Now - I don’t practise ornaments like “practise” - just try to play them. The question is - I think I can play several tunes rather reasonably, and started adding some triplets (mostly in Kesh jig, which is probably the most advanced thing I play - I keep away from the fast stuff for now 
), and I can play the tune with them atsome 70% of speed. The question is (although probably hard to tell so generally) - should I go get more tunes, and ability to play triplets effortlessly will come in time, or should I concentrate on practising them more now?
There is no “right” answer to your question. That said, I’d think about learning ornaments as parts of tunes because, quite simply, they are. Ornaments are rhythmic articulations. You may have to practice various things outwith the tune when first starting but if you focus too much on doing that you will find that they fall apart when you integrate them into the tune. So yes, practice triplets separately so that you can play them but work on contextualizing them in tunes and making them a part of the tune. Ideally you want to be able to learn a tune and play one without consciously thinking about where you are going to “insert” an ornament. It’s not a matter insertion, rather it a process of articulating the rhythm in certain ways which are characteristic of Irish music. This is true of every instrument but on pipes especially, because you have a continuous flow of air, the only way to break up a note is with cuts, taps, crans etc. In other words the nature of the pipes requires that the things we are sloppily calling “ornaments,” as if they are some kind of superfluous thing we could take or leave, be played as integral parts of the tunes.
The Kesh is a useful little tune for practicing triplets since it has those big long notes at the beginning, which you can explore. Lots of people play those as rolls but they also work well as ACA and BCB triplets (or any combination thereof). The speed doesn’t matter so much. Play at speed which doesn’t lend itself to you stuffing up the rhythm. As you play more, you will be able to play faster without losing the beat.
Thanks, sounds very reasonable.
I myself am not too fond of questions of “what is right for me to do” etc., but I see you see what I ment You"re right that ornaments are indeed part of the music - they often can change the mood a bit. And for example, when I tried learning Old Bush (and left it for later after a week), I had no problems playing AC#A triplet, yet it troubles me in Kesh (it may be because in Kesh, it’s actually A-AC#A, and the ring finger is not overly dextrous, compared to other fingers - and this section is done just by one hand).
But big part of the tune is the flow as well (as can be proven by Micho Russsell - poor man, if he spins in his grave for each note of this kind, he doesn’t get a very good sleep).
In the Kesh, I do triplets on up to three occasions, three are AC#A triplets, or AGA triplets (I like the sound as well, and they seem easy to play even with two fingers open on G), and one in the pre-last bar, which is GF#G.
I like how simple placement of a triplet can change the flow -for example in 2nd bar, it sounds a lot different to play AC#A-A-A-B-D or A-AC#A-A-B-D (I like the second version better) - while if I was to play triplets in the first bar, I’d prefer (x is some note which goes well into triplet with G) GxG-G-G-A-B, which is the other placement.
But the thing is - I can think up a setting of a tune, but I can’t play it yet… But I can play it in my head at least. I just hope I don’t think up some utter crap…but I listen a lot to older recordings, so I hope I got some reason from them.
Well said Emily that just aboot sums it up 
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
PS your chanter sounded good the other night past. 
Cheers, Liam.
Pyroh,
Sounds as if you are doing things right. Keep listening to those recordings and eventually you will develop a feel for the music so you don’t have to “think up settings in your head.” You will be able to play variations on the fly and won’t need to plan where you are going to play a triplet (or roll, or cran, or whatever). Ultimately it has to feel effortless.
Indeed - I do “heavy listening” (sounds like compulsory thing, but no, it’s my free…or seemingly free will) for a year - the year I own a set of pipes, and it’s of great help. My friend says that piping is a thing of head, and I have to admit that there seems a lot of truth in that. Now, I can just pick a chanter and play a tune I heard. Of course - fingers are not yet dextrous enough, relaxed enough etc. to play it at real speed, but at least, when I want to play a melody, I can. Which I very likely couldn’t do without the music in my head.
I think that ability to ornament “on the run” will come in time - I try not to push the piping too much (not in means of practise time, I try to practise at least 2 hours a day, but in means of not learning some hypercool reels etc.). After all, I have plenty of time, and I think that since I won’t have a time for a band in several upcoming years, I can really concentrate on learning basics. We shall see - but I enjoy it a lot. It’s like with certain difficult proofs of various theorems - at first, it goes very hard, but the pleasure of understanding it, and uncovering the meaning of all things in it, that’s great.
Anyway, I experimented a bit (with whistle though) with “learning in early sleep” - I took a tune, and listened to it - and focused entire consciousness on it - and fell asleep (voluntarily ) - and in the morning, I just took the whistle, briefly read through those black bugs on ropes, and it went really easy. Might try that as well with pipes sometime.
I do that almost every Sunday Night at the Uisge Session in Glasgow…its the guitars mostly with the classical players a close second playing the endless arpeggios but never the melody…when I awake the following morning I try to forget everything I was forced to hear 
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
ps now that Summer is here I may just as well stay at hame and get a good nights sleep after watching the grass grow..
pps Pyroh speed in playing is not a good thing and is a modern trend which tends to lead to showing aff by some, and competition in others which is definately not whit this music is aboot.
