There is a very old traditional gaita style where the piper (=gaiteiro) sings while he plays the melody on the chanter, but only relative short phrases, because he need to blow again inside the bellow (=fol). Galician singing-piping style is very hard and difficult to do and needs a very good technic, furthermore you can’t sing all the time because you need pauses to blowing with the mouth. There’s another galician pipe called “Gaita de Barquín”, with two bellows, similar to lowland or northumberland pipes, most easily to sing with it.
You are under the misapprehension that everyone who plays an instrument must needs be a virtuoso of it. Let me assure you, you don’t need to be a master of an instrument to apply it as a support for singing with some occasional vamps and so on.
If the Irish Pipes are not appropriate to this then I will just continue to sing with a harmonium drone pumped with my calf and continue to decorate the singing with my flutes.
The posts of Morten and Galegoman are salient to the topic and are appreciated. Thank You. I would like to hear more of pipers who are singers.
This isnae singing and playing the pipes strictly speaking is it? 
He is playing a simple chordal accompaniement…whilst singing..its a bit like playing the chords on a guitar and singing isn’t it…Given that Faulkener is a Scottish singer-piper-guitarist, the end result is not at all a surprise…
I would challenge the statement that it was “quite common in the good olde days”
I’m “olde” enough to remember the twilight of them years and I never heard anyone singing and playing
simple truth is that it takes all your dexterity to concentrate on the particular tune…(I’m not talking about songs here incidentally but pipering tunes…)
I asked me mother who is into her 80’s,an All Ireland Champion Dancer in her time, the daughter of a piper, and ,who attended many many musical functions in her youth"the good olde days",and she said she hadn’t heard anyone sing and play the pipering tunes.
I have only heard one person “sing” and “play” the pipes,that was in Miltown Malbay,and that experience/s (for it is an annual treat frae this particular person) has unfortunately turned me off the very idea,particularly as it was a very nice song on its own… :roll:
We’ve had mention of Francie McPeake and John Faulkener..hardly a roll call of the great and mighty of the legendary pipers is it…
This might seem like a put down to tali which it probably is read as,but my point is,that uilleann pipering was along with the rest of Irish music mocked and scorned at by the majority of musos ,to the point of almost extinction by the 1950’s.Only after a long haul did it reach the popularity it is enjoying today,and that is largely due to the skill and dedication of those who have taken the instrument seriously enough to want to promote it for what it is.
Tali ,please learn the Uilleann Pipes for what they truly are,a most wonderful and moving instrument just bursting with human emotions.Frae the very highest feeling o happiness to the hair standing on the back o yer neck tingling of sorrow…An instrument in its own right,to be enjoyed in its own right not in a secondary role…
Tali..YOUR COMMENTS"…You are under the misapprehension that everyone who plays an instrument must needs be a virtuoso of it. Let me assure you, you don’t need to be a master of an instrument to apply it as a support for singing with some occasional vamps and so on. .."
I am under no allusion nor misapprehension on this nor need your assurance…
“The posts of Morten and Galegoman are salient to the topic and are appreciated. Thank You. I would like to hear more of pipers who are singers.”
It seems ye want to hear only frae folk who agree with ye,perhaps ye don’t want to hear anything else,that being the case ye should have said so in your opening post in order to avoid “misapprehension etc”
Slán Agat
Uilliam
Uilliam, I do not have a particular stance. However sometimes if you’re not going anywhere in particular it is still advisable to avoid the road that leads over the cliff. So it is with some of your arguments. It is good to point out that the accompaniment status of any instrument may not be on par with its virtuosi status but to say that playing a chord on a guitar is not playing the guitar is a cliff hanger if you ask me. Ah, but then you haven’t asked me have you? You cannae even get my name right. So much for your respect for culture and tradition.
