Bflat Balance Tone Drone Reeds HR3Bb
VAT incl.: €132.30* VAT excl. : €111.18
Product information "Bflat Balance Tone Drone Reeds HR3Bb"
Bflat High Resonance Balance Tone Drone Reeds HR3
When playing the bagpipes with other musicians (brass, folk, orchestra etc.) you will need to tune your bagpipes to Bflat at 440 Hz concert pitch. You will require a suitable chanter (e.g. McCallum Bflat Chanter or Shepherd Orchestral Chanter) and depending on your bagpipe set-up, you may also require a suitable set of drone reeds to tune to this lower pitch. Some drone reeds can be adjusted and tweaked to tune at a lower pitch; some drone reeds are not made to tune that low. Having a set of Bflat drone reeds to suite your Bflat (440 Hz) chanter is very convenient and saves time.
The Bflat drone reeds from Balance Tone are specifically desinged to tune your drones in Bflat at 440 Hz.
Price for a set (1 bass reed, 2 tenor reeds).
B♭ (B flat) bagpipes are designed to play at approximately 466 Hz, which corresponds to B♭ in concert pitch. This makes them ideal for playing together with orchestral or folk instruments tuned to A = 440 Hz.
In comparison, standard Highland bagpipes typically play much sharper, around 478 to 482 Hz. This is often referred to (inaccurately) as "A", but it actually lies somewhere between concert A and B♭, significantly higher than modern concert tuning.
When referring to B♭ bagpipes, pipers often use the term "flat", meaning they are about 10 to 15 Hz lower than standard bagpipe pitch. This lower pitch allows better integration with other instruments.
For simplicity, musicians commonly refer to B♭ bagpipes as being "at 440 Hz" to align with standard tuners, even though the actual pitch is 466 Hz. This is a practical convention used to avoid confusion when coordinating with non pipers or ensemble settings.
All products in this category, including B♭ chanters and flat drone reeds, are designed to match this lower tuning standard and are intended for use in concert or ensemble environments where tuning compatibility is essential.