I sometimes think we should not call this Irish Traditional Music any longer but something else, Irish Jazz maybe, as it bears little or no resemblance to the traditional music of my youth or before.
Imagine ye have paid to listen to some poetry and the performer introduces the piece as Unknown or" I don’t know the title of this piece"then races through the poem as though it can’t be finished quickly enough, maybe missing a word or two, but seemingly getting away wi it because it is so fast… I would be thinking why is that person reading a poem they hate so much that they want to destroy it or finish so fast it wasnae worth starting in the first place..Methinks I would be asking for my money back 
Same wi music.
“pps Pyroh speed in playing is not a good thing and is a modern trend which tends to lead to showing aff by some, and competition in others which is definately not whit this music is aboot.”
Going to have to disagree with you there, Liam. Playing at high speeds isn’t a modern trend at all. Listen to Finbar Furey, Felix and Johnny Doran, Patsy Touhy, Johnny Doherty, Michael Coleman, Leo Rowsome, Paddy Killoran, James Morrison, Neil O’Boyle, or even earlier, guys like R.L. O’Mealy. As Ennis has been discussed, have a listen to the Bucks on the Return from Fingal album – he is motoring along on that one. I’d suggest that there are some stylistic trends (note I rattled off the names of some New York/Sligo fiddle players, some Donegal players, and some traveling pipers, but no one, for example, from Sliabh Luachra) which have a history of speedy playing. Pushing the the boundaries of the instuments capabilities isn’t new at all – if you can pay attention to what O’Mealy is doing through the scratchy recording, you can pick up on all sorts of crazy stuff he’s playing. Very few modern ( 20th century) players do quite what this fella did.
Well, from the “older players”, I’m probably the most fond of Tommy Reck’s playing, which wasn’t so speedy (at least what I’ve heard). But - even though speed is not that relative thing, what is speedy may be - certain tunes can sound “ok tempo”, but actually, they’re crazy fast (faster things in here, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiOWd7ArmWQ). But anyway, I’m practising slowly. I like “properly” phrased tune, than a hurricane of cuts, pops and squeaks.
But in my opinion, it’s good to mix different speeds. I’m not too happy about 95% reels sessions, as the speed gets drowned. I have a live recording of John McSherry, which is like usual playing sped up by 20% - and it’s fun to listen to it sometimes. But the “delight” of the speed gets carried after two sets are played, and after that, there’s not that much left I’d say.
Well, got to go back to the chanter I guess
edit.
P.S. : TheSilverSpear: Just thought I’d mention that - old recordings can sound very fast (Dinny Delaney, for example), but it’s often caused by time - we don’t have anymore cylinders at home, but we have a lot of LPs, and several 78’s. Speeding up a problem with older LPs, and much bigger problem with 78’s. I’m not entirely sure of background of physics of that - but for example on one piano recording, there are noted “metronome speeds”. Some time ago, I played it, took a metronome, and instead of 110, it was something like 135-140! So with older recording, slowing them down a bit can give us more accurate point of view I’d say.
OK Emily I cannot disagree wi ye on that maybe I didnae make mysel clear so here is the revision.
Playing at a speed which diminishes or destroys the melody,playing innapropriate speeds for tunes.eg playing jigs at reel speed.Putting in too much ornamentation at the cost of the melody and if a name is available for a tune not knowing it.Hence my comparison to poems.I am not alone in thinking that a lot of todays playing is aboot speed speed speed help I am typing tooooo fastttt.
Uilliam
Some of them may well be sped up due to the technology, but many of the guys I listed will not be, especially when you get far enough into the 20th century to be past the wax cylinder stage of recording. In any case, a lot of those old Sligo boys would have played quite quickly.
Liam, I agree with you about the dangers of over-ornamenting to the detriment of the melody and worse, the detriment of your own timing. There are certain speeds I know I can’t play well at (haha… luckily you missed out on the Wed session where I got stuck revving in 5th gear for some reason) but if you can play fast and get the timing perfectly, it will work. Speed starts sounding frantic when the player can’t quite handle the timing at that speed.
John McSherry (whose playing I quite like) can certainly play at speed with brilliant timing.
Reck, like the rest of us, varied the speed. There are some old tapes of him in which he’s not breaking any land speed records, but he is going a lot faster than he plays on “The Stone in the Field.”
Maybe I should add that it depends on the audience as well…dancers will require a somewhat different speed to those who are on speed 
Horses for courses
Uilliam
http://www.box.net/shared/m6893qh2xv
If’n anyone is interested I have uploaded some files of my Grandads Band"The Moate Ceilidhe Band" frae the 1930s and 40s.This band played regularly on Saturday nights frae Radio Eireann Athlone and was used at dances throughout Ireland.Their tour of America was cancelled because of the War.It will give ye a good idea of the dance tempo used then and in ma youth.The fotie shows the band Ma grandad is 1st left standing and ma Uncle is the wee boy sitting .He went on to be 7 times All Ireland Champion on the Accordion.The medals and trophies all belonged to ma Mother as she was all Ireland Champion Dancer several times over in the 30s-40s and ma Grandad thought it would enhance the fotie but it is a bit of PR hype.
Uilliam