All of this is really a ‘tempest in a teacup’. Singing while playing the pipes (the best pipes being of the bellows blown variety), is a skill in and of itself. Not only does one have to keep 1/2 a mind on bellows control but then toss in bag control, drone control, chanter control, regulator control and FINALLY, throw singing on top of it all while keeping it (everything) sounding tight and polished…sheesh! That takes practice and a large pair of brass…uh…lungs. 
I applaud anybody wishing to do this as it isn’t easy in the least. One of my favorites to sing along with is Cold Blow and the Rainy Night. A simple tune, but difficult to pull off cleanly.
Talasiga, good on you mate for giving it serious thought and I hope that you will follow through with your idea. But, remember that in order to play the Uilleann Pipes, even if it is only the drones to accompany your voice, you still have to put a bunch of ‘sweat equity’ into learning the beastie…and I recommend that if you sink a ton of cash into a set, you might as well learn how to play all of it. Why not? They really are the best and the coolest instrument ever thought up.
Christy O’Leary [ex-Boys of the Lough uilleann piper] has been known to sing and pipe simultaneously.
Very good it sounded too.
And he’s a very good uilleann piper.
B.
And don’t forget “The praties are dug and the frost is all over” from master Seamus Ennis, of course! He is a good uilleann piper too
[quote="talasiga
but to say that playing a chord on a guitar is not playing the guitar is a cliff hanger if you ask me. .[/quote]
Talasiga my apologies to ye for not getting your name right,we seem to have hit it off preety well methinks.. 
.back to the topic
I did not say the above quote at all,so perleez do not put words into my mouth…especially wrong ones 
thats the pedantic bit over…
I have been thinking more about this and spoken with a few pipering friends…the general concensus is that as ye sing from the diaphragm if ye are a good singer,then the constriction of a bag and bellows would not allow ye to use your diaphragm properly so it follows that your singing would suffer presumably.I am not a good singer so I have no comment on that but it seems logical.
So maybe that should be a consideration for ye to think about.
As for quoting Seamis Ennis,ye would think that was his entire repatoire…he was probably having a laugh/drink or both …I could sing and play the pipes if I chose to and probably make a mess of both,..
Boyd,I havn’t heard him sing so I can’t comment…
but as I said earlier nothing is written in stone and if thats what ye want to do fine…
Theres certainly no need to fall out over it…
As Joseph said " a tempest in teacup" 
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
Sing and play pipes! 
Lord I find it difficult to Fart when I’m Piping let alone sing. (I do a bit of singing now and then)
I heard Christy O’Leary sing and pipe at the same time [Radio Scotland live broadcast]
He has a great voice anyway, and pipes very well, and the result was extremely melodic and beautiful…
… I would say that there are very very few who would be able to do that without sounding like a cat having a vasectomy
So lets hope clips’n’snips doesn’t get any amateur attempts
then again 
Boyd..I’m getting worried fer ye…
ye said the same thing in your earlier post …well almost the same thing.. 
Do ye need a doctor?
Singing is ok for a newins!
Happy ne’er to ye and go easy on the first footins…
Slán Go Foill
Liam
The message I am getting both crudely and nicely is that beginning the pipes for to just accompany singing with a drone and occasional melodic flourishes is like getting a Rolls Royce for to go shopping.
Or better still, its like getting a sitar (an Indian lute) for to play Norwegian Wood .
Many thanks to all of you (Uilliam included) for your responses. I am over and out for now and besides somebody threatened me with a picture of some Irish Pipes and now I’m having nightmares.
But please, let the topic continue- on the subject of good pipers who also sing.
Pleasant New Years to you all.
…sorry man, I promise never to do it again…until next time.
Back in November-December of 1996, I was lucky enough to witness Tomas O Canain sing “The Praties are Soft” in Gaelic and then play the tune in a call and response manner with his pipes. That was something I won’t forget soon. It wasn’t a showcase of dazzling technique but it was an intensely soulful, musical happening. If you could listen to that without crying your eyes out, you’re emotionally stunted and should seek help.
Many old tunes have lyrics, learn them, learn the melodies, learn to play them on the chanter, and then you have something timeless and beautiful.
