tuning and maintenance

[fritz fratz]

hey,

i just got a kaba gaida in D from kabagaida.com. thanks for that beautiful instrument!!!

but now i have some questions about reed setting and maintenance

how do i store the gaida?

what about the pipebag, (storing, maintenance, etc)

after playing, should i remove all parts and let it dry?  how to get out condense water?

can i use beewax instead of sheep tallow?

do i have to oil reeds?

how do i fix the threads of the reeds correctly after tuning? 

is it normal that reeds get out of tune in the beginning? is temperature a problem

are there some special tuning tips? and how often do i have to tune?

thanks

markus

[Julian Russbach]

Congratulations on your kaba gaida! Before I attempt to answer your questions let me say this: The gaida returns what you put into it. It requires regular playing and maintenance and is not an easy instrument to learn. However, if you stick with it the reward is well worth it.

I am assuming you are from the west (somewhere in the Americas) judging by the time of your post (Bulgaria would be sleeping). If so, hopefully I can help you with your questions and lessons learned from my experience.

The gaida should be stored in a plastic bag like a 13 gallon trash bag. You can store the gaida in a leather pouch. However, plastic really is better, and it should be stored in a plastic bag inside the leather pouch. Humidity and temperature directly affect the gaida as its an ancient instrument made of wood and leather. In Bulgaria, its recommended to store the gaida wrapped in plastic in the механа "mehana" or basement. The basements there stay around 60 degrees F and provide a good environment for the instrument. I live in Texas, and we don't have basements. So I store my gaida in a plastic bag and put it in a cabinet. Out of sunlight and out of direct flow of A/C or heaters in the house. You can store your instrument in a case or chest, but I strongly recommend putting it in a plastic bag first. It is very important that your reeds and pipes do not dry out. They have natural oils, and oils/fats that you must add, to keep them functioning (I will address this later).

To put your gaida up, you leave the chanter in the horn and the first segment of the drone attached to the bag. This way the reeds (inside these two pipes) are still inside the bag. Next, deconstruct the other two pieces of the drone (the second and third segments). Flatten the bag by pushing air out of it. Place the now detached segments of the drone and lay them in the center of the deflated bag. Next take the chanter and the first segment of the drone (both still attached to the bag) and fold them in with the other two segments. Now all 4 segments (2 attached, and 2 detached) are all lined up in a small bundle in the middle of the flattened bag. Fold/Roll the bag around the pipes like a burrito. In the end you should have the pipes in the middle, and the bag around them.

When you play, never take the chanter (gaidunitza) out and play it like a whistle/flute. Its very very bad to get saliva directly on the reed as you would with a clarinet or other woodwind instruments - the gaida reed is not the same. Getting saliva on the reed will make it too damp and will eventually dry it out like chapped lips. Always blow up the bag (even to practice) and play with the chanter in the bag. If you play the gaidunitza directly you will ruin the reed. I did this to my first reed - trust me - bad idea.

Don't worry too much about condensed water in the bag. Traditional gaidas are made from goat skin and are salt cured. If you have a tradition bag (it will have a thick skin) the bag will naturally absorb your warm breath and any condensed water. This keeps the bag loose. I was fortunate enough to take a few lessons from Petar Yanev over the summer. He plays up to 8 hours a day and goes through bags every few months. However he assured me not to worry about natural water or sweat on/in the bag. Some gaidars take a shot of rakia (brandi), you could use vodka, and poor a shot into the bag after they played for hours. The alcohol evaporates quickly and it will kill microorganisms in the bag. This really isn't necessary for people that aren't playing hours and hours on end, and you don't need to do it.

Do not remove the reeds from the chanter or drone to dry them out. Keep them in the pipes and keep the pipes in the bag - only play that way. For practice you should not be using the drone. Take a cork from a wine bottle, cut it to fit, and plug up the drone. This way air only flows out of the chanter. You can see Cvetelin playing this way in his training videos on youtube. I know its tempting to plug the drone in and play. Don't do it. You must first learn to balance your breaths and play steady with just the chanter as he is showing. If you play with the drone as a beginner it will stunt your learning curve.

There really is no better substitute to tallow or suet. I was instructed to use suet, which is beef kidney fat. Its hard at room temperature but will become malleable in your hands. Suet/Tallow is what the master gaidars use. You can get suet at butcher shops, apparently its not an uncommon ingredient in American chilli. Store the suet in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. To lube the reeds, take a small piece in your fingers - about the size of a grain of rice. Let the suet warm up on your fingers and then rub the threaded section of the reed. The threads will absorb the fat and the reed will absorb it from the threads. Do not apply the suet directly to the reed. You can wipe off your fingers, when there is no more visible fat left on them, onto the reed. Your fingers will be sticky. If you apply the fat as a chunk directly to the reed it can cause the reed to stick to itself and affect the playability. Its really best to just apply the fat to the threads and as your last wipe - so to speak - apply it to the reed itself.

