I was listening to Drones + Chanter vol. II on the way to work this morning, and it hit me. I believe it was Joseph McLaughlin playing The Lark in the Morning. Towards the end of the tune, the last part, it seemed to me like he was hitting a low A on his bass(?) regulator, in place of the same note played on the chanter.
Since I had never actively listened for this before and had never had anyone show me this technique, it was a revelation for me. Even if he wasn’t doing this on that particular tune and was doing something different, still the idea is there in my head now. I’ve heard about and can understand using the regs. for harmony, counter melody, playing chordal accompaniment, playing single note accompaniment, etc. But, I had just never thought about playing a single reg. note in lieu of the same note on the chanter. Mind you, if I’m ever able to play the pipes well enough to do this, I would use this technique sparingly. But, for effect, it gives you yet another tonal variation of the same note.
Anyone wish to comment, based on personal experience?
If we’re talking about the same thing, I think Joe was using the hard bell note on that B chanter instead of the A on the bass reg, doing something like this:
Ddd edd l e2d fdd l Ddd etc instead of the more usual Add edd etc.
You can play melody notes on one or more regulator, but it’s not done very often, usually in a party piece of some kind.
Leo Rowsome played certain tunes that had a waltzy feel and play the 1 on the chanter and vamp the 2 3 on the regs. See King of the Pipers, there’s a track on it with The Old Man Rocking the Cradle and something called the Kerry Jig, though the overall feel is more like a waltz. It’s on this tune that the reg vamp becomes part of the melody. It’s very charming and kind of funny, but I wouldn’t try it in a Chicago session!
Seamus Ennis would tap the bass reg G key with the end of his chanter just to show off while playing “The Bunch of Keys”. Again, a party piece, at least the way he played it.
And I’ve seen/heard a couple of pipers do nice things with their regs while playing melodically simple tunes that give them an opportunity to take their bottom hand off the chanter and play some of the melody on the regulators.
Joe McKenna does thos on one of his CD’s…quite interestingly…an entire phrase is played using reg keys. It is a bit of interest and appropriate showmanship all in one.
I do believe you’re right. I listened to the jig again last night, and he is simply playing the hard D (B in his case) instead of the A. It’s amazing how knowing “what” I’m listening to helps me learn to listen. In those three tracks of Joe McLaughlin, there are numerous times where he slips in a bottom D in place of another note, just to give the melody some variety and interest.
I still think that the regulator single notes can be used for a little flare or for a party tune (not that I’m at the point of doing this, mind you!). I’ll keep it in the back of my mind. At this point, I’m just “thinking” about playing instead of really playing, as my set of K+Q pipes are about a week away from delivery. I’m going through withdrawal, without a set to play right now.
Some pipers use the D on the middle reg to swell the drones up a bit. Michael Gallagher, a piper who recorded two 78’s in the 20’s, would double a very stacatto hard D with the middle reg D, a very effective technique, as well as droning the note.
I was listening to some of the sound samples on Brendan Ring’s web page, and I noticed he uses single reg notes while playing slow airs. Very effective at times. Requires a good musical knowledge of building chords between the chanter, regs and drones.
with the suite for pipes and harp i’ve been working on, i have one piece i wanted to just have fun with. there’s no harp accompaniment for it, and it’s all regs. mostly single note melody line, but enough chords to keep it interesting.
that’s when i got to thinking it would be great to have a three line tab for regs much akin to the six line tab for guitar, with a number representing which key to depress on that reg.
but anyway, it’s my favorite part of the ten pieces.
Is anyone familliar with the soundtrack to The Secret of Roan Inish? Track 10 (played by Ronan Browne I believe) is the “Sea Maiden” or An Magdhean Mhara (sp?). Regs are used during the closing phrases to great effect. Sounds like a pipe organ chord to my ear almost. I believe he’s using more than one reg, though I don’t own or play regs and haven’t developed the ear for them yet.
Does anyone have a guess as to which note(s) are being played during those three bits?
Brian, the Roan Inish album just refers to the track as “Piper’s Lullaby”. Towards the end, he plays a two note chord D+G moving to a two note chord F#+A. At the very end of the tune he just plays a major triad: D+F#+A.
Piping duty on this album was shared by Ronan and Declan Masterson. No distinction is made between who played which, but the playing style tells me Ronan, especially the movement on the regs.
That tune is in D if I remember rightly and it resolves to D; I can’t be more certain without listening to the recording.
There are couple of places on the regs where you produce a D triad; read the Geoff Wooff article on regulators on Pat D’Arcy’s Uilleann Obsession page (uilleannobsession.com).
Ronan’s regulators playing is very advanced by any standard. He’s also a superb airs player. If you don’t have his solo album, The Wynd You Know, it’s worth the trouble to get it. I like his use of the regulators in dance music too, check out the duet albums he did with Peadar O’Loughlin, especially the second one, Touch Me If You Dare. Yeah most of it’s in B, quit whining! Listen to it anyway! It’s good for you…
I hope you’ll all pardon my reg. ignorance - I hope I’m understanding this correctly. For the three note ‘triad’ you would need all three regs correct? I L-O-V-E that recording and I think that track outshines almost everything else on the soundtrack.
I will certainly look for his other recordings. Have a guess on whos pipes he’s playing? From the few recordings I’ve heard using regulators, that one certainly sounds the most in tune - either the magic of the studio, an AMAZING set, or both. (to say nothing of the players immense skill of course!)
No, just one reg. A d major triad is D F# A. Your chanter has all three of these notes on it. Your drones produce D in three octaves. Play an A or an F# on the chanter, an A or an F# on the regs, and you’re there.
If memory serves, because I have heard him play this tune, I think Ronan is using the two inner regs, the tenor and middle, and sounding A and F# (third row of keys from the mainstock), playing back D on the chanter, with all three drones sounding D. It’s a great combination often exploited by pipers, it’s one of my favorite sounds, too.
RE: Ronan’s D pipes. He plays a chanter he made himself under the guidance of Peter Hunter, using Peter’s tools; the body of the D set is a Johnny Burke. Peter is retired from pipemaking. Johnny died in 1987. BUT don’t be discouraged. If you’re determined enough, you’ll find a way to get that sound.
Ronan is almost always in good tune, so I don’t think that much of what you’re hearing is studio magic, maybe a tiny bit of reverb…
Pat, you’re right. The final triad is a two-note reg chord plus the chanter. Sorry for not being clearer.
Ronan is always on the regs. I remember seeing him at a Chris Langan weekend, just at a time when many pundits were quoting Seamus Ennis about how too much reg playing was a no-no, and then up gets Ronan on stage and he was never off the regs for more than a couple of seconds, and his sound blew everyone away. I haven’t heard anyone bad-mouth reg playing since.
You will hear more bass reg playing from Leo Rowsome, of course, but also Liam O’Flynn. Liam is very sparing with the regs, but when he wants a big chord you can clearly hear the bass reg booming out.
Brian, next time you’re with someone who has a full set, ask very nicely if you can just sit beside them and hit the reg keys to get a better picture in your mind of what each reg sounds like, individually and together. That might help you hear the difference later when you’re listening to recordings.