If you had to choose just three books for a beginner UPer, which three would they be? I have searched across Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but I want to expert opinions of you fine folks, instead.
If you’re referring to piping tutors, as opposed to collections of music, I would suggest that you pick one and stick with it, rather than picking 3 and trying to work with them all at the same time. IMHO the best for beginners is Heather Clarke’s New Approach to Uilleann Piping. It comes with a CD for those who are not good at reading music.
I guess I am looking for both. A book that I can learn from when I want to step out to the back porch…and one or two songs books with a goodly selection of music. My budget is not unlimited, but I have found that if I can find at least 2 books to help me (as I did with bass guitar and harmonica, and now whistle) that gets me going in the right direction and then I can fill in the blanks after that with the internet.
I like to prepare ahead of time. I already own 3 violin books, and I don’t even have a violin, yet.
Assuming that you can read music, and if you’re on a budget, I’d suggest the following collections:
The Leo Rowsome Collection of Irish Music - this is ALL jigs and reels (no hornpipes or slow airs).
The Dance Music of Willie Clancy is out of print. It comes up from time to time on eBay.
There’s also The Dance Music of Seamus Ennis but that’s a little expensive (not to mention heavy).
You’ll also be wanting a reed making guide. You need to learn to make your own reeds, or, if not, at least understand what goes into making them so that you can adjust them without ruining them. There are a few around for free download if I’m not mistaken. This discussion has some links to manuals I think -
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/reedmaking-where-to-start/53669/1
“The Piper’s Despair” by David Quinn (reeds)
“The Union Pipes - A Workbook” by Denis Brooks (piping)
“Irish Minstrels and Musicians” by Francis O’Niell (culture)
Learn the music by ear.
Heh…uh…no.
I can see some value in a book on Care and Feeding of Uilleann Pipes. Sending them back to the maker and waiting long periods of time could get annoying if I break something that I could possibly fix.
One beginner book like the New Approach to Uilleann Piping.
And then one big book of songs collected.
I highly recommend Edwin Spring (of the south west association of uillieann pipers SWAUP)'s 2 volumes of the camden breeze
I understand that a new pubication of them is imminent
They cover a lot of standard tunes and have enough ornamentation to challenge the beginner/intermediate player without being too esotoric
The “New Approach” is simplistic in the extreme. The “Workbook” is comprehensive, and also provides maintenance essentials.
O’Niell published a reasonable collection of tunes, but I don’t recall there being many songs.
I don’t think that this is a fair comment.
The New Approach begins by concentrating on basic skills and exercises to get the rank beginner started on the right track - particularly if they don’t have access to a more experienced piper to show them the way. Too many beginners try to launch straight into playing tunes instead of perfecting the basic skills - bag pressure, closing the chanter, etc.
Basic skills and exercises should be covered in the first paragraph. If they want “one” book, it should be encyclopedic.
Basic skills and exercises should be covered in the first paragraph
Yes, of course…because musical instruments in general (and Uilleann pipes in particular) are so simple and easy that it only takes a paragraph… 
I think the Clarke book (“New Approach…”) is the best tutor in print. It’s fairly condensed already - do spend plenty of time (a week or longer) on each lesson. Some lessons will require you to advance quite a bit, so adults would normally take well over a year to get through the book IMO, if they are doing it right.
(Note the links below - some materials are available online)
Do check out Patsy Touhy’s “Advice to Amateur Pipers” - still very fitting.
O’Neill’s Irish Minstrels and Musicians is IMO a must-read for anyone serious about the instrument. Most of the “middle chapters” of the book deal with pipers, pipemakers, and piping.
As far as reeds are concerned, agreed that it’s good to start thinking of reedmaking once you are starting to make progress on the instrument. I’d suggest the NPU DVD (“Heart of the Instrument”) for most people; DMQuinn’s “Piper’s Despair” is well worth having but is perhaps not the easiest introduction. Dave Hegarty’s “Reedmakers’ Guidance Manual” is also useful.
Denis’ “Workbook” is a great resource but quite a big volume and may be overwhelming for some. One thing we’re lacking these days is a concise maintenance and tuning guide to the instrument - I believe Denis’ book does have pleny of good information in this regard but you may have to dig for it (I confess, I don’t have a copy at the moment!).
Of tunebooks my favorite is Brendan Breathnach’s Ceol Rince na hEireann Vol. I. It’s a fantastic tune selection and the majority are suitable for the pipes. One great thing about it is that the settings are neither over-ornate nor watered-down; lovely (and certainly ‘authentic’) versions of pretty much everything in the book.
Bill
No, of course…because uilleann piping is so complicated that it takes a whole book.
Not a tutor, but a great resource is The John Walsh Collection of Pipe Friendly Tunes. You can get it from the Seattle’s Pipers club at http://www.irishpipersclub.org/?page_id=67. While you’re there you should subscribe to The Pipers’ Review, one of the few journals dedicated to the Uilleann pipes and a great read. Plus, if you subscribe/join the club you get access to all of the past journals in PDF format. The same goes for the NPU. There are some really great articles in these journals along with tunes etc.
Speaking of the NPU. If you join the NPU (and you should join the NPU), you get access to their new video tutorials which are really quite nice. They don’t go through the basics, but for tionól-style tune learning they are a great resource. You could even learn the tunes on the whistle while waiting for the pipes. I’d recommend getting one of the many download plugins for Firefox and download the videos as they move through the sections of the tunes quickly and it’s nice to loop a section until you get it.