Ohhhh the Pipes, Iād heard them before without not actually knowing what I was hearing . You know, CDs and stuff. Then about 1990 or something I saw this long haired dude at the Georgia Renaissance Festival sit down in the dusty dirt and wail out a few amazing tunes on a right nice full set OāUilleann Pipes. When he got to a stopping point I asked him how long heād been playing. He said ā20 years or soā. It was Tim Britton.
A little while after that I decided to try and find and buy a set of Uilleann pipes. Someone told me to get a Jerry Oāsullivan CD and I actually wrote a letter to the CD lable asking him how to go about getting a set Oā pipes. He probably didnāt get the letter. (This was pre-internet) Then I got the name of Mark Hillmann of Washington DC. He and I talked about him making a full set for me. I was cash-poor at the time and probably not ready for the commitment that is required to become at least halfway decent at playing it.
Now I have a full set on order from Andreas Rogge that everyone here is sick of hearing about and I have been practising on my Polyacetyl Practice Set and various and asundry whistles in preparation for the āSetā.
For years I was fascinated by the sound of the pipes on Kate Bushās āHounds of Loveā and āThe Sensual Worldā as well as Andy M. Stewartās āAt it Againā. I thought it was very cool how the tone of each note sounded as if the player were just barely in control of the instrument and that at any moment the sound could deteriorate into chaos. Then I found Dervishās āAt the End of the Dayā on a listening station at HEAR Music, which got me exploring ITM. What finally did me in was meeting Cillian Vallely at a pub in Winter Park, Florida in 1998 and seeing the pipes played for the first time.
in 1997 i was up in the country building a custom fireplace mantle for a beautiful woman. she had a christy oāleary cd and it just got into my brain.
so i started whistling and searching for pipes and by fall of 1999 i had a half set. i was a semi classical guitarist until then, now i rarely play the guitar.
tansy
-At a concert at the old āArkā coffehouse venue on Ann Arborās Hill Street, circa 1976/77, basically pillows on the floor and some limited seating on the ground floor of a nice old large wood-frame house- a great small atmosphere for good music. Theyāve relocated to Main Street since, and I canāt recall the musicians, but one played the uilleans-putting many of us on the floor before them into stupefied fascination, bliss & awe-a jaw-dropping epiphany upon encountering sounds and articulations many hadnāt dreamed of. We would have been floored had we not already been there.
iām bitten long time ago, back in 85 when eugene lambe was still making pipes, i donāt know if he still makes pipes? i went over to blackhead to see him but i had very little whistling background at the time aswell as money.
then i didnāt play music for many years, i could only get one or two tunes out of a whistle. last christmas i bought a low D, and that got me going.
but only since last week i decided to learn uilleann pipes.
i practiced about two hours a day on the low D lately, and all of a sudden, i couldnāt play for three long days, my fingers were burning
i thought maybe i needed another instument and went looking for a concertina , but when i could play again after the three days, i had no desire anymore to curl up my fingers
i love the sound of the uilleann pipes and will order a practice set next week
i suppose by the dark side you mean the unknown? iām certainly have to find my way around with the u-pipes.
i first thought of a kirk lynch set,(edit) but now i changed my mind again, iād like an andreas rogge set. i love the wholesome sound of his pipes. i think they have something in common with the sound of michael burkeās whistles.
No, not so much the unknown as the all-consuming obsessive disorder known as uilleann piping. Prepare to meet your White Whale (Black Octopus? ), Captain. Say hello to hours of hard, lonely, work, practicing til the sweat drips in your eyes.
Once youāve reached a certain point there is no going back. Youāve invested too much time, energy, sweat, and money to quit. You may have lost friends because of it. You will (probably, unless youāre a complete prat) gain new friends through piping. You will meet mentor figures that influence your music and your life in ways profound and subtle.
All the kidding about āthe Dark Sideā is just that, kidding, a way to laugh off the seriousness of the undertaking youāre about to embark upon. Sometimes a little levity is necessary.
right captain cannady, i think iāll have the nerve for it. iām prepared for suffering and sacrifice what it takes.
already, itās too late to turn back. iāve the roaring flames of a driven man inside me.
I got hooked with the Uilleann pipes ever since I heard my fathers Liam OāFlynn album, " The Brendan Voyage". That album was magic. I couldnāt believe the diversity that the instrument had, and how well is sounded with other concert instruments. That album is the reason I play today as I am sure it is the reason for alot of uilleann pipers.
I first heard the pipes on a Chieftains LP about 1976 or 77. I was very intrigued but I didnāt entirely like Paddy Maloneyās stop/start style. My mother had a friend from Belfast and one day the two of them went shopping at an Irish ladies clothes shop in Toronto. Again, this was 76 or 77. My mother bought the first Bothy Band album at the shop and brought it home. After hearing the first few notes of āThe Morning Starā, I was HOOKED. Then, in the summer of 1977 I saw Joe McKenna play at a folk festival in Toronto. I was 17 years old and absolutely BLOWN AWAY. I was speechless and too self-conscious to go up and talk to Joe or his wife. I just made a mental note. This was something to be pursued.
Acquired a vast collection of uilleann piping records during the 70s and 80s. No idea how to actually acquire a set of pipes in Canada at that time. Interst began to slip, but then my girlfriend, now wife, bought me Robbie Hannanās CD in 1990. Renaissance in interest.
Fast forward to 1999. I moved to Dublin to do a masterās degree. Half way through the degree, I realized Iād better get my ass in gear and find a practice set because I knew Iād have let myself down if I didnāt realize the ambition Iād set for myself back in 1977 after hearing Joe McKenna. So, I placed a few calls to NPU, made a few enquiries, got a second hand practice set in May of 2000 and have been obsessively playing ever since.
Hi Folks,
for me it was hearing Liam OāFlynn playing āFroggyās Jigā at the end of the song by Andy Irvine, āTheyāll Never Believe itās Trueā, Liam OāFlynn playing "The Rocks of Bawn and listening to John McSherry on the album āAt First Lightā. Iāve been inspired by pipers such as Jimmy OāBrien Moran and Mick OāBrien, I had the pleasure of meeting and having a lesson from Mick OāBrien at a Tionol recently, a great piper and a great guy. However, the pivotal moment for me was when Boyd responded to a question I asked here, got in touch and gave me a few contacts, thanks Boyd, I owe you 2 or 3
Iād heard them before without not actually knowing what I was hearing 
. You know, CDs and stuff. Then about 1990 or something I saw this long haired dude at the Georgia Renaissance Festival sit down in the dusty dirt and wail out a few amazing tunes on a right nice full set OāUilleann Pipes. When he got to a stopping point I asked him how long heād been playing. He said ā20 years or soā. It was Tim Britton.
, but when i could play again after the three days, i had no desire anymore to curl up my fingers 
