Hi. I’m new to this forum and the pipes. I have played flute and whistle for quite some time and have been busy oveer the last few weeks trying to play some of the flute tunes I know on the pipes. I did a quick search for beginning tunes and couldn’t find what I was looking for. I am interested in learning a couple of simple tunes specifically set for pipes. Some of the tunes I have been able to work out so far include: The Humors of Ballyloughlin, Garret Barry’s, The Road to Lisdoonvarna (reel), Jenny Picking Cockles, Out on the Ocean, Humors of Trim, Gander at the Pratie Hole, and the one that goes like… Okay, so you get the idea. I find getting and maintaining the second octave is challenging. I have a feeling I overblow a lot, and that my be part of the issue. Any help would be welcome. Thanks in advance,
Arbo
Some tunes that stay mostly in the low octave:
Maggie in the woods
Jim Wards
Rambling pitchfork
My Darling asleep
Do you have any books or video tutors? You’ll need to learn to play them on the pipes like a piper, not just whistle or flute tunes played on the pipes. If you haven’t joined the NPU, think about doing that. There are some great video tutorials going through tunes and you’ll learn how to play them on the pipes.
..also get someone in the know who can try your chanter to see if indeed the diff. 2nd oct. is “you” or the reed. there’s just no sense to struggling if it can be helped.
Thanks for the suggestion. I am headed up to the piper’s gathering this weekend so I’m sure I’ll find someone to check the chanter. Maybe even get a new reed made for it. My friend who plays pipes thought the chanter sonded good and played well. It is made by Tony Hebdon.
Arbo
There is no such thing as simple beginning tunes* and the list ye gave are fine tunes in their own right.Paddy K does some lovely stuff with out On The Ocean for instance.Any tune in the ITM genre can be played simply if ye so desireth and in many ,far too many cases,they are done to death by overcomplicating them wi way too much ornamentation.
Asking fer a list is too subjective.The important thing is to play whit ye enjoy …
*When I used to teach the pipes I would quite often get the pupil to play Ba Ba Black Sheep as the 1st piece.Now that was simple enough and I would not get any complaints frae them coz they could master that quickly and begin to make music.More importantly I found that they could forget that piece and not miss anything by doing so and move on to ITM…
My 1st tune was the Song of The Chanter. I struggled awa wi it until I learned it but then for many years thereafter never played it and disliked it for the memories of pain it brought me.
Then I heard it played by The Liverpool Cheilidhe band at a Comhaltas Competition a few years ago and realised that it was a good March and started playing it again withoot resentment. 
Slán Go Foill
uilliam