You can lubricate the reed before every time you play. The threads should always be sticky. That helps the reed seal itself in the pipe and keep the reed hydrated as it will draw out any fat it needs. You can apply quite a bit of fat to the threads as long as there aren't visible chunks left and you work the fat in. Petar Yanev did not recommend using beeswax unless its a last resort. Ive used it and it doesn't work nearly as well. Its hard and not very malleable. I did end up using Burt's Bees all natural chapstick (made from beeswax) before I met him. Its better than straight beeswax for hydration. But I strongly *strongly* recommend you use fat (tallow/suet).

You will also need to lubricate your pipes. If you live in a dry climate, lubricate them more often. I posted on here about what the best oil is to use for the pipes. Check out that conversation for more detail. Almond and olive oil are good oils to use. Almond oil has a higher flash point and lasts longer. Its more expensive but worth it. Heat the oil up and poor it on the pipes. Work it in with a cloth and let them sit/drip for 15 minutes.

Tuning the gaida can be a real challenge and could take alot of typing to explain. First, before you start messing with the reeds make sure that the top part of the reed (the flap) is facing 90 degrees to the left of the front holes. If you insert the reed with the flap facing the front holes (or in other positions) it may not sound right and you could get other vibrations and notes. The same is true with the reed in the drone. There should be a notch or a marker at the base of the drone where it connects to the bag. On mine its a flattened area on on the pipe. The reed for the drone should always be inserted 90 degrees to the left of the notch. So if you hold the notched/flattened part up toward the ceiling the "flap" of the reed should be on the left.

Once you are inserting your reeds correctly you can start tuning. Tuning is done mostly by how high up the threads on the reed are. The threads should never be loose, but they should be workable enough, so as with some delicate effort you can shift them up or down. The higher you go on the reed, the higher the note. The lower you go on the reed, the lower the note. Since you have a gaida in D, you should tune to that. Take your right hand and cover the thumb hole with your right thumb. Your index finger on the small hole (the fleahole), your middle finger on the second hole and your ring finger on the third. This should give you a D when you play. I recommend downloading a tuner for a smart phone rather than buying one. I use Da Tuner Lite. It should what note I am playing and how far off I am from its true frequency.

Use the D fingering to tune that note first. Its your base note and it is also what the drone should be tuned to. Don't worry about tuning the drone for the time being. There are two other holes that usually need a little beeswax (its ok to use for tuning) or suet. The fleahole (the small one) and the last hole. To adjust the notes emitting from these holes place a little bit of wax or fat in the hole. More fat/wax makes the note lower. Less makes the note higher. The very last hole is used quite a bit for tuning. In you case It should play an "A" when all of the other holes but the last one closed.

Getting tired now. Will resume answering questions later. There are other guys in this forum that have alot more experience than I do. I hope what I have told you so far will help you maintain and start playing your instrument. Keep at it. Play atleast 15 minutes a day, or longer if you can. Don't let the gaida sit. Its like a woman, it can be different on any given day. But the more attention you pay to it, the more it will play nice for you.

[Dimitar Vassilev]

2013/2/28 fritz fratz via Kaba Gaida <kabagaida+noreply-APn2wQfLk1SEOZ...@googlegroups.com>

hey,

i just got a kaba gaida in D from kabagaida.com. thanks for that beautiful instrument!!!

but now i have some questions about reed setting and maintenance

how do i store the gaida?

what about the pipebag, (storing, maintenance, etc)

after playing, should i remove all parts and let it dry?  how to get out condense water?

can i use beewax instead of sheep tallow?

whatever is more convenient. tallow is the classic. wax works for me fine

do i have to oil reeds?

only the threads. be careful not to exceed the ointment amount or reeds will get stuck and will not resonate well.

how do i fix the threads of the reeds correctly after tuning? 

Push gentle up and down to alter the tune. unrolling the thread requires using tallowed new threads. Twist them only in the direction they were rolled when placing them into the holes. Unroll them in the same direction grabbing them for the parts which are not split.

is it normal that reeds get out of tune in the beginning? is temperature a problem

Generally you should not play under 0 degrees Celsius. Keep in mind that you got wood, not stone.
I would say avoid playing below 15 degrees if you don't have 2 or more bag pipes. It's always possible to have some wear and tear after some playing in such a weather. Before playing in such harsh conditions, grab the reeds and roll them in your palm to warm them up. Wood tends to alter its tune depending on the temperature. Once done,  put the instrument in a place with constant medium temperature to roll back - basement or attic.

are there some special tuning tips? and how often do i have to tune?

