes closed.
>2 OOO
>3 XXX
High E is played as a third overtone with the middle finger raised and the index finger and thumb holes closed.
>3 OOX
High F# is best played with special fingering. As you might expect, the index finger is raised and the thumb hole is closed. Closing the middle finger hole helps
to form the correct note.
>3 XOX
High G also uses special fingering. In this case, index finger hole is closed, while the thumb and middle finger holes remain open.
>3 OXO
High A and high B require precise breath control, as a slight change of breath can cause a change of overtones.
High A is played with all holes closed, as the fourth overtone.
>4 XXX
High B is also played as a fourth overtone, with only the middle finger hole open.
>4 XXO
Playing in other keys.
A "D" whistle can play in the key of G by flattening the seventh note (C#) to a C.
C# is played with the thumb hole closed, and the index and middle finger holes open. C is played as for C#, except that the index finger half-covers its hole. The position for this note can be achieved in either of two ways:
I find that the second method gives better note control. This is especially important when playing with other instruments, as a discordant "off" note can be quite noticeable.
This page was last updated on 7 April 2006