Why are Uilleann Pipes difficult?

[Nanohedron]

Fminor/FDorian - which implies a set of pipes in Eb.

Agh, so I was wrong. So I was. Damn. I know what I meant, anyway. Right, Eb. I gotta find me a Transpose-a-tron somewheres.

Oh, wait. I have an Eb flute. So....."duh" on me.

[MTGuru]

More precisely, it implies an Eb chanter with F drones. Equivalent to D chanter with E drones. Not very likely, IMO. Not with all those fun fun FX buttons and knobs and menus to play with.

[MTGuru]

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...

In that case, and given the prominence of hurdy-gurdy in the band, I'm now guessing: Redpipes tuned up for playing FDor in EDor or DDor fingering, played over looped hurdy-gurdy drone samples tuned or pitch-shifted to F. No uilleann pipes at all.

[Uilliam]

Which wis ma point...why wis this particular piece selected as a valid discussion fer us? Quite apart frae being a shiite bit o music (unless o course ye are into shiite pieces of music ,in which case ye will have enjoyed it immensely) there is the quite obvious continuation of WW2 going on in cyberspace with the attached comments to the page. Most of it is quite unpleasant reading which linked to the cacophony o sound going on makes fer a really depressing experience.Lighten up fer feck sake...
the piobs are about happy smiley thingys not doom laden neo or not so neo nazis doing there bit fer absolutely no one on this planet.Can we kill this feckin bit o nonesense the noo... the piobs are easy peasy tae play ...making music..that is the difficult part.

This is the kinda folks we are... this is Friday night at the North East Tional,this is the gang warming up at the opening gig,the mantra is " insert name"ie "padeeee"
bit like Friday night in Govan afor an Old Firm game...



Peace and lurve to ye all

[bogman]

I think most of the stuff you read on forums about pipes being difficult to play is from folk who either have underestimated the effort needed or who are making excuses or in denial about not putting the effort in. That might sound pretty harsh but it's pretty true with any instrument really. Pipes are hard if they are badly set up - that's for sure, and they're not like a guitar or box that you can pick up and get a decentish sound pretty quickly, but most instruments have their own challenges. Maybe people think of thinks as hard because the bar has been set so highly be their favourite players but it's worth remembering every one of your favourite players was a struggler at one time.

[rorybbellows]

One common problem and one I experienced for along time is the inability to relax your finger while at the same time, working your arms .


RORY

[Uilliam]

Funny ye should say that... coz in my fotie above of the pipers( just after their masterclass wiv Padeee and) afor the concert they are indeedy relaxing their fingers.Well spotted Rory ye are anorak o the week... I also notice in yoor signature fotie of the All Ireland Fleadh winner o the Piob Competition, that the crowd are also all exercising their hands and fingers some even clapping to get the circulation back..does that make me an anorak too....

[Nanohedron]

...why wis this particular piece selected as a valid discussion fer us? Quite apart frae being a shiite bit o music (unless o course ye are into shiite pieces of music ,in which case ye will have enjoyed it immensely) there is the quite obvious continuation of WW2 going on in cyberspace with the attached comments to the page. Most of it is quite unpleasant reading which linked to the cacophony o sound going on makes fer a really depressing experience.

Yes, I agree. To be honest, it's been a struggle for me to apply some basic consideration and keep my engagement of the general queries coolheaded, and separate from my gut reaction to the YouTube clip and particularly the discussion - if it may be called that - that accompanies it so distastefully. I've given our newbie the benefit of the doubt and allowed for the sake of argument that the choice would be just one more example of the unfortunate fruits of misled inexposure to the real thing. But sometimes one wonders. Suffice it to say that a better example would have elicited my truer sympathies.

[pancelticpiper]

I think that one of the things which makes the uilleann pipes more difficult than, say, the Highland pipes is the relative paucity of well-written tutorials and lack of consistent pedagogy.

I remember taking a Logic class at university and there was a thing about drawing circles: one circle contained one thing, the other circle another, and there was sometimes a point where the circles overlapped thus containing both.

This is what came to mind back in the mid-1970s when I began learning uilleann pipes, whistle, and flute on my own (there were no players about), because all the books I got my hands on either seemed to be written by trad musicians unfamiliar with musical notation, or by "classical" musicians unfamiliar with traditional performance practices. I saw rolls and cranns written a dozen different ways, all of them different from the way any traditional musician actually played them. There seemed to be two circles with no overlap, and I realised that books which explained and notated traditional Irish piping techniques as actually played did not exist.

Then I began attending tionoil and quickly found that many teachers lacked an awareness of how they themselves played, as they would consistently incorrectly describe their own actions, and/or they lacked a musical vocabulary to enable them to verbalise their techniques. On top of that, each teacher would play everything differently from every other teacher, having conflicting "rights" and "wrongs", leaving the beginner to wonder what it was all about.

Now don't misunderstand me: I'm not saying that the diversity, chaos, clannishness, secretiveness, and mysticism which marks uilleann piping is a bad thing, only that it makes the path of the beginner more difficult.

[rgouette]

why?
because while yer playing them, you have to answer folk that walk up &
ask "what is that?"
requiring masterful concentration & dexterity

[Brazenkane]

IMO: The pipes are about 100xs more difficult to play than the guitar, concertina, flute, or whistle ....No matter how well the pipes are going. The flute'd probably be one of the more difficult yokes, only because getting a good sound takes a verry long time to achieve, and that depending on how physically in-shape ones embouchure is.

[uillmann]

My apologies to all.

[KAD]

This is the kinda folks we are... this is Friday night at the North East Tional,this is the gang warming up at the opening gig,the mantra is " insert name"ie "padeeee"
bit like Friday night in Govan afor an Old Firm game...

Once again, Uilliam, your hidden cameras have cannily captured the Northeast Tionól at its very best (or worst). I'm the one in the fringe vest, by the way.

QWERT, UIlliam has a point -- though there are physical and maintenance challenges that come with this instrument, the really tough thing is to make music with it...especially in a headband and fringe vest.

[Uilliam]

Pax Vobiscum

[Johnered66]

one thing is certain, they require your time and attention...and depending on how much you devote toward practice, it will show in your playing...that 21 years statement, though general, came from some truths...stick with it and you will improve...and as motivation, like it was said up above...even our man Liam O started somewhere and was at one time a newbie with cramped fingers from the death grip...cheers