Hi everyone.
I’m a very new player with a Gallagher practice set and have been playing for about 3 1/2 weeks and have had my first 3 lessons with Bill Ochs. - Now that’s out of the way, here’s my question:
I was playing around, experimenting with some sounds and I found I could get a sort of bluesy bend to the notes by hitting the bag hard and then letting off of it while in the second octive. Kind of like I used to do on my guitar when I would hit an open chard and then pull back on the neck.
It worked really well in the high e and g notes.
I looked for mention of this as a technique in a couple of places but didn’t see anything. Is this something that is used by other players?
I really like the bend that Paddy Keenan gets and I’m not sure if this is how he manages it or not, although I did do a search on the forum and saw some discussion on his technique (and this didn’t seem mentioned).
Bill showed me that by adjusting the bag pressure I could adjust pitch so it makes sense that this could be used to bend notes. Anyone else try this?
Before I got to the middle of your post Paddy Keenan came to mind. It may not be everyone’s cup, but I absolutlely love when he slurrs notes. To me it is a very non-traditional approach to uilleann piping, but aurally very attractive. I think it’s obvious that Paddy can play trad tunes, and in fact I would theorize that he’s just so damned good that this mastery of the pipes lets him accomplish this with discretion and incredible technique.
Sometimes I hear this in Davey Spillane’s playing - and although I’m not a huge fan of his new age types of recordings, everyone knows that there’s is an amazing quantity of talent in his possesion, and he is able to pull it off.
Does anyone else use this technique?
PR
Hi Bill,
Try achieving this effect by just using your fingers. Hitting the bag will not work especially once you get drones.
The typical “bend” is achieved by cutting the note as you bend it from say F# to G and lifting off the knee for both a swell and to flatten the note for extra blueseyness 
This can be used for any note conbination.
Paddy Keenan does a lot of bending notes off the knee in the lower octave. I suppose playing E off the knee, bending down to Eb (ghost d) and up again is one he does.
It is possible you are talking about the ghost D effect [Eb] in the upper octave too? Rather than reapeat myself here you can read more about that at and other piping techniques at http://www.uilleannobsession.com/faq.html#technique
Good luck,
Patrick.
Patrick said it best. I would never do such a thing, and Paddy doesn’t do it that way either…you’d have to sit and watch him play. He lifts the chanter on certain notes and brushes (½ holes) the fingerhole below–sometimes at the same time. For you see, in order to get the notes correctly in tune, the chanter has to be down on the knee, along with most of the other tone holes covered. If you lift the chanter, or open other tone holes (or both), the pitch heads South on some of the notes.
If bendy notes are what turns you on, listen to all the recordings of Willie Clancy that you can get (there are in particular two readily-available “commercial” solo records - though I don’t think anyone ever made a fortune out of them).
As Patrick points out, the effect is achieved by fingering and lifting off the knee rather than by bag pressure. You partly and gradually uncover the relevant hole (the finger for the relevant hole remains in contact with the chanter) while lifting the chanter off the knee: it takes some experimenting to see what works with your particular chanter and reed setup and what you’re most comfortable with (rotate, curl or straighten the finger, uncover from top to bottom or bottom to top or side to side of the hole?). C nat and f sharp are particular favourites for the treatment.