Word: reed
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Even after 21 years, though, the suffering is not over. Uilleann pipes are fiendishly temperamental; they can break down in dozens of ways without warning, and the prudent performer is always ready for a crisis. "Can anybody help me with this reed?" calls out Sandy Jordan, a Virginia-accented neophyte and the only woman in a room filled with bearded young men. Timothy Britton, a piper, pipemaker and transcendental meditator, comes over to have a look. "The reed's cracked," he says after a quick inspection. "Here, try some Krazy Glue." More trouble from across the room: a cigar-chewing...
...drones, which sound continuously in the background; the others, called regulators, are activated by brass keys studded along their length and are used intermittently for emphasis. Last of all comes the melody-making chanter, an oboe-like device attached to the bag, with holes and keys and a double reed hidden...
...sleep after 5 will be prompt. Reedmaking is the essence of piping, the frustration of frustrations (a classic instruction book on the topic is The Piper's Despair). But it is a necessary evil for those who cannot afford to drop $25 or more every time a reed goes bad, which happens maddeningly often. In fact, says Britton, quoting an old oboe players' maxim, "there are no good reeds. We just learn to play the bad ones...
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