So 7 years learning that i understand, 7 years practising that i understand too but 7 years playing does that mean what? And by what means was idea put together and on what basis? I know Ennis said it but is he just basing it on his experience or what?
Ennis was just pulling it out of thin air to point out that it takes time to become a good piper. He might as well have said “seven years for the tok, seven years for the ghrip and seven more years for the truckleyhow.”
-Donippery Septo
Seven years playing… that’s all. Over seven years you will play things you like and remeber them and play things you don’t like and remember them too. It’s the weeding out segment of your playing career. I would say your whole playing life is a weeding out process and you are adding and removing “weeds” all the time. By this I mean techniques, note selection, rhythmic emphaaaasis, improvisation methods etc. Your familiarity with the instrument is a large factor of what he may have been talking about and that is largely what I’m saying above.
That’s what I took from it anyway… along with a big grin at his convoluting sense of humour!
Patrick.
Oh come on, truckleyhow only takes about 6 months!
you are adding and removing “weeds” all the time.
What Padre d’Arcy is really saying here is that it takes 7 years to learn to tune the pipes…adding and removing rushes (weeds)…etc.
I take this somewhat in the vein of the old samurai stories where the arrogant and over-eager student approaches the sword master and asks how long it will take to learn to master the sword and the master answers something like “10 years”. This doesn’t suit the would-be student at all, so he asks, if he forsakes all other activities and devotes himself to the sword 24/7, then how long will it take? “Ah,” says the master, “then it will take you 20 years.” … and so on.
The key is not to worry about the time. There is no set time. There is only practise and more practise. The more you play and listen to others the more you will realize how much you don’t know.
Don’t beat yourself up with timetables, just play the pipes. Its the journey, not the destination, that matters.
… and stuff like that.
djm
Ennis had been playing just over eight years when he made his first recordings. Listen to those and…well, weep.
I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone take the “21 years” thing literally.
I reckon that I’d have enough saved up for a nice flat set that once belonged to Seamus himself, may he rest in peace.
Ennis would have clocked that 21 years by the time he did those recordings.
There’s always been a mystique and respect for the pipes. ‘21 years’ encapsulates that nicely and may be a true statement about the pipes.
Too many exclusions, though. Consider Mikie Smith and Elliott Grasso, to name just two who have blown away that 21 years bit.
With no growth left? How does one add gravitas at a young age? Maybe 21 years is the peak for an excellent player. Maybe the 21 years is not contiguous years.
How long does it take a pipemaker to hit their stride?
But that’s where taking the “21 years” bit too literally (or seriously) becomes fruitless. Who’s to judge “excellent”? It’s all opinion, and quite subjective at that.
The argument falls apart all too easily, IMHO, and that’s why the ‘21 years’ statement can be viewed as being somewhat tongue in cheek.
So who taught you how to read and write? The 1st or 2nd grade teacher - the freshmen high school teacher - the college instructor - or graduate school instructor - or… Many ways to look at these situations.
Seamus Ennis was a complex man if nothing else. While the ‘21 years’ seems fanciful, it still has a bit of truth to it, especially in a tradition that spans 250 years.
Well, Seamus had a great instrument to learn on, reedmakers were around in plenty, he learned from his father who was a great piper in his own right, and he lived surrounded by music from the first. All that can’t but help.
Aside from all that he just had his head screwed on straight, and wanted to learn. Remember that he never had a “formal” instruction from his father the way most students are taught - he would just ask how to manage the “tricky bits.” Maybe you’d consider living in the same house as your teacher a compensation but the important thing was that Seamus knew how to learn the music - I get the feeling a lot of pipers and would-be pipemakers want teachers to wave a little wand and transform them into musicians or craftsmen, and it just ain’t gonna happen! It’s not in the cards! Best instrument or teacher in the world ain’t gonna turn sow’s ears into silk purses!
Some used to say “Pipers are born, not made.” Ennis himself said that in an interview.
Just for the record , i don’t beat myself up with time tables or do i take the 21 years thing too seriously all i think it indicates is that it takes a long time to learn in fact i dont think i have an accurate memory as to how long i have been playing.
I was always of the opinion if you think you have arrived then you really haven’t, there is always something new to learn which is probably just as well otherwise boredom could set in, I just thought that it was a nice topic for discussion.
le meas, Buzzer
The truth of the matter is: 21 years isn’t long enough… try a lifetime. Learning is an on going thing that ceases only at the end of our roads. Those who have stopped learning long before their demise must lead a sad and dull existence.
Actually, it is 28 years. You have to add on the seven-year wait for a set of pipes 
t
… silly me, I totally spaced that out. 
Seamus Ennis apparently learned from his father and from his home atmosphere. I assume that also describes young Sean McKeown’s learning process. How many of you saw Sean play on the TG4 TV special that you can download from TG4’s website? Sean seems pretty damned impressive to me and I’m not sure he’s 21 yet. I assume Paddy Keenan also learned from his father.
Interesting to compare pipers who learned at father’s knee and those who didn’t. Similarly, pipers who were largely self taught and/or pipers who had to actively seek out piping technique and content versus those who were simply immersed in it from birth.
Was Pat Mitchell someone who had to seek it out? The brief bio on the back of his album suggests that, though there were uncles and other relations who I believe were pipers or, at least, trad musicians. What about Robbie Hannan? Does anyone know?
LOL…at the pace I am going I would say Ennis is right on the money (give or take a couple of years)… 