Get a dynamic tuner that shows the tune on each key you play or in the worst case some application for a smart phone. Be patient and change stuff step by step. then check with the tuner. Try tuning the D key first.
Next check if you still have some higher pitches than expected. apply wax/tallow where needed on the holes to reduce the noise. Check again till you're happy and the tuner shows the perfect key for each hole. Next try tuning the drone pipe. Requires a bit of spanning the parts of the drone pipe and luck finding the D key there.
You need to tune once if you play frequently and had you not played for a while it's recommended to check again before exposing yourself to the public.

thanks

markus

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[fritz fratz]

thanks a lot julian for that fast answer(s) =) , i think i am ready to start now.....

 

markus

[Цветелин Андреев]

Hi, Markus,

Read below

Cvetelin Andreev
+359 889 651 656 

http://www.kabagaida.com 

On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 2:25 AM, fritz fratz via Kaba Gaida <kabagaida+noreply-APn2wQfLk1SEOZ...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

hey,

i just got a kaba gaida in D from kabagaida.com. thanks for that beautiful instrument!!!

but now i have some questions about reed setting and maintenance

how do i store the gaida?

I use 2 plastic bags 

what about the pipebag, (storing, maintenance, etc)

play often

after playing, should i remove all parts and let it dry?  how to get out condense water?

The leather bag absorbs the moisture. 

can i use beewax instead of sheep tallow?

Only for tuning the chanter. If you feel that a hole needs to be permanently tuned, use wax. If you remove and put every time, better use tallow - it is easier to put and remove it. I use it to tune the little hole (marmorka) as when I play for a whole, the chanter goes a little bit up and i need to put tallow to lower the marmorka.  

do i have to oil reeds?

put just a little bit of tallow - first the threads, then with the last move the reed. Keep tallow outside the crack of the reed. You can put tallow from the inner side with a stick and a cotton. 

how do i fix the threads of the reeds correctly after tuning? 

Then need to be tight 

is it normal that reeds get out of tune in the beginning? is temperature a problem

It is normal. Even when the reeds get used to you and the gaida, you have to play for 10 mins so they will be tuned. 

are there some special tuning tips? and how often do i have to tune?

There are a lot of tuning tips. There are no standards (you cannot make the wood grow by a standard) so tuning depends. And it is individual. For example sometimes I put the chanter reed faced to the holes I it plays good. you can try to turn it in different directions. Keep in mind that the reed should be still in its bed.

[Julian Russbach]

The apps available on the newer smart phones are as good or better than what you can find in the music stores. I have a pitch pipe, a keyboard, and an electronic tuner, but the smart phone app is better in my opinion. Firstly, they are free, and if they aren't, they are only a few dollars. The tuners from the stores can range from $15-$100+. Some of them emit constant tones, some of them are visual. The smart phone tuners can show exactly what note you are playing within 1/100th degree of accuracy. They are visual, so you can see what note it is detecting and don't have to worry about trying to get a loud tone out of a tuner (if you tune by ear) so the gaida doesn't drown it out. The smart phone tuners are hands free and automatically detect your frequency and adjust accordingly. They can tune to any note and any scale. You can basically turn the tuner on, put the phone down, and play the gaida without any adjustment or need to fiddle with it.

If you tune by ear with another instrument, the instrument needs to be loud enough to hear over the gaida (as the gaida is a loud instrument). And you might have to use one of your hands to play the note and the other to hold the gaida, which is hard.

I have a newer android phone. I upgraded it last year. Some of the older androids don't have access to all of the apps. Here is the one I use:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bork.dsp.datuna&hl=en

On Thursday, February 28, 2013 12:56:20 AM UTC-6, Див Бушмен wrote:

[Dimitar Vassilev]

Howdy folks,

2013/2/28 Julian Russbach via Kaba Gaida <kabagaida+noreply-APn2wQcIu5vJnv...@googlegroups.com>

The apps available on the newer smart phones are as good or better than what you can find in the music stores. I have a pitch pipe, a keyboard, and an electronic tuner, but the smart phone app is better in my opinion. Firstly, they are free, and if they aren't, they are only a few dollars. The tuners from the stores can range from $15-$100+. Some of them emit constant tones, some of them are visual. The smart phone tuners can show exactly what note you are playing within 1/100th degree of accuracy. They are visual, so you can see what note it is detecting and don't have to worry about trying to get a loud tone out of a tuner (if you tune by ear) so the gaida doesn't drown it out. The smart phone tuners are hands free and automatically detect your frequency and adjust accordingly. They can tune to any note and any scale. You can basically turn the tuner on, put the phone down, and play the gaida without any adjustment or need to fiddle with it.

