Airs, Reels, and Other Questions for a New Piper

Uilleann Pipes
1

So that none of you find me to be an idiot piper when you read the following question, know that I am a brand new one who just began on a half-set, O’Grady to be exact, in early January. I am learning well and having a blast, but have no access to instruction other than the internet and my tutor book, “New Approach to Uilleann Piping”. So any advice from seasoned, or even intermediate pipers is greatly welcomed.

So, my question is about Airs. I have been reading all over that Airs are a complicated type of Irish traditional music to play, more so perhaps than reels, jigs, etc. Why is this? Keep in mind I am a brand new piper and know relatively nothing yet, but it seems that their slower tempo and smooth style would make them easier to learn that a super-fast reel. In fact, Airs are my favorite style and I am eager to be able to learn them. Not because I would think they were easier, but because I just love the way they sound…not that I don’t love reels, jigs, and polkas though. I would love some advice on how to go about learning the different styles so that I don’t develop bad habits or something. For example, should I really focus on polkas first, working up to faster reels, then trying out the slow airs…yada yada?

I also wouldn’t mind any random advice any of you may have for me as a knube. Anything…whatever you wish someone would have told you when you first picked up a set of pipes. And if anyone knows a place to get instruction in the Phoenix, Arizona area that’d be great too. All I know is that I have never had this much fun learning an instrument. I will quickly mention I am also learning a D tin whistle and remember how to read music from my distant musical childhood.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Happy piping!

2

Oh, and one more thing. I cannot for the life of me roll F#. According to the book I’m using the grace-notes of the roll are ass follows: F# - A - F# - E - F#. How do you go from F# to A back to F# in that quick almost instant roll? My right ring finger and pinky do not want to come off the chanter and back on that fast to make the E. Hints?

3

Don’t lift your pinky. The note is so short it doesn’t need to be perfect.
You don’t have to lift either finger. Just get the rhythm of the roll with a short stop of the chanter by replacing your middle finger.
When your ring finger is open, it gives a slightly different sound the roll.

There are no absolutes in uilleann piping.

Mukade

4

The rolls as described in the Clarke book are actually turn-arounds, where you go over and under the main note. Here’s some suggestions for pipe rolls: For a short roll (quarter note), try starting with a grace note cut on the A (or alternately cut with the G), and then just tap the F#, e.g. {A}F#,F#. For a long roll (dotted quarter note), start with a grace note cut on the A, another grace note cut on the G (or alternately cut with the A again), and then tap the F#, e.g. {A}F#,F#{G}F#. You might want to consider getting the NPU uilleann pipes intstruction DVDs.

Slow airs come up here over and over again. There are two types: those with known lyrics, and those with no known lyrics. The difficulty is not in the playing of the notes, but in the timing. If you are trying to play a slow air with no known lyrics, you can take the timing from an existing recorded version. If you are playing a slow air with known lyrics, you are expected to play it exactly as sung, which requires you to understand at least the first two verses in the Irish language to get the timing and nuances correct. This is where the “difficulty” comes from if you are not conversant with Irish.

If you are playing for an audience that wouldn’t know a proper Irish slow air from a dump truck it doesn’t really matter what you play, but as soon as you play a slow air for an audience that is familiar with the song, they will expect you to play it such that they can sing along with it. What’s difficult about that? What’s difficult is that traditional Irish slow airs have no rhythm, and no regular timing. You have to know the airs as they are sung in order to play the slow air correctly. Best is to get some recordings of well known Irish sean-nós singers and take your timing from them.

djm

5

Hi “RR75” (?):

I hope that you don’t take offense at this - it is meant with the best of wishes, and after all, you did ask for advice. I hope other new players will find it useful if a bit didactic…

First of all, since you took delivery of a new set in “early January”, and today is the first day of February, I would say first and foremost that you are getting way ahead of yourself. Rolls after three weeks??? No way. You should be practicing bag and bellows technique and playing long, steady notes for the first weeks - no tunes at all. Leo Rowsome’s suggested schedule for learners years back included exercises and scales for the first couple of years. The only reason for even considering a simple tune at this stage is to keep yourself from succumbing totally to boredom. And face it, if you are getting impatient at this stage, there’s little hope for you, barring some kind of conversion experience. The pipes will teach you patience if nothing else!

