Uilleann pipes
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The "Uilleann pipes" are a unique form of bagpipes originating in Ireland. Unlike the Scottish Bagpipes (also referred to as the "GHB" or "great Highland Bagpipes") which are generally mouth-blown (with the exception of modifications of the latter such as the Northumbrian Smallpipes or the Lowland Pipes—also known as Border Pipes), the Uilleann Pipes are not mouth blown, rather the bag is inflated by means of a small set of bellows strapped around the waist and operated by the right arm; the belows not only relieve the player from the effort needed to blow into a bag to maintain pressure, they also mean that relatively dry air is used to power the reeds, reducing the adverse affects of moisture on tuning and longevity. Another difference is that Uilleann pipes are usually played indoors and are always played sitting down.
The uilleann pipes are distinguished from other forms of bagpipes by their sweet tone and wide range of notes, together with the unique blend of chanter, drones and "regulators" (typically three extra chanter-like pipes, fitted to the mainstock and equiped with keys) which allow for the playing of simple chords and a rhythmic accompaniment.
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Tuning
The instrument most typically is tuned in the key of D, although "flat" sets do exist in other keys, such as C. The chanter length is what determines the overall tuning; accompanying pieces of the instrument, such as drones and regulators, are tuned to the same key as the chanter. Chanters of around 362mm (14 1/4") length produce a bottom note on or near D above middle C on the piano (where A=440 hz, i.e. modern "concert pitch"). The modern concert pitch pipes are a relatively recent invention, pioneered by the Taylor brothers, originally of Drogheda, Ireland and later of Philadelphia, USA, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Concert pitch pipes typically have wider bores and tone holes than the earlier "flat" pitch sets and as a consequence are a good deal louder, though by no means as loud as the Highland Pipes of Scotland. They were developed by the Taylors to meet the requirements of playing in larger auditoriums etc in the United States; today they are the most common type of uilleann pipes encountered, though many players still prefer the mellower sound of the earlier style narrow bore pipes, which exist in pitches ranging from D, through C#, C, and B down to Bflat.
A set of uilleann pipes is sensitive to bag pressure, temperature and humidity changes, and player skill, all of which can effect tuning; even the most accomplished players find it difficult to play in tune all of the time. Uilleann pipes can nevertheless blend well with other instruments, most notably the fiddle and bodhrán, an Irish drum. In the hands of a master they can even play in concerto form with a full symphony orchestra. Like pipe organs, uilleann pipes are not normally tuned to even temperament, but rather to true intonation, so that the chanter and regulators can blend sweetly with the three drones.
Instrument Variations
Starting out - The "Practice Set"
Uillean pipes are hard to learn, and beginners are typically prompted to start out with a "Practice Set".PIC00046.JPG
In order to play the pipes effectively, the student must master the art of pumping the bellows, keeping a constant pressure on the bag and playing the chanter simultaneously. Therefore, the beginning student will normally play on this practice set for about a year before advancing to a "half set". Despite their names, "practice sets", sometimes called a "goose", are also used by some professional pipers in order to play just the chanter with other musicians, either live or in recording sessions.
The next level - The "Half Set"
A "Half Set" is the next stage up from a practice set. As with other forms of bagpipes, Uillean pipes use "drones", which are usually two or more pipes accompanying the melody of the chanter with a constant background note. The pipes are generally equipped with three drones: a) the tenor drone—the highest sounding pipe, b) the baritone drone and c) the bass drone—the lowest sounding pipe, one octave below the bottom note of the chanter. These drones are connected to the pipe bag by a "common stock". This is a hollow, intricately made wooden cylinder tied into the bag (as any other stock) by a thick yarn or hemp thread. The drones connect to the common stock, as do the "regulators" (see "Full Set" below). The common stock and drones are laid across the right thigh.Drones3.jpg
The drones can be switched off. This is made possible by a key connected to the common stock. The piper is able to switch on and off various drones individually (applying slightly more pressure to the bag and tapping the end of a drone) or all of them at the same time using this key. This makes the instrument more versatile and usable not only as a half set but also as a practice set applying the use of the drone switch. The drones, unlike the chanter and the regulators, use a single-bladed reed (the actual part creating sound—mainly scraped from cane).
