Why are Uilleann Pipes difficult?

[QWERT]

Yeah, about that...QUERT's case is a bit before the fact, isn't it.

I don't understand. What do you mean?

[QWERT]

BTW, are the drones tuneable?

Most of the recordings I've heard had the drones tuned to D, but some other tunes were in F, like this tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg2iNg0nto8

If they are, how do you tune them?

[Nanohedron]

Yeah, about that...QUERT's case is a bit before the fact, isn't it.

I don't understand. What do you mean?

Oh, sorry. It was a way of saying (in response to irishpiper's envy) that your wife may have bought them for you, but I'm guessing she hasn't lived with you playing them yet. Just a lame joke from someone who's struggled with the pipes myself.

[Nanohedron]

BTW, are the drones tuneable?

Yes, but pretty much only within the general confines of their intended pitch. You know, fine-tuning a bit sharper or flatter as needed to be spot-on with the chanter.

Most of the recordings I've heard had the drones tuned to D, but some other tunes were in F, like this tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg2iNg0nto8

If it were in F major, you would most likely be hearing a C set. However, the music you linked to is in a minor F key, so that would likely mean a Bb set, but the drones would be in Bb (what I hear in F doesn't sound like pipe drones at all, but that doesn't mean much as you can always shut off your drones and let something else carry the weight instead); or an E set, but I've never heard of one if it exists. And its drones would properly be in E, then. Eb sets are not unknown, but they're not at all common. To tell the truth, I think that the instrument in the recording is not a real bellows-bag-and-wood set of uilleann pipes, but an electronic analog of some sort. It just doesn't sound right enough to be the real thing.

[QWERT]

To tell the truth, I think that the instrument in the recording is not a real bellows-bag-and-wood set of uilleann pipes, but an electronic analog of some sort. It just doesn't sound right enough to be the real thing.

They sound too good to be an electronic analog :O
But the melody can be played on a normal D set, right?

[Nanohedron]

To tell the truth, I think that the instrument in the recording is not a real bellows-bag-and-wood set of uilleann pipes, but an electronic analog of some sort. It just doesn't sound right enough to be the real thing.

They sound too good to be an electronic analog :O

Not at all. That's exactly the point: they're too perfect.

[Nanohedron]

But the melody can be played on a normal D set, right?

If the chanter's unkeyed (ignoring the ubiquitous C key), you could play it in a different key, but not Fm: Em or Am, maybe Bm. Gm works if you have the Fnat and Bb keys necessary for it.

If you have a fully-keyed D chanter, in theory you could play in Fm, but the instrument isn't really set up for playing with due ease that way. It would be, as they say, a bear. I wouldn't even bother, myself.

[QWERT]

Not at all. That's exactly the point: they're too perfect.

I heard there are some electronic bagpipes called Redpipes, and if I remember well, I once read in the band's website that the guy playing Uilleann Pipes used Redpipes...

[Nanohedron]

Not at all. That's exactly the point: they're too perfect.

I heard there are some electronic bagpipes called Redpipes, and if I remember well, I once read in the band's website that the guy playing Uilleann Pipes used Redpipes...

There is also a product by the name of vPipes. Impressive enough for what it is, and almost surprisingly "lifelike" until you make it play in lower chanter/drone pitches like A or G, or higher than E. I have a friend who had a set of vPipes, but he got rid of them as he decided that, in his opinion, vPipes and uilleann pipes are actually completely different instruments, and he needed to devote himself to one, or the other, if he was going to be any good at either. He decided to stick with the original real deal.

[Uilliam]

Felicitous greetings to ye Q,as the unofficial welcomer to the board following my unfortunate run in with el moderatorio I start by being nice to ye and giving ye the benefit o the doubt...who said they are difficult to play ? hmmm methinks it is people who canny play them. Pipes have their wee foibles but nothing that isnae doable.It ain't rocket science...ye lift a finger after blowing air through a reed and ye get a note.Simple.Whit ye do after that is entirely up to yersel...The element of the mystic meg comes into play wi a lot o folks in this scene,ye know whit I mean..ye see them all the time at sessions...that knowing little look or smile which says" big ego ain't I clever"..Noo then...a little suspicion comes into ma wee brain when I see a 1st post like this...yoor wife must either love ye to bits ,which is nice or she doesnae exist,not so nice.Who in their right mind would go oot and splash a small fortune on a set o pipes without having a wee consultation about it.(unless she loves ye).which leads me onto the question who made yoor pipes? if it is a set frae Geofrey and co. then ye will find it difficult tae play cos they don't work.
That aside I thought I would go to the link ye gave to have a wee listen...Eluveitie is the bands name and I have to say I thought it wis dreadful.But that is bye the bye.I think the drones ye are referring to in the piece is a Hurdy Gurdy Drone...more interesting by far are the comments underneath which run into pages...Seems to be a bit o a war going on there indeed.So why on earth on yoor 1st post do ye put something like this up?
This thread seems to be naievity in the extreme...instead of looking for the negatives ye should give yoor wife a big kiss and join NPU,get the beginners DVD roll up yoor sleeves and get on wi it.Yoor skill at the Swedish pipes may or may not help or hinder ye.Time will tell.
Or, suspicous wee sod that I am, maybe ye are a big bad troll....I hope I am wrang.Mr Gumby got it right in a sentence.
Good nicht to ye ma Swedish munchkin.

[MTGuru]

Uilliam, I thought your name had to be invoked 3 times - "Uilliam ... Uilliam ... Uilliam!" - before you appear, in a puff of smoke and all.

[Uilliam]

Ye have tae say it backwards..mailliu..thrice over at full moon in the forest o gloom whilst playing the secret tune on the piob uilleann...then depending whit mood I am in I will appear in a puff o smoke ( being a firefighter an all) ...or not .

[QWERT]

Good nicht to ye ma Swedish munchkin.

Thanks for your advice, sir. I really appreciate it. Just one thing, I'm not Swedish, I'm Spanish (and I'm currently living in Germany). I just play Swedish bagpipes because I love their mellow, sad tone

[Uilliam]

It wasnae really much in the way of advice,more of a sounding aff exercise.Anyways the welcome is real enough and I am glad yoor not a big bad troll...anyways Good nicht ma we Spanish Munchkin whit liveth in Germany and if ye want tae buy a historic sketch signed etc and support the lepers in Sri Lanka then it will only cost ye £5 +pp.The same goes fer the rest o ye oot there in cyberspace.This is ma monthly reminder appeal beg hawk etc.PM me if'n ye want more details.

[MTGuru]

I agree with both Nano and Uilliam. The drones do sound like hurdy-gurdy. But also electronic. With a parasitic track like this, who knows what's on it? The "tune" is in Fminor/FDorian - which implies a set of pipes in Eb. Doubtful. So if it's uilleann pipes, it's pitch-shifted up and mangled. Or it's not uilleann pipes at all, maybe vPipes, and/or the drones are shifted hurdy-gurdy and/or synth or looped samples (my first guess), or trained singing water buffalo, or what-ever.