My suggestion for an adult would be that bag and bellows technique, if you are to get it right and avoid bad habits, will preoccupy you for the first month or so. The D and eventually G scales, properly practiced with both legato and stacatto technique, will take weeks more, and should continue to be practiced for the first year. You can think about a simple ‘song air’ (as opposed to a “slow air” - a term usually reserved for advanced playing of songs in Irish) like Eileen Aroon [Eibhlín a Ruin] or the West Wind, around the second month. Getting that to sound like music will give you plenty to do!

Especially coming from outside the tradition as you are (and as I did), it’s vital that you listen a lot to good piping - and not just piping, Irish traditional music in general. Avoid highly produced, “exciting” commercial stuff played fast - better is some moderately paced, tasteful stuff. Put it on your iPod or mp3 player or victrola or whatever, and listen to it every day. Do you drive? Listen to it in the car too.

I take it that you are an adult - or at least over 15 or so. One can learn pipes as an adult and make progress (I did), but it takes longer.

OK, now for the satisfaction of your curiousity, yes the Clarke roll directions are correct, and whatever anybody else wants to call them, in Irish piping we generally call them “rolls”. Their rhythm is unlike classical music’s rolls or turns (which you can learn from listening); they are composed of a long-ish note, such as F#, and two motions which we call the ‘cut’ and the ‘pat’ - the cut being a quick lift of an upper finger (in this case the A finger), and the pat being a quick ‘patting’ motion of one or two lower fingers (in this case the F# finger itself). There are in fact several types of F# roll, as mukade infers, but you should not infer from what he said that “anything goes” - there are in fact very definite aspects to each flavor of F# roll. In short, there are many correct ways to play them, and an infinite number of incorrect ways… listen to them, but for now, don’t try to play them.

I would strongly recommend working on cuts for a good while before thinking about rolls. It will take a good bit of time for you to achieve nice clean cuts on each note. Try to get your cuts to sound like the ones on the Clarke tape/CD (I do hope you have the CD!).

The Clarke book is excellent IMO. But getting all the way through it should take years for most adults - you can’t just move on to a new lesson each day! Or even each week, unless you are a true genius and are spending hours a day practicing. In which case you’ll probably injure yourself - easy to do with these, if you don’t have good tuition.

You live in a challenging environment for piping - reeds hate dry weather, and you are not near any reedmakers who can help - you are also a long way from the epicentre of piping. There are some learners in your area who may be able to help; but bear in mind that they are isolated too, so try to do a sanity check on advice you are given. Get yourself to a tionól or pipers’ gathering, preferably a major one with a high standard of piping, as soon and often as possible.

In the meantime, I’d suggest joining NPU (http://www.pipers.ie) - it will give you access to videos, recordings, and tutorials of fine pipers among other benefits. If you start with some of the simple tutorials there, you can ask for information in their forum or this one - at least we’ll be sure to be talking about the same things.

Of course the other important thing is to have fun, and I’m glad to hear that you’re having fun. Might as well get off to the right start, it will lead to even more fun in the future.

Did I mention listening ? :wink:

good luck and best regards,

Bill

6

Good post Bill.

I didn’t mean that anything goes.
I meant that the Clarke tutor doesn’t cover everything. Neither do any of the other tutors.
They all have their own particular methods, none of which are complete, and they leave a lot of questions in the mind of a new learner.

As Bill says, you must be flying through the book.
Doing rolls after less than a month?
It is would be best to find a real teacher before bad habits take hold.