Another step - The "Full Set"
A "Full Set" is, as the name mentions, a complete set of Uilleann pipes. This would be a half set with the addition of three "regulators". These are three closed chanters also protruding from the common stock. A regulator uses keys (five on the tenor and 4 on both baritone and bass reg) to accompany the melody of the chanter with (limited) chords or single notes for emphasis on phrases or specific notes. The regulators (regs) are added to the common stock: the tenor and baritone regs on top of the drones and the bass reg on the side of the stock (facing the knee of the piper). A student of the pipes will not upgrade to a full set for at least three years, due to the difficulty of playing a melody, pumping the bellows, keeping constant pressure on the bag and playing the regulators at the same time. The regulators obviously cannot be played with any finger of either hand so they are played with the palm of the right hand. Some pipe makers also add another E regulator or a "double bass" regulator. The regs use the same double-bladed reed as the chanter.
The Chanter
The Chanter is the main part of the Uilleann pipes. It is used to play the melody. The Uilleann pipe chanter differs from any other bagpipe chanter. It has nine note holes (example given of a D pitched chanter): Bottom D, Eb (E-flat), E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D' (also called "back D"). Many chanters are fitted with six or seven keys to allow accurate playing of all the semitones of the scale. The chanter is set on the right knee and so closes off the bottom hole (usually with a strip of leather placed over the knee, called a "popping strap", which provides for an airtight seal, or sometimes by way of a simple gravity operated flap valve). To achieve the "bottom D" the chanter is lifted off the knee. For all other notes (except for off-the-knee passages, special effects, or to vary the volume and tone) the chanter stays on the knee. For a full chromatic scale either crossfingering or additional keys can be used. One characteristic of the chanter is that it can produce staccato notes, because the piper seals it off at the bottom; another is the great range of different timbres that can be achieved, by varying the fingering of notes and also raising the chanter off the knee, which gives the uilleann pipes a degree of dynamic range not found in other forms of bagpipes. Also a type of vibrato can be achieved by tapping a finger below the open note hole on the chanter. The bottom note also has two different "modes", namely: "soft D" and the "hard D". The hard bottom D sounds louder and more strident than the bottom D and is accomplished by applying slightly more presure to the bag and flicking a higher note finger as it is sounded. The hard D is used more frequently. The chanter uses a complex double-bladed reed, similar to that of the bassoon. Unlike the bassoon, or indeed most reed instruments, the uilleann pipe reed must be crafted so that it can play two full octaves accurately, without the fine tuning allowed by the use of a players lips; only bag pressure and fingering patterns can be used to maintain the correct pitch of each note. It is for this reason that making uilleann pipe chanter reeds is such a demanding task. The Uilleann pipes reeds are also often called "the piper's despair" for the immense difficulty of maintaining, tuning and especially making the double reed of the regulators and, most importantly, the chanter.
The Name?
Originally called the "union pipes" when they appeared at the beginning of the 18th century, perhaps to denote the union of the chanter drones and regulators, the name gradually fell from use. The term "Uilleann" came into use in the nineteenth century, the correct pronunciation being "illen". The use of 'Uilleann" was perhaps a rebellion against the term "Union" with its connotations of the Act of Union 1800. Henry Grattan Flood, an Irish music scholar, believed the name "uilleann" came from the ablative declension of the Irish word for "elbow" : uillin (i.e. 'of or by the elbow').
He cited to this effect Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice published in 1600 (Act IV, sc. I, l. 55) where the expression "woollen pipes" appears.
It was however shown by Breandán Breathnach that it would be difficult to explain the anglicisation of the word 'uillin' into 'woollen' before the XVIth century (when the instrument did not exist as such) and then its adaptation as 'union' two centuries later. See "Folk Music and Dances of Ireland", Cork, The Mercier Press, 1971, p. 77. Much more likely is the fact that many bagpipe bags of that earlier type were made from goatskins which still had the fur attached.
External Links
The Irish piping organization Na Píobairí Uilleann ("the uilleann pipers") is the home of the uilleann pipes in Ireland. Their website contains a great deal of information, photographs, sound clips etc on all things concerning the uilleann pipes and can be found at the following URL:
http://www.pipers.ie/en/default.lasso
Another good place for information on the uilleann pipes is the Uilleann Pipe Obsession site; lots of information, photos and more:
http://www.uilleannobsession.com/faq.html
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