Hey everyone! First time post! I use this site quite a bit when looking for advice on new whistles, now I need some of the most important advice I may ever get. I’m a 20 year old canadian who has been playing the tin whistle for just over half my life. I love it, I do, but I do feel sort of limited in my playing. Not bored exactly, but limited. I picked up the fiddle a few years ago and took pretty well to it considering I completly taught myself. I love playing tunes on the fiddle, but I don’t get the same natural feeling from it in my fingers as I do the whistle. I’ve also got a low d whistle that’s alot of fun to play, but it feels like there is still something missing! and i’m near positive it’s the uilleann pipes. I can almost hear them calling me. I’ve never played a set in my life, but the sound, the energy, the way it looks, it’s all so appealing. So, my question is, how much easier would my whistle backround make learning? And, is it worth it at this point for me to throw down the cash on a practise or half set? there’s a respected maker a few hours from where I live who I’m going to get in contact with, but it is by no means a cheap instrument for a 20 year old who’s income source is a minimum wage job and busking on the weekends. It’s a huge, scary commitment! What should i do?!
I was also wondering if the fact that I play whistle with my right hand on top might hinder anything. Last year I spent a decent chunk of change on a crystal flute in hopes of learning only to find that the mouth hole was curved in a certain way that made playing the way i do impossible, as the flute would have to point in the opposite direction.
If you feel you have to play the pipes, you have play them.
Pipes are not cheap, but many classical instruments are much more expensive. A good set of pipes will last longer than you. Pipes are much different from whistles, but all the same many things are very similar, the fingering itself will probably not give you much trouble (although the pipes are being played with a more closed fingering, the fingers which determine the tone are in most cases the same), and you already know some techniques (rolls and others) which you can easily transfer to the pipes. So you can put more of your energy in learning the techniques peculiar to this instrument.
If you play with your right hand on top you will need a left-handed set of pipes. I see no point in re-learning and basically starting from zero. Many great pipers were/are left-handed, like Patsy Touhey, Willie Clancy, or Davy Spillane.
This means, you will be playing the bellows under your left, and the bag under the right arm, the stocks have to be tied in the other side of the bag, so if you should decide to buy a second hand set, you should allow for the cost of a new bag. For the chanter it makes no difference, as long it has no keys or only the “C” key.
I started playing at the same age you are now, my financial situation was desperate (my only income being busking, which was terribly bad at that time) but I had the strong will to play the pipes. BTW, I’m still playing the same instrument that was made for me 30 years ago.
thanks for the reply! I’m thinking now is the time to buy as i have a bit of extra cash lying around and since i’m moving out of my mudders place the summer it might not be a chance i’ll have for a good few years. I’m about to email the maker that lives around here, see if i can’t have a chat with him about what i’m looking for. All the same, I’m debating with myself over new vs. used. I know a new set will cost significantly more but I am very wary about buying online, especially considering the support i could get from having the maker only hours away. It’s good to know about the left handed thing too, learning from scratch is defiantly not an option, haha. I trired when I bought the flute and it really didn’t work. So that’s something I’ll have to mention for sure. However, the pro to buying online would be (near) instant gratification! Waiting a couple of years seems like a long time (although I know it would be worth it) especially when I have a lump sum right now and I honestly don’t know where I’ll be in a couple of months, let alone a year or two because I like to move around and travel alot. Hopefully I’ll have some questions answered once I hear back from the maker!
The only practice set worth considering on ebay Canada is this Richard Patkos practice set It is in Germany so you would have to deal with customs etc if you bought it.
If you are in the Toronto environs then contact the Ontario Irish Pipers Club would be a good place to start. They might know of a practice set for sale.
Pipes are not cheap. But if you spend your money of a set from a well-known maker, they will hold their value and if you find that they aren’t for you, you can release them back into the wild and no lose money. While you can transfer a lot of your knowledge from the whistle to the pipes, they are a very different beast and the first year can really be a test. A good instrument will make a lot of difference.
Where are you in Canada? Be sure and get in contact with other pipers in your area and get yourself to a tionól.
Make as many contacts as you can - the Ontario Pipers’ Club is definitely a good place to start at. In case the pipemaker you mentioned is Joe Kennedy, he is also the chairman of this organisation, if I’m not mistaken.
Next you should talk to your pipemaker and ask him if maybe he (or someone else at the Club) can supply you with a practice set on loan until your own pipes are ready, to get you started - it is not impossible (I always have two practice sets ready for aspiring pipers, and I’m not an UPmaker).
If that’s not possible you might consider buying a budget practice set from Pat Sky or David Daye, these are fine instruments and available within very short time, and will not loose significantly in value if you wish to sell them after your set is finished (don’t forget to mention you play lefthanded).
I know very well one of the main problems is the waiting time - if you want to play an instrument, you want to start right now. Still, rushing things will not do you any good. Ebay is certainly not the best place to buy a quality instrument (unless you are very lucky), and also, if I wanted to sell an instrument, for me this would only be the last resort if everything else failed.
Have you had a look here: http://uilleannobsession.com/classifieds.html ? Sometimes, very good instruments are offered at very reasonable prices, but keep in mind - when buying a used instrument, you will need to have it set up for you, this will in any case include the cost of a new bag.
Stace, whereabouts are you located. I’m in Quebec city and there are pipers in Montreal and Sherbrooke. There are also a few pipers in various parts of Ontario.
hey guys, thanks for the replies! i’m actually located in newfoundland, there isn’t really a huge resource for pipers here, our population is on the smaller scale. i’ve e-mailed the pipemaker, who by the way is Neil O’Grady. I haven’t gotten a reply yet and I’m a little afraid the e-mail might be out of date! However, there is a number listed as well which I’ll call later in the week if I still haven’t gotten a response. I’m thinking that meeting with him might be the best thing to do, because as I said there really aren’t that many pipers and little to no public support for newer pipers. I have however, decided that I will 100 percent be playing the pipes as soon as I can. I’m sure if I don’t do it now I’ll be kicking myself down the line.
Definitely get to meet with Neil if you can. He should be able to put you in touch with other pipers on the Rock.
Neil’s pipes are a great way to start. They’re usually reeded with an easy blowing reed and they’re not too loud. Also, Neil’s pipes aren’t priced out of the galaxy and they tend to hold their value. The only complaints I’ve heard about Neil’s pipes are that they are not very pretty to look at but that’s a question of personal taste. The other thing, which might be a little more important, is that on the chanter, the block for the F natural key is bigger than it needs to be and makes it uncomfortable to position the thumb of the lower-hand. You could always ask Neil to adjust the key block and it won’t affect the sound.
Start with a practice set (chanter, bag and bellows), as you won’t need drones for at least the first 12 months and probably longer. Get Neil, or any other piper you meet, to show you the basics (posture, holding the chanter, adjusting the reed, etc.). The first few weeks and even months can be very frustrating so don’t get discouraged if you’re not playing Riverdance after your first lesson.
If you can’t find a piper nearby, there are some pipers offering lessons online, via Skype. You’ll need highspeed internet and a webcam but it’s a good solution when you’re on your own.
thanks everyone! I’m going to meet with Neil saturday! He told me he probably won’t be able to get started on it until fall, but man, am i ever excited. Maybe I’ll even get to see a real live set on saturday!