Uilleann pipes
Woodwind instrument | |
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Classification |
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Hornbostel–Sachs classification | Mixed: 422.122.2 & 422.221.1 (Set of reedpipe aerophone) |
Developed | Mid 18th century to early 19th century across Ireland[1][2] |
Playing range | |
2 octaves | |
Related instruments | |
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Musicians | |
Uilleann piping | |
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Country | Ireland |
Reference | 01264 |
Region | Europe and North America |
Inscription history | |
Inscription | 2017 (12th session) |
List | Representative |
The uilleann pipes (
The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a small set of
The air goes from the bag to the chanter, drones, and regulators. The
The tone of the uilleann pipes is unlike that of many other forms of bagpipes. They have a different harmonic structure, sounding sweeter and quieter than many other bagpipes, such as the Great Irish warpipes, Great Highland bagpipes or the Italian zampognas. The uilleann pipes are often played indoors, and are almost always played sitting down.
Etymology
Uilleann is a
However, the first attested written form is "Union pipes", at the end of the 18th century, perhaps to denote the union of the chanter, drones, and regulators. Another theory is that it was played throughout a prototypical full union of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.[
The term "uilleann pipes" is first attested at the beginning of the 20th century.
History
The first bagpipes to be well attested for Ireland were similar, if not identical, to the Scottish Highland bagpipes that are now played in Scotland. These are known as the "
While the mouth-blown warpipe was alive and well upon the battlefields of France and other parts of Europe, it had almost disappeared in Ireland. The union or uilleann pipe emerged during the early 18th century around the same time as the development of the bellows-driven
The earliest surviving sets of uilleann pipes date from the second half of the 18th century, but it must be said that datings are not definitive. Only recently has scientific attention begun to be paid to the instrument, and problems relating to various stages of its development have yet to be resolved. The Uilleann pipes or union pipes might have originated from the Pastoral pipes (Border pipes, Northumbrian pipes, Scottish smallpipes) and gained popularity in Ireland within the Protestant Anglo-Irish community and its gentlemen pipers, who could afford such expensive hand-made instruments. The Irish uilleann pipes are far more elaborate in their design, and their development is likely to have occurred among the well-to-do. Certainly many of the early players in Ireland were Protestant, possibly the best known being the mid-18th-century piper Jackson from Co Limerick and the 18th-century
Tuning
The instrument is most usually (nowadays) tuned in the key of D, a tradition begun by the Taylor brothers (originally of
The D pipes are most commonly used in ensembles, while the flat-pitched pipes are more often used for solo playing – often a
Instrument variations
A full set of uilleann pipes includes a chanter, drones, and regulators. A half-set lacks the regulators, and a practice set lacks both regulators and drones. All three are used in professional performance.
Practice set
Because of the instrument's complexity, beginning uilleann pipers often start out with partial sets known as practice sets.
A practice set consists of only the basic elements of pipe bag, bellows and chanter, with no drones or regulators. The chanter is available in keys ranging from the "concert pitch" D chanter in half-note steps downward to a B♭ chanter, the latter being regularly referred to as a "flat set" (as are any sets below the key of D).
To play the uilleann pipes effectively, students must learn to pump the bellows steadily while controlling the pressure on the bag and playing the chanter simultaneously. So beginners often play on practice sets until they become comfortable with those basic mechanics. Despite their name, however, practice sets are used not only by beginning players but also by some advanced players when they wish to play just the chanter with other musicians, either live or in recording sessions. In these instances, the practice sets can be tuned to equal temperament if needed.
Half set
A half set is the next stage up from a practice set. As with other forms of bagpipes, uilleann pipes use "
The drones can be switched off. This is made possible by a key connected to the stock. The original design of the stock was a hollow cylinder, with two metal tubes running through it to both hold the regulators and independently supply air to them. Thus the regulators could be played with the drones silenced. In the late 19th century it became more common to build the stock from a solid piece of wood, with five holes bored through it end-to-end. This was less susceptible to damage than the earlier design. The piper is also able to switch on and off various drones individually (applying slightly more pressure to the bag and tapping the end of a drone), which is generally used to aid in tuning (a technique used in almost all bagpipes that have drones) 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 to allow playing the chanter by itself. The drones use a single-bladed
Full set
A full set, as the name implies, is a complete set of uilleann pipes. This would be a half set with the addition of three regulators. These are three closed pipes, similar to the chanter, held in the stock. Like the drones, they are usually given the terms tenor, baritone, and bass, from smallest to largest. A regulator uses keys (five on the tenor and four on both baritone and bass) to accompany the melody of the chanter; these keys are arranged in rows to give limited two-note "chords" or, alternatively, single notes for emphasis on phrases or specific notes. The notes of the regulators, from highest to lowest (given a nominal pitch of D) are as follows: tenor: C, B, A, G, F♯; baritone: A, G, F♯, D; bass: C, B, A, G. The tenor and baritone regulators fit into the front face of the stock, on top of the drones; the bass regulator is attached to the side of the stock (furthest from the piper), and is of complex construction.