True - depends what you're after - generally if I had the opportunity I would buy a better tuner. Now I'm happy with Korg MA-30 I'm lead by the principle that phone is for calls and tuner is for tuning.
Besides my teacher has a pro tuner, so i'm saving some money by using his when needed. I dislike the apps because when I play didgeridoo I don't get the proper key measured. Need to stop playing and look what key I played. The benefit of having a combined tuner and metronome is that it will help you build your rhythm feeling and you will not mix-up.
Again you can use your phone and install an app, but I would rather stuck the phone somewhere no one can bother me while I play.

If you tune by ear with another instrument, the instrument needs to be loud enough to hear over the gaida (as the gaida is a loud instrument). And you might have to use one of your hands to play the note and the other to hold the gaida, which is hard.

the only difficult situation i see is when you tune the lower registry  below E/D respectively. Still you can use cotton to stuff the upper holes and tune accordingly

The truth is that once you've tuned the main key and the upper registry the lower will be adjusted as well, unless the holes need adjustments with wax/suet
Also sooner or later you need to learn to keep the main key open for better acoustics when playing slower songs or how to play some of them using just one hand.
Cheers,

[Julian Russbach]

I own a Korg MA1. Its a nice tool. I also have a professional BOSS tuner for the guitar that costs too much. It can calculate tuning down to the 1/100th degree of a note. But I can get the same level of accuracy with free software now. Alot of the high dollar tuners aren't selling anymore at the music stores here because people are getting the equivalent with free or cheap software. There are alot of bad tuners out there, but there are decent ones too. Either way, it comes down to preference. Markus probably has awhile to go until he can produce a steady tone without fluctuating up or down a half tone.

On Thursday, February 28, 2013 3:22:13 PM UTC-6, Див Бушмен wrote:

Howdy folks,

[Julian Russbach]

Markus, out of the folks that responded, Cvetelin and Dimi are Bulgarian, and have alot more experience than I do. If in doubt, take their word as gospel for gaida advice. Ive been actively playing for a year and a half and went through alot of struggle being so far away from Bulgaria. It took me quite awhile to be able to play, tune, and maintain the instrument. Im at the point now where I can play a few tunes that people enjoy listening to, and Im armed with the information I need to maintain the gaida indefinitely.

Foreigners have to be very careful with their gaidas. Things like reeds, pipes, and bags make take a little time to replace in Bulgaria, but in the U.S. they don't exist at all. You might have to wait several months to get a replacement. And that could mean months without playing. Small mistakes on maintenance can turn into big problems later. I try to research and do things 'by the book', so I can enjoy my instrument so far away from its birthplace.

On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 6:25:20 PM UTC-6, fritz fratz wrote:

[Dimitar Vassilev]

2013/3/1 Julian Russbach via Kaba Gaida <kabagaida+noreply-APn2wQcIu5vJnv...@googlegroups.com>

Markus, out of the folks that responded, Cvetelin and Dimi are Bulgarian, and have alot more experience than I do. If in doubt, take their word as gospel for gaida advice. Ive been actively playing for a year and a half and went through alot of struggle being so far away from Bulgaria. It took me quite awhile to be able to play, tune, and maintain the instrument. Im at the point now where I can play a few tunes that people enjoy listening to, and Im armed with the information I need to maintain the gaida indefinitely.

Foreigners have to be very careful with their gaidas. Things like reeds, pipes, and bags make take a little time to replace in Bulgaria, but in the U.S. they don't exist at all. You might have to wait several months to get a replacement. And that could mean months without playing. Small mistakes on maintenance can turn into big problems later. I try to research and do things 'by the book', so I can enjoy my instrument so far away from its birthplace.

well, mine is not as big as Cvetelin's - nearly 2 years and counting, but the experience I've got from the didgeridoo playing and observing the elders and my teacher playing helped a lot. Watching, listening and thinking  are the key elements.Once you accept the things with your heart and empty your brains before playing you're closer to heaven. Try understanding the words and the meaning - it will bring you another bonus later. There are certain key principles in any wooden instruments you need to consider - you're dealing with wood, no 2 pieces of wood are identical and give respect and care to the instrument. By little time Julian means a week or two or 4 max  - depends how keen you're on fixing it straight away and the workload of your master. You may not have the time to call him straight away upon damage and etc.
Happy didging and piping.
Finally when trying to tune the chanter you can either put a wine cork plug on the drone pipe below, so that you can hear only the chanter. I would say keep the plug for at least 6 months till you feel ready and have 5-6 songs under your belt. Also initial blowing of the bag should be done through the drone pipe hole with the drone pipe  removed. You can blow from 2-3 inches away, put a finger till you set everything back in place ( drone pipe plus the chanter in the nest you should already assembled together in advance)  and then fill the rest through the blower pipe on top. Try the curve (zavoi) next and you're set.

