Is it good for someone who knows how to play the pipes & has played before/been playing other peoples’ sets for awhile, but doesn’t quite yet own a set and wants something to read in the meantime?
Bin it 
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
I’m assuming that means no good?
Depends what your looking for!If its a tutor then its rubbish.
Heather Clarke or the Armagh Pipers would be a better buy.If its a bedtime read about Davy Spillane then his tutor will fit the bill nicely.
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
What all does it talk about? Does he talk about reeds/sound? Does he talk about regs? Any special tips? Any technique?
He talks about himself…
Slán Agat
Uilliam
I double the motion that it’s a crap tutor, if you even want to call it a tutor. Save yourself the trouble and get the Clarke tutor, it’s awesome.
I do not own the Clarke tutor, but I have read through it and listened to the CD… you’d be doing yourself a favor to purchase it IMHO.
I have the masters touch by Seamus Ennis, and the Clarke book too… I really like both,
Davie’s tutor is, like has been mentioned before, of little use. Personally, I would forgo all printed music and learn dirictly from recordings (as Geoff Woof says: 50% of becoming a good piper is to listen to good pipers).
On a side note, Davie Spillane asked my mom on a date when she and my dad where on honeymoon in Dublin over 20 years ago, which I have never ceased to kid her about.
Jack Devereux
And what about Seán Og Potts’ madfortrad CD tutorial?
It looks good… 
ive just started and im using the clark book. its great. i also have a cassette to go with it. that helps enormously since i dont read music.
I has been stated many times before this, but it isn’t necessary to read music in order to play the Uilleann Pipes (or any instrument for that matter)… in fact, some are of the opinion that ‘listening’ is the best way to learn… and I agree for the most part.
I have been reading music almost all of my life, and I can’t imagine not using it for ‘reference’ purposes… to gain an understanding of the structure of a given tune. However, I try not to let it get in the way, it can also become a crutch.
The Mad4Trad is good for learning by ear. Some have criticized Potts’ version of some of the tunes. The only thing really missing is that there is no help for someone just starting out like holding the set correctly, working the bellows, etc. It just assumes you have learned all this and goes right into the music.
djm
i already play tin whistle and guitar. i learned them by ear. some of the piping tunes i hear i would like to play but they are played too fast by the experts so its hard to learn them. thats why i,d like to be able to read - most of the tunes are in o,neills music of ireland.
what about the ABC i see on some of the trad music websites (e.g. thesession.org)
If you can already read a little music; can play already from what you have said and also gain from listening too, why not the NPU tutor video tapes. They also come with written dots.
One advantage is the tempo of tunes demonstrated. Aisey & slow when techniques are being shown. More up tempo when full tunes are played.
My only real critisism is the format. I would have much prefered DVD.
As stated by other contributors here; Heather Clarke & the Master’s Touch are good and also an excellent read.
Joseph (the UK one)
What notations or scales worked for you established pipers early on? Have you designed a warm-up to get you going that works on bellows and finger dexterity?
I am interested in your feedback on this one. I need something simple to build up the confidence to tackle the tunes–something quick and easy to build up speed or something. (I am excited as I get my full set back this week!)
Also, the Tascam trainer series works great with CD music as you can slow it down but maintain pitch.
Thanks!
Matthew
So what hasn’t this Spillane tutor got that the others mentioned have, and what then is the aim of the Spillane tutor?
Cheers,
DavidG
I know I’m going to be unpopular for saying this but I found the Spillane tutor to be of some use. The cassette which accompanied the tutor contains a few tunes which all pipers should know. They are played at a reasonable speed and make learning easy.
However, the tutor itself is very unhelpful at such things as getting the second octave (squeeze harder being the only advice, if I recall correctly) and it is completely devoid of any information on ornamentation. That said, my copy of the Armagh Pipers Club tutor is equally deficient. I don’t know if the APC has updated it’s tutor. If not it should do so.
The Master’s Touch by Seamus Ennis and the New Approach by Heather Clarke are both excellent, not just for the beginner but for intermediates also. I still refer to both of them regularly. The other great work is the Dance Music of Willie Clancy. Best explanation and illustration of ornamentation for UPs.
The Armagh tutor is not much good for learning from on your own. It suffers the same lack of instruction for complete beginners that other tutors suffer from. Its only value to me personally is the transcriptions of some tunes.
The lack of information on how to perform the transcriptions was highlighted to me recently when someone here on C&F noted that Paddy Keenan plays his lightning-fast double-triplets using the Cnat key. Even the guy on the APC demo CD that comes with the tutor, Tiárnán Ó Duinnchin, flubs these, so apparently he wasn’t aware of this technique either. It is exactly this kind of instruction on technique that is missing in so many of the tutors.
djm