Mukade

7

Bill I can honestly say that is one of the best posts I have seen on this forum.So good in fact I think it should be part of the sticky on FAQ perhaps under the banner getting started.Well done. :wink:
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam

8

Thanks 'liam;

I thought you were going to tell me to get back to work! :laughing:

9

Thank you, all! Bill, your advice helps immensely – and no, I do not take offense in any way. In fact, I myself was thinking, “hmm, this is a bit fast” :astonished: . I have been making the mistake of assuming my learning of the musical method is equivalent to learning how to play this instrument. Indeed, the two are completely different, yet related disciplines. I have been picking up where I left off at the end of each practice session, only going back a page or two to review the material. Huge mistake – one that I should know better given everything else I have ever learned, instrument or not. No wonder I could not get that roll to work, I am not supposed to be able to at this stage. As far as patience goes, I will practice “Hot Cross Buns” every single day for the next year if need be :laughing: . Just being able to successfully transition from one note to the next is rewarding enough. This goes along with the excitement of learning to conquer all of those components I mentioned previously.

djm, that is really interesting about the slow airs. I have been trying to listen to as many sean-nós singers as I can, but didn’t know about the playing of slow airs requiring such language specific technique. In fact, it makes me a bit more reverent of the music to say the least. Irish traditional music has fascinated me for a lifetime for many reasons, the sheer tradition and story-telling being among the top. With this in mind it would occur to me not to try to get into playing slow airs, etc. without first understanding them…even if no one were to ever hear me play them.

Considering my inability to go get proper training, this advice has been great, refreshing even. I appreciate it greatly, and am excited to continue discussing piping with you all on this forum throughout my learning adventure. I am always, always, always welcoming advice and hints should you have any more.

Thanks again!

RLTW

10

Listen to lots of piping cd’s. Play them over and over until you know every little tiny detail of how the tunes are played. I underestimated this advice when I was first learning pipes, as it was some of the best advice I was ever given.

11

Doesn’t the Irish Cultural Center in Phoenix offer classes, lessons, teacher referrals, etc.?

http://www.azirish.org/index.php?topic=Academy

12

Well said. Good advice for a person like me who is awaiting a set of pipes. Solid advice on the advice about Irish language and the airs, as well. This is why I hope to be in a Modern Irish course once i get to college…gets me working on knowing this sort of stuff.

13

:wink: How well ye know me! I was thinking that actually…but as it was Sunday I guessed ye were having a wee break however, time is galloping on," so back t’ mill lad" :thumbsup:
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam

14

Concerning airs: They DO have a meaning. So, here is something I had to learn when I lived in Donegal (as a non-local) for some time: If you have nothing to say - then don´t :boggle: (otherwise it is just a formal exercise).

My two Eurocents

15

Just so you know: I was a student of Bill’s, and I didn’t get any more than that out of him in at least the first two months of tuition, and it cost money!

–Mark, whose phrasing still sounds Chinese sometimes after two years hard work

16

Trust me, I feel like I’ve had a month or two worth of tuition after reading it :smiley: .

Seriously, Bill, thank you again!

Since then, I have dropped the attempts to “learn” fast and have gone to doing the D scale over and over with some practical variation. I have been going up and down the scale while returning to a base note between each note…ie D, E, D, F#, D, G, D, A, and so on…I do vary the base note so as not to get used to one thing and one thing only. I find this helps me not only get used to the fingering for each note, but also to go from one note to the next. I have also gone back to the first few exercises in “New Approach” and been focusing on the basics of basic technique. It’s a damned good thing too, because I have found I have some issues that maybe some of you might have an answer for.

Ok, half the time I try to hit bottom D, E and sometimes F#, I get the upper octave or just a horrible squeak. I think the squeak comes from not having the holes properly covered, but am lost as to the octave thing. I know that applying more bag pressure gets the upper octave, but sometimes it just happens even if I don’t vary the pressure. I have tries adjusting the bridle on my reed, which helps, but that often comes with opening it up so much I have to push a hell of a lot of air through the bag to get a note. I refuse to blame this on the dry air of the Arizona desert as I am certain it is my technique and can be fixed with the remedy of proper practice. Though, I do know dry air makes reeds temperamental.

