Hints to Amateur Pipers

[leremarkable]

I think this should be posted here weekly or something;

Hints to Amateur Pipers

By Patrick J. Touhey
_The celebrated American Performer on the Irish Pipes

"There is probably no musical instrument in existence tday that is so
difficult to master as the Irish or Union bagpipe, and for that reason the
percentage of proficient performers is much less than on any other
instrument.
The lack of competent teachers is also an important drawback, particularly
because on no instrument is an instructor so necessary to the success of the learner, as on the Union pipes, unless perhaps it be on the Scotch or Highland pipes, on accound of the shriller tones.
In the hands of a capable performer, no instrument gives to Irish Melody, especially dance music, such true traditional expression as the loved instrument of the Irish peasentry.
To acquire any reasonable degree of expertness in this most complicated and highly developed bagpipe, the learner instead of attempting too much, should be content to commence at the bottom, as he would in any other line of studies, and not undertake to play haphazard, as too many often do.
Fired by ambition on hearing the performance of some good piper, the music lover ordinarily having more or less acquaintance with some other wind instrument, obtains possession of a set of Irish pipes, out of tune and repair from disuse, and starts in to be a piper, without a teacher, and depending altogether on practice based probably on his previous fingering of the flute. He expects to accomplish in six months what may be took the piper whose playing inspired him, twenty years to acquire; the consequence being, of course, one more name added to the list of bad or indifferent pipers.
It is well to remember at the start that the fluter, Highland piper or clarinet player, has also much to unlearn, if success is to be attained on the Irish or Union pipes.
Before attempting to play or practice on a full set, the learner should procure the best bag, bellows and chanter obtainable. "

Taken from an essay printed in THE PIPING OF PATSY TOUHEY (Mitchell, Small)
_

[Cynth]

I guess I’d best stick with the whistle. Havin’ enough trouble as it is.

[Jon_Cooper]

zap

[Antaine]

I concur

[Harry]

Well said, D.

The study of the various ways of producing notes from the chanter, dynamics and the production of basic phrasing should take months and years. Touhey was on the ball talking of commencing from the bottom …

BTW, congrats on the release of the new CD. Its a great recording, for anybody who was wondering.

Regards from Japan,

Harry.

[glauber]

What are you doing in Japan?

[brianc]

@Patsy Touhey

It is well to remember at the start that the fluter, Highland piper or clarinet player, has also much to unlearn, if success is to be attained on the Irish or Union pipes.

I’m living proof of this. On two occasions - once at Willie Week, and once 4 years later at the San Francisco Tionol, I was asked by the instructor, “Do you also play the warpipes?”

After answering “Yes” on the first occasion, and “I used to play them” on the second, on each occasion was the reply from the instructor (two different people, mind you):

“Ah, that’s OK. You’ve a few things to unlearn. But don’t worry, we can beat it out of you.”

[Jay-eye]

@Patrick J. Touhey

On no instrument is an instructor so necessary to the success of the learner, as on the Union pipes, unless perhaps it be on the Scotch or Highland pipes, on accound of the shriller tones.
It is well to remember at the start that the fluter, Highland piper or clarinet player, has also much to unlearn, if success is to be attained on the Irish or Union pipes.

Bah! Humbug! I’ve learned everything I know from Joseph’s signature pic.

j.i.

[Joseph_E_Smith]

@Jay-eye

@Patrick J. Touhey

On no instrument is an instructor so necessary to the success of the learner, as on the Union pipes, unless perhaps it be on the Scotch or Highland pipes, on accound of the shriller tones.
It is well to remember at the start that the fluter, Highland piper or clarinet player, has also much to unlearn, if success is to be attained on the Irish or Union pipes.

Bah! Humbug! I’ve learned everything I know from Joseph’s signature pic.

j.i.

… and I learned everything I know from my “Mel Bay: Companion Book for the Complete Novice Uilleann Piper”.

[ausdag]

Don’t knock Mel Bay…he taught me to play the pipe organ once Once

DG

[Antaine]

could be worse…could be suzuki ::shudder::

[Patrick_Darcy]

@leremarkable

I think this should be posted here weekly or something;

Hints to Amateur Pipers

By Patrick J. Touhey

Perfect… just perfect. Amazing how things haven’t changed

Thanks for that David and looking forward to hearing the CD!

PD.

[system]

[quote=“leremarkable”]I think this should be posted here weekly or something;

Hints to Amateur Pipers

By Patrick J. Touhey
The celebrated American Performer on the Irish Pipes

“The lack of competent teachers is also an important drawback”

Boy what a difference the last year has made since getting this lesson beaten into me…“nice” piping doesn’t cut the muster! Yet i am still a tune whoooore.

[brianc]

This is key as well, IMO:

Fired by ambition on hearing the performance of some good piper, the music lover ordinarily having more or less acquaintance with some other wind instrument, obtains possession of a set of Irish pipes, out of tune and repair from disuse, and starts in to be a piper, without a teacher, and depending altogether on practice based probably on his previous fingering of the flute. He expects to accomplish in six months what may be took the piper whose playing inspired him, twenty years to acquire; the consequence being, of course, one more name added to the list of bad or indifferent pipers.

[eric]

He expects to accomplish in six months what may be took twenty years to acquire;

I agree with that highlight, Brian, even if I think it an exaggeration for Patsy to say “6 months.”

the learner instead of attempting too much, should be content to commence at the bottom

People learning the music often start with dance music, and they try to play at performance pace. They’re doing themselves a disservice trying to play like that. Speaking from personal experience, all it does is lock in bad habits.

