I noticed that Song of the Sea make what they call an Uilleann Pipes Practice Chanter. See it at

http://www.songsea.com/uwc.htm

Is anyone familiar with this? Is it worth checking out? (A real set of practice pipes being out of the question for now and the foreseeable future.)

It does seem to get the hands and chanter into a more realistic position than a chanter played as if it were a whistle.

Unfortunately I don't have an answer for you. But I wanted to ask another question. Is the fingering on say, a low D whistle the same as on the Uillean pipes? This thing on the web page sure looks similar (the "pipe" part of it anyway). If playing the two instruments is reasonably similar, I think it would be worth it to purchase this practice setup (IMHO of course).

I would not recommend a "practice chanter". One of the important things in learning to play the U-pipes ist to master the bellows pumping/bag pressing action while fingering the chanter. I think you would have to start all over again when changing to a practice set. Finger posture and hole spacing of the pipes are quite similar to those of a Low F whistle. But the fingering is different: The pipes have 7 front holes and 1 thumbhole. And the chanter is usually played with closed fingering, i.e. not more than 2 or 3 holes open at a time.
The bottom line is: If you are serious about the pipes, get a decent practice set (it's worth the wait), a good tutor (H.J. Clarke's and the Na Piobairi Uilleann Videos are good). Most important: get in contact with pipers in your area! There's nothing better than personal tuition. This holds especially true for the pipes.
Christian

I see practice sets for sale on the Uilleann Pipers web site on a regular basis. Reputable makers, prices are reasonable, no wait list.

The fingering in the U pipes, is VERY different from a straight whistle in that you don't normaly play in an 'open' style. For example lifting one finger off after another to play up the scale.

Think of cross fingering almost every note you play. That is similar to the way you play a chanter. The practice chanter would allow you to learn the fingerings, but as was mentioned before...the bag and bellows are almost like their own instrument!

Some folks reccommend you learn each separately at first, and then put them together after a few weeks or months.

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Hi Blaine!

I haven't found any good short cuts into piping yet, so I guess there are none.<br>
Fingering and mastering the bag and bellows are two things, next is reeding. And thats a tough one! Thats also why you need to find a local piper that can help you out in the beginning. I messed around for more than six month, completely destroying two good reeds before I got my chanter to work properly.

Practice chanters can still be great fun though. I would recommend the "Techno-Chanter" by Fagerström. No UP yet but you can get it as a GHB (and a Swedish or Asturian model). Just plug in a set of walkman headphones and off you go (looks cool, no reeding and weather stable). A great little gadget to store in your inside pocket during flights, train trips or when you commute to work.<br>

Cheers!

MarcusR<br>
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<a href="http://members.chello.se/technochanter/">Techno-Chanter</a>

Blaine, There are TWO different products on Song of The Sea's webpage you posted. The first one is a Uilleann Whistle Chanter. As the name implies, is best described as a unique whistle using fingering (and playing style) of a Uilleann pipe. I own one and it plays well. It's physically similar in size to a D chanter, but it plays in the key of A. This can be a drawback if you want to play/learn tunes directly from CD.
The second product (which was introduced earlier this year) is one step closer to a Uilleann Pipe as it uses a synthetic reed.
If you are a long way off in the purchase of a traditional set of Uilleann Pipes and can't wait to get started, you might check out David Daye's webpage. He has several options of do-it-yourself pipes that can get you a stable playing instrument for a few hundred dollars. His website address: http://www.daye1.com/

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: tony on 2001-08-09 01:58 ]</font>

ChristianRo did write:
If you are serious about the pipes, get a decent practice set (it's worth the wait)

I did get my practice set from Martin Preshaw from co. Down in about three weeks.
So waiting is not an issue.

/Arto

Arto Wrote:
>I did get my practice set from Martin
>Preshaw from co. Down in about three
>weeks. So waiting is not an issue.

Arto... how long ago was this ??
I inquired to Martin last month and he indicated he's currently working on a 7-8 month wait for chanters whereas last year he was only 3 months wait for half sets.
The majority of the pipemakers I've inquired this year have wait times over a year for practice sets. It seems piping is on the rise and they are all very busy.

Closed or tight fingering on the pipes means that the chanter is completely closed (and thus silent) between notes, ie the fingers are placed back on the chanter before playing the next note. In open playing the chanter is not closed between notes hence the other description legato playing.
This is an issue quite apart from the fact that actual the fingerings of the various notes are completely different than those on the flute or whistle.

Tony, I had my practice set from Martin in last November. I made the order in October.
I hope piping is in rise. Currently I am the only piper within 120km. In whole Finland there are only about ten uillean pipers.

/Arto