I have recently developed an app for tuning the bagpipes with ease, writes Ethan Wang. Because the price of many tuners are pretty expensive I have decided to make it free. It is available to everyone on iOS.
Designed by myself, SparrowTone is a free tuner solely for the bagpipes. It has three displays (see picture above), each for letting you tune a certain part of the bagpipe:
- a line graphic display showing pitch history
- a simple graphic display specifically for tuning drones in a band setting
- a chanter graph showing the average pitch of each note
Pitch history allows for easy drone tuning, chanter tuning, and monitoring of fluctuations. It unveils the truth about bad blowing. It shows the average of every note on the chanter and is useful for seeing which notes are in tune. Green text indicates that the note is in tune.
The app also enables quick tuning of drones in a band setting. Wait for the screen to become fully green, and move on to the next drone!
On the chanter, each note is given a linear graph showing its average pitch. The farther away the line is from the middle, the further out of tune it is. Once a note is tune, it will become green, and the text on the left side will start to become greener. This essentially indicates that the note is in tune and that you may move on to the next. On the bottom of the graph, there is a button ‘Reset Averages’; tap to reset all the averages for the notes.
There will soon be videos showing how to use the app. I designed it to help alleviate the pain of tuning, and to make it available to anyone and everyone. Because the app is free, we rely on you, the user for positive feedback helpful to new users.
Here is the link to the app; here is the link to the website. If you feel that something is not well explained, or not explained at all, please contact us.
NZ Appointments
Liam Kernaghan is the new President of the Royal New Zealand Pipe Bands’ Association, outgoing president Iain Blakeley has announced.
Liam was elected unopposed. Stu McHale has been re-elected to the Management Board for another two-year term. The Board has also appointed Peter Duncan to take Liam’s now vacant seat.
Peter is supporting a new Grade 4B band in Hamilton and knows the challenges our grassroots face. That, coupled with his extensive legal background, makes him the perfect person to support the Association’s work.
‘I am confident they can lead the Association into a new era with new ideas, a fresh approach and with the support of the pipe band movement,’ Iain said.
Liam said: ‘It is an honour and privilege to lead an organisation which has given me so much already in life. I now have the chance now to ‘give back’ and contribute to a movement growing by the day.
‘I want to thank Iain for his 20 years of service to the Association. It is hard to put into words the contribution he has made. Thanks to his leadership, the New Zealand pipe band movement is a more professional, worldly and confident community.’
Messrs Kernaghan, McHale and Duncan assume their roles from 1 January 2025.
