I have a fair bit of free time at the moment; ever since giving up my life as an AGT (angrey german techno music) producer i have been spending most of my time practicing instruments which dont require electricity..
the plan for instruments i want to learn (or at least try) is (in order when i will learn it):
Whistle - my main axe - i know this the best
Low Whistle - Shaw low D for solo stuff Flute - have alredy learnt some thanks to an instrument on loan
Fiddle - a little bit anyway as theres one in the house Ullian Pipes - probably the top of the folk tree
Chromatic accordian - ball-park theres one in my dads house; i just have to ‘borrow’ it
Lyre - shoud i win the lottery, the first instrument i got to play at school
There is some ‘trouble’ with the ones in bold; as im about to buy a keyed flute and have realised that my price bracket also encompases the cost of a practice set of ‘crazy elbow octo-pipes’. Hence the crisis, one or the other, as i am having trouble desciding what i Want to learn more and drawing blanks. Both instruments have qualities i really love; the flute has a beautiful tone and goes with more or less anythin, the pipes are wonderfully iconic and really quite difficult ( i like difficult)
some other conditions im trying to find a clear winner on:
allure, - sexyness - the flute is more conventionalas an instrument of love
skill -density, - Everyone can play the flute; pipes are rare but not that rare
learning curve - it will take a long time to get good on the pipes, tat said; it takes a lifetime to perfect the flute
practice coniderations - pipes quite loud; flute less so - neighbour alredy fed up with noise.
maintnence - reeds etc; while i like the concept of learning to maintain them; i may not like the reality.
I had the same questions, but I thought that the flute wasn’t any lesser instrument than the pipes sound-wise, just different, and all the more manageable practically and economically.
There is also this Mike Hulme practice set that did not sell when he put it on ebay. It has a keyed chanter and maybe Mike might be open to offers.
As for a flute - why not check with Jemtheflute on the forum and see what he can do for you in the lines of a keyed flute. With a little luck you may be able to get both flute and practice set within your budget.
dang; i was hoping somone wouldent try the ‘surley you can afford both’ card
thing is; i really want a keyed flute for when im playing non irish stuff… and i really want(ed) to start on a half set, because i love the sound of the drones and i want to get used to the airflow required… BUT after listening to too meny you-tube vidios concerning pipes i must say i really want to get on the (very long) path to paping compatence as soon as possible.
If you were looking at a half set there is nothing on ebay at the moment. The only one recently (by a known pipemaker) was the Alan Logan one Logan half set , which did not sell - maybe making him an offer on it might work.
The Richard Patkos one on Uilleann Obsession’s classified section might be a more affordable set (curly maple and brass set in D - 1200 euros plus postage).
I started the flute a few years ago because I wanted to play the pipes… that’s right, you heard me. I have always wanted to play pipes but when I looked at the price and the idea of playing in the hot, dry AZ weather, I went with the flute instead. After two years with the flute I didn’t love it at all and still longed for the pipes… so I hawked the flute and am now playing a franken-half-set that I pieced together from various secondhand sources.
You gotta do what you love; anything else will never be good enough.