There isn’t a lot of instructional material out there that successfully steers new players away from that pitfall. New players, wooed by the dance music, want to pick up the instrument and join sessions as fast as possible. As much as we laud Francis O’Neill for his collecting and musings about the music, we don’t want to listen to him when he says beginner musicians shouldn’t perform too soon.

One more point: I found it a bit telling that Gay McKeon in the fall 2004 Piobaire remarked that-- and I hope I don’t put words into his mouth-- it’ll do a lot of new players good to listen and absorb, rather than learn some new technique.

All I can say is that, besides the listening part which I think I’m pretty good at, I fell into each one of those traps. While I don’t think the many years of playing I got under my belt were completely wasted, the manner which I went about trying to learn (even though I ~thought~ I understood how to properly practice), set me up for overwhelming frustration (to the point of burning out multiple times). I’d be a much better player now if I had truly understood the disciplined style of practice needed at the start to reach a professional level of musicianship.

[djm]

it’ll do a lot of new players good to listen and absorb

Listen to what? As an inexperienced person, I am probably not hearing, or appreciating the significance, of what an experienced person is hearing. While I don’t argue with the need to listen, there is a dearth of instruction clarifying what an experienced person is hearing, directions of what to note, and clear examples well described.

I liken this to the ionstructional void that Heather Clarke’s book attempted to fill. As was noted in another thread, there was a lot of bad feelings about her making such an attempt, yet clearly it was (and still is) very much needed. When someone backs up such statements as the one quoted above with some substance I will be more than happy to listen and learn.

djm

[brianc]

@djm

it’ll do a lot of new players good to listen and absorb

Listen to what? As an inexperienced person, I am probably not hearing, or appreciating the significance, of what an experienced person is hearing. While I don’t argue with the need to listen, there is a dearth of instruction clarifying what an experienced person is hearing, directions of what to note, and clear examples well described.

I liken this to the ionstructional void that Heather Clarke’s book attempted to fill. As was noted in another thread, there was a lot of bad feelings about her making such an attempt, yet clearly it was (and still is) very much needed. When someone backs up such statements as the one quoted above with some substance I will be more than happy to listen and learn.

djm

Well, I think Gay McKeon’s comments were a bit of an echo to what Seamus Ennis said so long ago… “7 years listening… etc…”

Sure, it mightn’t be an actual 7 years, but it might SEEM that long to one aching to get started.

And I think the heartache over what Dr. Clarke had done with her tutor was coming from some quarters who were lamenting a passing of the
strictly aural approach that piping and ITM in general had been for so long.

There’s my tuppence on it, anyway.

[dherb]

David- i think I can honestly say I started at the bottom, and humbly concur with Patsy that in six months one should not expect to attain the heights reached by a twenty year piper. But, shouldn’t I at least, after six months, have gotten over my “death grip” that you’ve tried to cure me of??? Working on it every day!
Dennis

[eric]

Listen to what?

Most generally (uselessly?) stated: learning technique for the pipes is just one part. The other is understanding how to apply them so that what comes out sounds like Irish music. The only way to do that is through listening (and not just pipers).

When someone backs up such statements … with some substance I will be more than happy to listen and learn.

That “substance” is difficult, because it’s the amalgamation of years of listening and absorbing. The substance gets reduced to short (perhaps meaningless) words like “phrasing, rhythm, variations, tone, ornamentation, pitch” etc. I guess the musicologists (which I’m not) try to put the substance into words. They’re not done yet! But if I had to reduce it all to one word, it’s: “aesthetic.”

One post I tried to put some substance to is the final post in this thread:
http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=25962&start=15

I have no idea how clear I am, if some parts sounds technical, they’re not-- I’m just trying to pinpoint locations and groupings of notes (follow along with Ochs’s transcription). Lots of exciting things tend to happen at those locations.

Sorry for soapbox time, but Russell is incredibly dynamic, complicated: a finely tuned, and balanced traditional aesthetic. So much so that there’s no need for guitars, drums, layered harmonic landscapes, and all that stuff imported from another tradition.

As an inexperienced person, I am probably not hearing, or appreciating the significance

I’m sure you’re fine, DJM It’s a constant quest for all of us.

One thing too, is to learn a tune from one of those “big” players. Then after you’ve got it for a little while, go back and re-listen. I’m usually struck by how many details didn’t either stick, or even make it, to my version. It’s another great lesson in listening to ourselves as much as others.

P.S.

Heather Clarke’s book … clearly it was (and still is) very much needed.

Agreed. It’s a very good tutor, made all the more incredible that it was done by an 18 year old. I only have a few book tutors, and out of them, her’s is the one I’d recommend most. Just the fact that it has a cassette (or CD now?) is a major point.

I don’t have any of the NPU dvds. Do the lessons imply that it’s okay for beginners to start with dance music at performance pace?

[eric]

dherb,

I don’ t know what your practice is like, but take just a few notes of a tune or air you know and play those notes extremely… extreeeemely slowly. Are you able to relax your hands? The death grip only gets worse if you try to play faster than your current level of control.

How about if you just play one long note, for example “B”. Concentrate on not allowing the tension of squeezing the bag to make your hands tense.

Do you feel your chanter is pretty comfortable to blow?

How about what Uilliam has been posting recently:

"Try this …rest the chanter lightly against your fingers not holding it at all but resting on the fingers which are (of course) covering all the notes then open whichever holes ye like,play a scale ,a tune whatever.Ye will see that it is not necessary to GRIP the wee beastie in a death hold.
Sit in front of a mirror and make sure you are holding the chanter correctly. "