Dotted crotchet, crotchet rolls on back D

Uilleann Pipes
1

Dear Sirs,
forgive my ignorance but I would appreciate some advice and explanation of how to perform a crotchet/dotted crotchet roll on back D. I ask because I have been using the NPU DVD volume 2 on which Mr. McKeon plays a tune called “Toss the feathers”. The accompanying notation booklet shows in the first bar of the second part of the tune, a crotchet roll on back D. Watching the DVD I am unable to make out the technique used.
My apologies if this is something simple which I ought to know, but I cannot find any instruction in any of my tutor books for this particular roll.
Thank you for your assistance.
Litsj

2

It would be helpful to know exactly what you mean by “crochet roll”; I haven’t heard the term before.

3

Condensed roll on a quarter note (crotchet), I presume.

4

Well, it’s difficult to explain in writing, but I’ll give it a shot:

  1. Lift thumb from hole.
  2. Slide thumb down over the hole.
  3. Flick thumb up over hole again.

EDIT: Note that this is done with the tip of your thumb, not the flat part that you normally use to cover the hole. Freshly clipped nails are highly recommended.

I suppose you could look at it as initial note->down pat->up pat. If I understand what you mean by “dotted crotchet”, the final note to take up the space of a dotted quarter would be another “down”. It would be quite beneficial if you could get someone to show this to you in person. I’ve more often heard it referred to as a back d “rub”.

I hope my convoluted explanation is of some use to you.

5

Paddy Keenan told me to bend the thumb at the joint nearest the nail, not wave the whole thumb about.

6

This is a controversial topic in piping as far as I know. I don’t think it’s necessary to do anything with back d other than use a bit of vibrato. I think it’s interesting that a piper like Mick O’Brien should have used it early on in their piping career but dispensed with it as they developed. At the same time there are pipers like Keenan and one or two that i know who use it with taste and sparingly. One thing i don’t like is when you tap at the back d to get the effect rather than sliding the thumb, as it sounds too heavy handed to my ear. Anyway that’s my tuppence worth.