I also am not sure about my filling of the bag. Just how full do I need to get it. Sometimes I accidentally fill it to the point where it makes a note even if I don’t apply pressure…oops. I’m trying to find that balance. When I am just doing bellows and bag exercises I have been consistent, but once I start making notes I get a bit less consistent and occasionally forget to pump the bellows or pump them too much, which I imagine are typical beginner mistakes. I have found that I subconsciously will try to push air to the chanter with the bellows :blush: , I know that’s terrible. When I catch that I try to relax my posture (and back mostly) and go back to square one with bag and bellows. I think I am getting better.

If anyone has advice on the above issues, please throw it at me.

Oh, one more thing…how do you get your fingers to know where to go every time…I often can;t feel where the holes are and miss them, though I am starting to learn by simple memory. IT is also said to relax the hands, but I feel like I need to squeeze to keep air from coming through the holes. I know this is because I am improperly gripping it and am eager to learn to do it right.

Thanks

17

Oh, one more thing…how do you get your fingers to know where to go every time…I often can;t feel where the holes are and miss them, though I am starting to learn by simple memory. IT is also said to relax the hands, but I feel like I need to squeeze to keep air from coming through the holes. I know this is because I am improperly gripping it and am eager to learn to do it right.


Thats very easy: Don´t play your scales legato but make a short stop between each note. Though your fingers relaxedly close the holes, not the slightest hiss must be heard. Avoid “backfarting”. :smiley:

18

That’s hilarious. I must ask you which awkward noise I make on the pipes is the official backfart. I have about three different mistakes that come around which all sound like…well…you know. :stuck_out_tongue:

19

Hey Regna, my sister lives in Scottsdale and I go out there every now and then to visit. I would love getting together and showing you the basics.

You know, Phoenix isn’t all that far from here, in Orange County, where we have a terrific thriving uilleann piping community that gathers monthly and puts on full-scale gatherings (tionoil) once a year. It would repay the six-hour drive many times over to come out to one of our monthly gatherings. You can check out the meetings on the Southern California Uilleann Pipers’ Club site.

Yes keeping a set of pipes going in dry weather is challenging. Our local reed guru, Michael O Donovan, has been having tremendous success using wood such as cedar for chanter reeds. These perform like a cane reed but are much more resistant to the dryness. Perhaps at a meeting or tionol you can discuss dry-weather reeds with him.

About sealing the chanter holes, with practice your fingers will learn the spacing and position required for a good seal. As you mention, you want to achieve the seal by correct positioning, not by brute force. The hands should be relaxed at all times. Strive to avoid the “death grip” on the chanter, as with tense hands you’ll never be able to play the cuts and pats up to speed.

20

pancelticpiper, I have actually been strongly considering coming to the next SCUPC tionol. I browsed the photos and read through the site and figured it would be well worth the trip. Besides, my wife and I are due for a trip. Let me know if/when you decide to come to the Scottsdale/Phoenix area and I’d be more than happy to learn a thing or two from you.

About the fingering, I have been going up and down the scales over and over (lower octave only) and trying to get to that comfortable point where my fingers just know where to go. It will take a lot of work and time, but I am confident it will iron out. Just yesterday I practiced the relaxed grip and finally got to where there were no leaky holes (most of the time anyway) when I went from note to note. However, my bag and bellows technique was slightly compromised when I focused on my grip, which is clear indication I need to work on that a LOT more. I figure that by doing the D- and G-scales over and over and over again :sleep: while maintaining a relaxed grip and good technique with the bag and bellows, I will eventually get comfortable with being able to do all those things as second nature…I know this will be a long “eventually” but that’s what makes uilleann pipes so great, right? Well, one of the things anyway.

Thank you for your advice.