My favorite example is “The Praties Are Dug And The Frost Is All Over” as recorded by Seamus Ennis on “40 Years of Irish Piping”, a beautiful recording of solo, traditional piping at its very best. You can do the same with many many other songs if you want. It’s up to you. I daresay they will teach you a good deal about how to play the pipes if you listen well.
[quote=“talasiga”]The message I am getting both crudely and nicely is that beginning the pipes for to just accompany singing with a drone and occasional melodic flourishes is like getting a Rolls Royce for to go shopping.
[quote]
I think you begin to understand that piping is not just playing an instrument, it’s an entire way of life, regardless of whether you’re playing Irish, Scottish, Bulgarian, French, Spanish, Hungarian, Turkish, Italian, Greek, Serbian, Croatian, Estonian, Swedish, Belgian, German, Polish, Slovakian, or any other sort of bagpipes that have ever existed. It’s like playing oboe or bassoon; you have to be committed to making the best music possible if you want to sound at all pleasant. You have to be reconciled to sounding bad for a number of years before you begin to sound good. How long that process takes is up to you.
Since you are from downunda and have some curiosity about piping, the uilleann pipes are not a bad choice. But you have to be reconciled to starting off at the very bottom rungs of the ITM pecking order if you want to improve. Deluding one’s self by saying "I don’t need all these “tradition” people is a fast trip to nowhere if you DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PLAY YOUR INSTRUMENT. The so-called “piper nazis” do know how to play their instruments, they do know how to get them in tune, and they can supply you with an infinite amount of tunes to teach you how to play your instrument well.
It’s like learning a martial art from an elder asian teacher…you accept your teacher and try to learn what they have to say before passing any sort of judgement on it. Ego is an impediment to progress.
Tweet tweet! Sorry I mean, excuse me Pat Canaryioh but, where, oh where did I say this here? Has anyone said this here? (That you don’t need the tradition) Perhaps you have imagined this like I have imagined you have a birdie surname.
Is it possible for a piper to make a point postively without narking?
Joseph E Smith did a pretty good job. Very persuasive too.
Did you notice the “white hanky” title of my previous post? Do you know what that means? It means the facet of the discussions about talasiga daydreaming himself Irish piping and singing is OVER and OUT. The daydream is surrendered. Get it?
The topic continues about good pipers who can sing well.
An intelligent New Year to you Patio.
Hi Talasiga
Don’t let them put you off playing the pipes and singing I have heard it done to uilleann, scottish small and border pipes and northumbrian pipes and enjoyed all of the performances.
From what you have beeen saying in you4r posts, however, maybe it would be better to get one of your local pipers as an accompanist and work with him/her on a song or two - my personal preference are songs set to a slow air - She Moves Through the Fair sounds lovely when sung to uilleann accompaniment.
Again whatever you do post it on clips and snips so we can hear the results.
David
David I have heard that song played with the pipes and I love it. My ex sings with harp and I still love her when she sings it. When I get the wherewithal to post audio clips it will be flute and whistles first cos thats what I have been playing for over 30 years other than percussion.
Thank you for your encouragement. I guess I will need to do some research and find some other drone/melodic pipes that are easier and less daunting for song accompaniment.
Everyone thinks if its music it must be for performance. Music is for the hearth too- both the lonely and the happy hearth. The highest applause rains from our eyes.
Check your PM
Hi again Talasiga
As a percussionist trying to get his head around playing a melody instrument (trying to duck all the bodhran haters out there) I can empathise with you on this.
You say you are a flute and whistle player of long standing, then this is likely to mean that if you do end up playing the pipes it will be the uilleann pipes. I have noticed, and doubtless the more experienced pipers on the forum will confirm this, that those people who are good whistle players find it easier to adapt to the pipes than other instrumentalists as the skills transfer between the two instruments is greater than any other - even the simple system flute.
Good luck and Happy New Year.
david