Thinking About Trying Cane Drone Reeds?

For many pipers, synthetic drone reeds have become the norm—and for good reason. They’re consistent, relatively easy to set up and generally don’t require much attention once you have them going.

But if you’ve never played cane drone reeds, there’s another kind of sound available to you.

The biggest benefit of cane, in my opinion, is the thicker, richer and more harmonic sound you can get from your drones.

I’ll also be the first to admit: cane drone reeds usually aren’t plug and play.

They require some patience, adjustment and a basic understanding of how the reed works. But learning that process can teach you a tremendous amount about your bagpipes and how your entire setup works together.

And when you get them right, the sound can be well worth the effort.

Don't Expect to Put Them In and Start Playing

If you decide to experiment with cane drone reeds, approach them a little differently than you would most synthetic reeds.

Much like chanter reeds, I prefer to have a small number of cane drone reeds available to test. Not every reed is going to work equally well in every set of pipes.

Try several, see how they respond in your particular drones and then settle on the reeds that work best with your instrument and your blowing pressure.

You're looking for the right combination—not trying to force one particular reed to work.

Start With the Bass

If you've never played cane drone reeds before, I wouldn't necessarily recommend changing all three drones at once.

Start with your bass drone reed.

Get comfortable setting it up. Learn how the tongue responds to adjustments and get the reed stable before moving on.

For most pipers, a new cane bass reed will need some mechanism to hold the tongue slightly open.

Traditionally, we used a strand of hair.

The hair is placed underneath the tongue and pulled back until it sits just in front of the bridle. This provides a very small amount of lift to the tongue.

Another option is to fashion a small spring from a paper clip that gently lifts the tongue. This is inserted inside the reed from the bottom to just below the bridle area to lift the tongue.

The idea is the same in either case: you're creating a controlled amount of lift so the tongue can vibrate properly.

A Little Lift Makes a Big Difference

This is where patience becomes important.

If you lift the tongue too high, the reed can become extremely inefficient. It may take a tremendous amount of air to keep going and can have difficulty starting properly.

But when you find the right small amount of lift, the opposite can happen.

The reed can become surprisingly air efficient while producing that thick, resonant sound that makes cane drone reeds so appealing.

We're talking about small adjustments here.

Don't assume that more lift is going to give you more sound. You're looking for the point where the reed responds efficiently while still producing the tone you want.

Use the Bridle to Control the Reed

Along with the hair or paper-clip spring, you'll probably need to add in a dental bridle to temper the lifted tongue and get the reed playing at a pressure that suits your pipes.

This becomes a balancing act between tongue lift, bridle position and your own blowing pressure.

And don't be surprised if you get everything working beautifully one day and find that it needs another small adjustment the next.

That's part of working with cane.

For the first several days, you may find yourself adjusting the hair, spring and/or bridle as the reed settles.

Make small changes and give the reed time to respond before making another one.

Let the Reed Settle

Cane is a natural material.

Just like a chanter reed, a cane drone reed is going to respond to moisture, playing time and its environment.

That's why I wouldn't make a quick judgment about a reed based on the first few minutes of playing it.

Set it up. Play it. Make small adjustments. Come back to it the next day and see what has changed.

Over time, you'll begin to understand what the reed is telling you—and you'll get much quicker at recognizing what needs to be adjusted.

Add the Tenors Gradually

Once you've got your cane bass reed stable and you're comfortable making the necessary adjustments, try adding one cane tenor reed.

Go through the same process.

Learn how that reed behaves. Get it settled and working efficiently with your bass.

Then, if you're enjoying the sound and want to take it further, you can eventually move toward playing a full set of cane drone reeds.

There's no reason you have to make the switch all at once.

It's About More Than the Sound

One of the reasons I think every piper can benefit from experimenting with cane drone reeds isn't simply because of how they sound.

You'll learn a lot about your bagpipes in the process.

You start paying closer attention to air efficiency, blowing pressure, reed response, drone behavior and how small adjustments affect the entire instrument.

Instead of simply putting a reed into a drone and expecting it to work, you begin to understand why it works.

That knowledge carries over into other parts of setting up your pipes—including your chanter reed.

Have Some Patience

Cane drone reeds require more involvement than many of us have become accustomed to with modern synthetic reeds.

That's part of the experience.

If you're willing to spend some time learning how to set them up, make small adjustments and allow them to settle, you may discover a completely different character from your pipes.

Start with the bass. Make small adjustments. Listen carefully. Let it settle. Then build from there.

The reward can be a wonderfully thick, rich and resonant drone sound—and a much better understanding of how your bagpipes work along the way.

Great sound starts with great reeds.