Upper Octave Fine (but only Legato)

[ACFairbanks]

Howdy,

I'm a UP Newbie...

At this stage of the game, I can play in the upper octave easily, and with reasonable facility, but only if I play legato, that is, with open fingering.

If I try to move to the upper octave playing staccato, that is, with closed fingering, well, things don't go quite so well. I can sometimes get the upper octave note, but certainly not consistently, and moving to another upper octave note rarely works.

And so, these questions:

Is the upper octave typically easier to manage with open fingering? What might I work on to improve my upper octave success playing with closed fingering?

Sincere thanks for any insights, though good wishes, and prayers are certainly welcome,

A.C.

[outofthebox8]

Congratulations are in order for being able to play in the upper octave. I can't help too much with the closed fingering. For me it's just a case of finding whatever works best for the chanter - or rather conforming my technique to how my chanter wants to play. A great deal depends on fine control of bag pressure - it is always a case of finding just the right balance for your reed between pressure from the bag and back pressure within the chanter, as every note requires a slight adjustment.