Another method of using the regulators is to play what are referred to as "hand chords": when the melody (usually in a slower piece of music such as an air) is being played on the chanter exclusively with the left hand, the right hand will be free to create more complex chords, using all three regulators at once if so desired. Many airs end a section on a G or A in the first octave, at which point a piper will often play one of these hand chords for dramatic effect.
Chanter
The chanter is the part of the uilleann pipes that is used to play the melody. It has eight finger holes (example given of a D pitched chanter): bottom D, E♭, E, F♯, G, A, B, C, C♯, high D (also called "back D"). To achieve the bottom D (D4) the chanter is lifted off the knee, exposing the exit of the chanter's bore, where the note is produced. The chanter is set on the right knee thus closing off the bottom hole. Many players use a strip of leather placed over the knee, called a "popping strap", which provides for an airtight seal. More rarely, a simple gravity- or spring-operated flap valve attached to the bottom of the chanter achieves the same end. Generally, for all other notes (except for special effects, or to vary the volume and tone) the chanter stays on the knee.
One characteristic of the chanter is that it can produce staccato notes, because the piper seals it off at the bottom; with all of the finger holes closed, the chanter is silenced. This is also necessary for obtaining the second octave; the chanter must be closed and the bag pressure increased, and then fingered notes will sound in the second octave. A great range of different timbres 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. Pipers who use staccato fingering often are termed "closed-style" pipers. Those who use legato fingering more predominately are referred to as "open-style" pipers. Open piping has historical associations with musicians (often
A type of simultaneous vibrato and tremolo can be achieved by tapping a finger below the open note hole on the chanter. The bottom note also has two different "modes", namely the "soft D" and the "hard D". The hard bottom D sounds louder and more strident than the soft D and is accomplished by applying slightly more pressure to the bag and flicking a higher note finger as it is sounded. Pipemakers tune the chanter so the hard D is the in-tune note, the soft D usually being slightly flat.
Many chanters are fitted with keys to allow accurate playing of all the semitones of the scale. Four keys will give all the semitones: F♮, G♯, B♭, C♮. Older chanters usually had another key for producing D6 (D in the third octave), and often another small key for E6, and another for D♯5 (as opposed to the E♭ fingerhole, which could be slightly off-pitch). Most uilleann chanters are very responsive to "half-holing" or "sliding", which is the practice of obtaining a note by leaving a fingerhole only half-covered. This is why many chanters sold in Ireland are sold without keys. With this technique and some practice, many pipers can accurately play the semitones which would otherwise require a chromatic key to be installed. The exception to this is the C6 (C♮ in the second octave), which cannot be cross-fingered or half-holed, and requires the key. This is the most commonly fitted key.
The chanter uses a double reed, similar to that of the oboe or bassoon. Unlike 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 player's 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 a demanding task. Uilleann pipe 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.
Notable players
- Willie Clancy (1918 – 1973)
- Troy Donockley (born 1964) of Nightwish.[10]
- Johnny Doran (c.1908 – 1950)
- Séamus Ennis (1919 – 1982)
- Finbar Furey (born 1946)
- Paddy Keenan (born 1950)
- Declan Masterson
- Michael McGoldrick (born 1971)
- Paddy Moloney (1938 – 2021) of The Chieftains.[11]
- Liam O'Flynn (1945 – 2018) of Planxty
- Leo Rowsome (1903 – 1970)
- Davy Spillane (born 1959)
See also
- Types of bagpipes
- List of All Ireland Uilleann pipe champions
- List of bagpipers
- Glossary of bagpipe terms
References
Notes
- ^ a b Hugh Cheape (2007). "The Union Pipe of Scotland and Ireland: A Shared Tradition". Lecture at the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-905267-16-3
- ^ A History of European Folk Music, 1997, by Jan Ling, p. 146 University of Rochester Press (states the uilleann pipe name was invented by Flood)
- ^ ISBN 978-1900428651.
- ^ a b "Uilleann Pipes FAQ". www.hobgoblin-usa.com. Hobgoblin Music. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ "Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill): uillinn". www.teanglann.ie. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ Brian E. McCandless. "The Pastoral Bagpipe" Iris na bPiobairi (The pipers review); 17 (Spring 1998), 2: pp. 19–28.
- ^ G. Woolf 'Chanter Design and Construction Methods of the Early Makers', Sean Reid Society Journal; vol. 2 no 4 (2002).
- ISBN 978-1-85918-148-5.
- ^ "Troy Donockley - uilleann pipes, tin whistle, low whistle, guitars, bouzouki, bodhrán, vocals :||: NIGHTWISH OFFICIAL WEBSITE".
- ^ Sandomir, Richard (12 October 2021). "Paddy Moloney, Irish Piper Who Led the Chieftains, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
Bibliography
- Brian E. McCandless. "The Pastoral Bagpipe" Iris na bPiobairi (The pipers review); 17 (Spring 1998), 2: p. 19–28.
- O'Farrell's Treatise on the Irish Bagpipes (The Union Pipes) 1801