It’s every soloist’s nightmare, running around asking people for hemp because your chanter/blowpipe/drone is loose and it slowly works its way out while you play. It seems like everyone around you either doesn’t have hemp, or doesn’t have the time to fish it out for you before they need to play.
First tip: find a parent or spouse that’s holding a pipe case for someone as they normally have time to help you out, just make sure you have permission from the piper. But if you really can’t find help, or you’re really pressed for time, there are two quick fixes to help you out:

• If the sticks are only slightly loose: lick the hemp. The hemp will hold the moisture in the grooves, and it will add some width to the hemp, creating a tighter seal.
• If the sticks are fairly loose: gnaw the hemp. Gnawing on the hemp will create high and low ridges that increase the seal more drastically than just adding moisture.

It is very important to note that these are temporary countermeasures and once you finish playing, you should properly re-hemp the joint as soon as possible. If you leave the hemp as it is, it will loosen after every play and you’ll need to do this over and over again. It’s easier to just add some more hemp than to fight with the joints everyday.

How to avoid the problem entirely:

• Having a list of what to pack in your pipe case for every games or event you go to (and make sure hemp is on the list).
• Playing your pipes earlier in the day to flush out any issues.
• Practicing your pipes at home often enough to find these issues before the big events.
• Make note of when this happens, and find the pattern. Temperature? Humidity? Rain? Before your events, check the weather and plan accordingly!