Happy piping

[Kostadin Gerdjikov]

Hi guys,

my name is Kostadin. You've discussed the matter of tuning and maintainance quite thoroughly. I would like to add just some practical details which you, Marcus, can use if you find them useful. These pieces of advice concern only my own experience with the kaba-bagpipe, so I do not want to trade them as common rules:

1) the tallow and the reed: the tallow should be used with measure, otherwise it may hamper the bagpipe performance.

 I do personally stick to this rule: the ofter I lubricate the reeds, the smaller quantity of tallow I use. The wood needs some time to absorb the fat. It's wood after all, so the way it reacts to tallow varies. It's a good idea to lubricate gently the reeds before every playing on the kaba-bagpipe.Yet at the first signs of stickiness and glaziness, just stop for 2-3 days.

2) the tallow and the channter : Usually with every chanter there are always 1-2 wholes which play  "tricks".And in many case one of them is the small upper whole called "murmorka". The players just get to know them and either  fix them permanetly or by experience can react quickly and fix the matter.

However, when tunning, I do the following, if tallow is needed on more than three wholes, I cease to put any more and check the reed, which leads us to:

3) one more thing about the reed: every reed had an "ideal position" if I may say so.

   First, it is the way the reed faces the inner wall of the chanter. Usually  the "tongue" of the chanter's reed, the part that vibrates, should be faced toward the upper side of the chanter where we have the 7 wholes. One better rule, however, is that the "tongue" should be turned to this side of the inner wall where there is most space between the chanter and reed. In this way the reed can vibrate to the most. This position can be found with a bit of turning the reed round and checking the way it affects the sound(Try always on the bag, as it's written in the posts above, saliva will destroy the reed!)

   Second, the very reed plays best in a certain range. The bagpipe may be in D for example but the reed may play at its best when it's a bit higher or a bit under D. Do not underestimate this. The bagpipe is not a modern instrument, it's a wild thing, which is its curse and its magic, so tuners do not always help. As for my bagpipe I have noticed this: a range of half centimetre where I can pull the reed's threads and everythig is ok. If I go below, It's always problems with the lowest 3 wholes, higher than that and my "murmorka" goes wild.

   Sometimes even very slight pulling of the threads upwards or downwards can change the sound for better. I can attest to this by my own modest experience.

Too much explanation for just one sentence. If the tuning with tallow sometimes does not work fine, try a more general approach by playing with the reed's threads.

Keep on Marcus. The beginning is difficult, but the end is rewarding!

On Friday, March 1, 2013 9:40:16 AM UTC+2, Див Бушмен wrote:

[Greg Rochlin]

Thanks Julian for your great article.  I wish I had this information when I brought my (Macedonian) gaida back to Australia in 1995.  Because I couldn't get any sound out of it, I have left it idle since then. With the reeds out ...

Now I have decided it needs to go to a home where it might be appreciated.  Can you give me any guidance as to disposing of it?   Would there be restrictions on sending the sheepskin component to another country?  

Best regards

Greg

[Dimitar Vassilev]

Greg,

If you're based in Australia then you need to speak with the Vet service for exporting it. Personally the only problems I had there were the heat and that me didn't play for 3-4 days while I was around Uluru. Next please advise the buyer to check the import conditions of skins in his country. I would do the same for the place I reside in. Finally wrap everything in plastic bag/ foil and ship it.

Greetings

2014-01-30 Greg Rochlin via Kaba Gaida <kabagaida+noreply-APn2wQcLsFicEU...@googlegroups.com>

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[Цветелин Андреев]

You can contact Cory. He should know best. I'll ask to put him in the forum.

Cvetelin Andreev
+359 889 651 656 

http://www.kabagaida.com 

[Greg Rochlin]

Hey thanks for that.  That sounds like good advice.  Cheers

Greg

[Greg Rochlin]

Thanks Cvetelin.That would be appreciated.

Cheers

Greg