Getting Started with the Pipe and Tabor
The Taborers Society is dedicated to the promotion of this instrument and to this end organises an Annual Festival which, this year, was in Lichfield on 10 to 12 July 2009. In addition to outdoor and concert performances, the festival provides workshops to help beginners and more experienced players learn more about the instrument. This year we had workshops in Morris Music, Playing for Dance and a special workshop by a visiting player. For more about how to obtain a Pipe and Tabor go here.
1) Holding the Instrument
Hold the pipe between the ring and little fingers of the left hand. This leaves the other fingers and thumb free to cover the holes (the single thumb hole is positioned on the
bottom of the instrument).
You can cover the holes using either the pad of the fingertip (See image on left), or the fleshy part of the 2nd joint (see image on right).
2) Overtones
Carefully cover all the holes and get a clean tone. Then practice overblowing (blowing soft, medium, hard, harder, etc.) to understand the principle. After you have mastered these overtones – try the D scale, and find a popular tune that fits into that scale.
Note. The lowest notes on the instrument, shown with ‘no overblow’ are 
very quiet and of little practical use. The range of the instrument really starts with the D note on the first overblow.
Click on the picture for a larger version or click here for a more detailed explanation (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
Terry Carter has kindly provided his pipe and tabor tutor. Click here to download it.