| Uilleann
Pipes - How They Are Played An
interview with Chicago Musician and All Ireland Piping Champion
Brendan McKinney By Lou
Carlozo Chicago Tribune Staff Writer.
Air from the bellows travels through a tube (worn across the stomach)
into the air bag. In a fit of inspired tinkering, McKinney designed
an adapter from garden hose parts to keep the bellows and air bag
tubes locked. From the leather bag, air flows out through a main
stock pipe, where it gets distributed to the regulators and drones.
When they are played, the pipes are about as loud as a robustly
played fiddle.
Because of the distinctive, keyboardlike undercurrent of sound supplied
by the drones and regulators, uilleann pipes are also referred to
as the Irish organ, or union pipes (referring to the union of sounds
they produce).
Most uilleann pipers play by ear, and do not read music. It can
take several years or more just to learn the basics. There is
no standardized teaching method, and the hand and body motions
involved are difficult to coordinate. The fingering is similar
to a tin whistle. Prior to getting his pipes, McKinney says he
practiced fingering on his car’s steering wheel. |
