How much of a transition would it be, if I am motivated, have a good work ethic, and can afford to buy a set, to become adept at playing the Uilleann pipes?
I would already be familiar with the bellows and general pressure on the reeds (although I know that the reeds are a lot more fickle in Uilleann pipes), and (another question) isn’t the fingering/scale quite similar to the whistle/flute? I play highlands, borders, smallpipes, flute, and the whistle (and piano, might help with regulators!). Also, I’m familiar the articulation and style of Celtic music, and would already know many tunes. I don’t have much experience with regulators or reedmaking. Another tangent question: is it true that learning to make reeds is essential to Uilleann maintenance?
I recognize that there is a lot to Uilleann pipes that I don’t know, and that they are much more complicated than Scottish pipes, but what do you guys think? How steep would the learning curve be, with my motivation and experience?
Thanks, I’d really appreciate any answers to my questions!
You are way ahead of the game compared to me and many other UPers. I play,badly, guitar and piano. So the only thing i had to help was the ability to read music. So at 18 months into it I know a dozen tunes, some ornamentation, but nothing at session speed. However… I am having a blast.
I had a friend in Alabama who was a very good GHB player. I let him try playing my UPs and he could not play a bit. But… A year later he had totally surpassed me and was playing in a local band! What i get from that is your learning curve should be very steep.
As to making reeds. My opinion is that you should give it a try. Not so much to make your own reeds but to provide you enough of an understanding of reeds so that you can mess with the reeds that your UP maker provided without breaking them. As weather and other environment changes… You will need to mess with your reeds.
As to the regs. I have a full set and every now and then i play with one reg installed. But for me, realistically, I think i have to put another year under my belt before i try them seriously.
Because of your other experience i suspect you will be playing regs much sooner than that.
Eli, like you I play the GHB, SSP and some whistle before starting the UP 9 months ago. I already knew how to play with bellows and was familiar with some ITM tunes on the whistle. I can honestly say I’m having more fun learning the UP then when I first started on the GHB. I think with your background playing bellows on the border and smallpipes, you’re already ahead of the game. I can’t imagine learning the UP at the same time trying to learn with bellows. I think what Mr. Gumby about a good instrument, whats to stop you and dividing your time between your other instruments pretty much says it all.
+1 to all thats been written above, except knocking them against a table. Personally, I find that doors, (and possibly sheds) have far superior tonal qualities. But whatev:
Unless you are highly circumspect from the very beginning (which you may very well be ) Sooner or later you will come up against the process of UN-learning (flobt*) “Scots” technique on the Uilleann pipe. Speaking as one who had to mercilessly root out every-single-automatic-unconcious-mfng “C doubling”, “D-strike”, & excessive “G- grace” from my uilleann piping— dont fall into the trap of thinking, “well, its just another bagpipe”, yadig? It has its own accent.. & althoug it may be a few years & a long road before you discover your fluency in that accent… don t give into the temptation to make it speak in anything but its native tongue. Only THEN you will find that it its voice can be readily understood in many cultures…
In terms of getting a sound out of thing, you’re well ahead of the game, but you will have to unlearn a lot of your Scottish piping techniques as a lot of them sound rubbish when used on the uilleann pipes (cutting everything with the top C finger? don’t do it).
I think it is a good idea to learn how to make reeds, but I’ve been playing for almost 10 years and I don’t make reeds. You can get away with not knowing how if you work out who you might contact in case you have a reed disaster. If you’re quite isolated from other pipers/pipemakers, this might be more difficult.
Most people start with a practice set (bag, bellow, chanter), or a half set (all of the above + drones), as full sets (everything + regulators) are a pain to maintain, bloody expensive, and you won’t really be bothering with learning to play regs until you’ve gotten a good handle on everything else. Indeed, some of us seemed doomed to play a half set forever. Anyway, you shouldn’t worry about regs just yet – focus on getting a decent chanter with a good reed, first and foremost.
Take CHasR’s and TheSilverSpear’s advice to heart. Start out at the very beginning being mindful that you are learning a completely different instrument, not a variation of the GHB, and be aware especially of those pesky g cuts (or c cuts on the uilleann pipes). They will creep in at every opportunity and you’ll need to be watchful. Cuts on the uilleann pipes are generally made with the note directly above the melody note. You can cut with different fingers—even c—for effect, but the note above is the safe bet. Also be aware that uilleann pipers usually allow their fingers to curl around the chanter a bit. Jimmy O’Brien-Moran once picked me out as a former highland piper from across a room full of people because I was holding the chanter with a GHB rather than a uillean grip.
The good ship uilleanns has sailed. Deal with it, or live out your days in pointless anger. Accept change, let your mind be as water and live only in this moment.
I never hear or see it used, except by beginners. It’s an easy mistake to make and as easy a mistake to correct, so I don’t think the “ship has sailed”.
It’s wrong, period, and it might as well be corrected when it’s seen and / or heard.
That’s simply not true - there definitely is “right” and “wrong” in language. What you’re hinting at is the difference between descriptive and prescriptive rules for languages, which is a bit of a broader subject.
“Uilleanns” is still definitely incorrect. It may be in common usage (I very much doubt it common except among beginners who simply don’t know better), but it is still incorrect. There’s no anger, though, so you can put that argument away. It’s a simple enough matter to point out that it’s wrong. People who enjoy learning will correct their usage, those who don’t… well…
If it hasn’t arrived with you yet, I’m afraid it’s coming.
I really hope it isn’t.
I just don’t understand people who misname an instrument as a tactic to gain acceptance to those who have been calling it by it’s proper name. You’d think by calling it by its name you’d get more attention.
If you don’t have much spare time in your day and can’t afford the extra second to announce “uilleann pipes”, well just say ‘pipes’. Do Scottish Highland pipers say, “I play the bags”?
And why the plural? Uilleanns Pipes? Pianos Accordion? Anyway, plural of uilleann is uillinn or uilleannachai is some dialects.
And when a new piper moves to a B set does he/she learn to play Unions?
I suppose if it’s going to change it will anyway.
I might get used to it but for now it’s stay in the files I use for people who say OMG out loud and say awesome and amazing too much and out of context.
I don’t particularly like ‘uilleanns’ used as a substantivized adjective and I don’t use it. Besides the aforementioned descriptive and prescriptive approaches to linguistics, there’s also the never-ending battle between redundancy and efficiency. Lastly, there’s the comprehension test. I’m sure everyone knew what this person meant by ‘uilleanns’ (I know, the context was pretty clear).
Once a foreign term is accepted into another language, it quite often undergoes grammatical change to norms of the borrowing language. E.g., in English we say, ‘bolsheviks’ not ‘bolsheviki’, etc.
There is the same pedantic insistence among the highland piping crowd about ‘Scottish’ (ethnonym) vs. ‘Scotch’ (alcoholic drink). However this was not always the case. In fact, in the latest issue of An Piobaire there’s an interview with Patsy Touhey and he refers to the instrument as the Scotch pipes (as did O’Farrell, Robert Burns, etc.). Language is dynamic and is constantly changing. Over time a consensus forms selecting certain words from competing pairs or groups and one gets promoted to accepted, standard and one or more get demoted to unacceptable or substandard.
All that being said, to just say ‘uilleanns’ cuts my ear (unless it’s on some bumper sticker like ‘Chillin’ with the Uilleanns’ or such, then I think it’s kinda clever).
Agreed, especially regarding the dynamic nature of language.
That said, I don’t believe this is a change that we need to accept, for the reasons I’ve stated above. Some things can’t be fought, but some can. Since it’s just ignorance leading the usage of “uilleanns”, I think it should be fairly simple to correct on a case-by-case basis, halting the ubiquitous adoption of the term.
) Sooner or later you will come up against the process of UN-learning (flobt*) “Scots” technique on the Uilleann pipe. Speaking as one who had to mercilessly root out every-single-automatic-unconcious-mfng “C doubling”, “D-strike”, & excessive “G- grace” from my uilleann piping— dont fall into the trap of thinking, “well, its just another bagpipe”, yadig? It has its own accent.. 
Anyway, you shouldn’t worry about regs just yet – focus on getting a decent chanter with a good reed, first and foremost.
oh please…just wait until someone asks if your going to resurface the ice between periods with your zampogna 