Uilleann ornaments...what's YOUR favorite??

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Fri Jun 21, 2002 8:15 pm

So the more I've been playing my pipes, the more I've been listening to recordings of pipers. Namely Jerry O.S., Lunasa (recent)and Eoin Ó Riabhaigh. I LOVE the styles of these guys, but the thing that amazes, is the ornamentation. Sometimes, it's not the speed, or even the crispness of the playing, just the use of ornaments.

So, do you guys have a favorite you use? I've heard several bottom D ornaments that sounded really cool, and of course, the common chirp, or quack you hear so often.

Anyway, just curious to know what you like, what you don't like, and how you impliment it all into your music.

Bri~

boyd · Post by **boyd** » Sat Jun 22, 2002 1:54 am

Not everyone's cup of tea, but i like to put a trill on E, F# and G ...Robbie Hannan and Seán Potts are great men for doing that, and I learnt to do it from them.
I use a number of triplets esp ACA gfe & BCd
and I cran E with the chanter off the knee and the right little finger on the last tone hole [gives a really cool "hard" E].

Well, these are my favourites.
Poor Peter Laban will probably need antihistamines for the rash he'll come out in after reading this !!

Boyd
http://www.strathspeyinmay.com

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Sat Jun 22, 2002 2:33 am

Boyd, what do you take me for, this is pretty much basic stuff. I take my students through that in the first couple of months.

By the end of the day it's not what you use but how you use it what really matters.

Still wondering what a common quack is by the way.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Peter Laban on 2002-06-22 05:33 ]</font>

boyd · Post by **boyd** » Sat Jun 22, 2002 12:31 pm

..as a doctor, I would have to say I don't know anything about Quacks.

Boyd

Cayden · Post by **Cayden** » Sat Jun 22, 2002 1:13 pm

I initially thoguht they'd come in handy for tunes like The leg of a duck and Nell Flaherty's Drake but I am not sure.

[reminds me of the old joke of the two Northern Ireland ducks on their way crossing hte border 'Quack Quack' says the one. 'I am going as Quack as I can' replies the other.]

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Sat Jun 22, 2002 4:12 pm

Anyone ever cran on a ghost d or am I the only poor misguided soul to attempt such lunacy?

boyd · Post by **boyd** » Sat Jun 22, 2002 6:43 pm

Maybe "The Drake's Neck" [reel from Donegal] or perhaps "Toss the Feathers" ?????!!!!!!!

Quack Quack

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 8:33 am

Oi!!!

I believe I'm refering to a cut note, though I've never been a big one for following the 'proper' names of things and all that. When you lift the finger above the note you wish to sound a split second before the main note sounds.

On the pipes, this has always had a but of a duck-ish nature to it's sound, hence the reference to a 'quack'. I also work with doctors, and no, I wasn't hinting at anything other than the music!

For my own part, I'm really trying to improve my staccato style, but not having much luck at that, or at tripletts yet either. I'm sure a lot of it comes with practice and time though.

So any guesses on how to ornament bottom d?

I'm also curious to know which fingers you might use to add vibrato to the different notes of the scale. Back D and Cnat are two of the ones I'm still trying to work on, to have them sound consistent with the other notes of the scale.

Bri~

praetorius · Post by **praetorius** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 11:32 am

Getting the trick of "closed" piping is easier said than done, but I find the best way to practice it is to play tunes VERY slowly and stop the chanter between every note, or at least between every other note. It also helps to play staccato scales, both up and down the chanter--if you start with the scales, and slowly, you may find that the tight triplets come more easily after awhile. If you haven't yet got hold of Brian McNamara's CD, "A Piper's Dream", check it out--he does some lovely tight playing, especially on jigs.

As to vibrato, every chanter is different, but I find that the third finger on my right hand works best for vibrato on C natural (if I'm playing it with the chanter on the leg). D is a bit tricker--I usually use the first finger of my right hand, but sometimes this produces too wide a vibrato. The second finger of the right hand works well, and so can the first finger on the left hand, especially if you're having trouble with your back D going flat at normal playing pressure...I've heard from those who saw Seamus Ennis play that he almost always played back D with the C# finger off the chanter as well.

AlanBurton · Post by **AlanBurton** » Mon Jun 24, 2002 10:44 am

Practice tight fingering by position your self by a plugged in, switched on Iron. Position it about 3cm from hands, start playing and hey presto!! But seriously. I often just tap fingers on steering wheel or beer glass ( trying to, in effect, trill, which if you can control a trill, you should theoretically gain more control when just performing a single finger stroke). As for Bottom D ornaments, I'm surprised at the lack of offers. Heres one.... Play a tight ACA or BCB triplet but off the knee, there for producing a Cran type sound but with a sharper poke to it. Not everyones favourite but suits certain styles of playing.(courtesy of Nollaig McCarthy).
Allthebest
Alan

Pat Cannady · Post by **Pat Cannady** » Mon Jun 24, 2002 3:35 pm

I know its how you use it...I have a great fondness for the quadruplet cran because it can be so propulsive when used effectively.

dirk · Post by **dirk** » Thu Jun 27, 2002 9:18 am

I know you are looking for a favorite ornament, but I think Eoin O Riabhaigh would tell you there's more to it. I think he has not only very good ornamentation, but he also has a tremendous love for the melody that passes to the listener. Are you aware of scoiltrad? Eoin teaches online classes there. Eoin is a really good teacher. Try it- Scoiltrad.com

dirk · Post by **dirk** » Thu Jun 27, 2002 9:26 am

One more note. I got a lesson from Eoin in person back in March. He taught me how to do full rolls. Many pipers typically take two cuts on a roll, but Eoin often takes three. This is easier in the lower octave.
Eoin is also a master of the staccato triplets, and a very clean, standard, bottom-D cran. The key to learning any of these is to practice them very, very, very slowly. Speed up almost imperceptibly. Take an hour to practice each ornament. Be patient. It's a little like tai chi. Did I mention lessons? Lessons are very important.

Brian Lee · Post by **Brian Lee** » Sun Jun 30, 2002 10:45 am

Dirk,

Thanks for the replies!

I'd love to start lessons with a good teacher here in Salt Lake, but the trouble is, the closest piper worth his salt, let alone resembling anything close to an actual teacher is a four hour drive away!!

So what I was mainly asking for, was specifics on say your cranned bottom D. How do folks pull that one off? I realize that most of these ornaments come only with many many long hours of practice and patience. But I don't really know where to begin with ornament structure. I don't want to learn this stuff the wrong way, trying to pick it apart by ear listening to recordings at speed, as that's my primary "teacher" right now.

Thanks!!

B~

dirk · Post by **dirk** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 11:13 am

I understand the predicament. Living in Longmont, Colorado has some of the same problems regarding scarcity of teachers.
For the same reason, I still recommend scoiltrad.

Luckily, I met some people around here who try to bring good pipers in from out of town from time to time. So, luckily Tim Britton was here and taught several of us how to play a bottom D cran. I'll try to describe it.

Tim had us play the cran very slowly at first, and then - very gradually - speed up.
- each note in the eight note cran lasts about one or two seconds at first, so that it takes at least eight seconds to play the whole cran. After about an hour of practicing the cran, it's played almost up to speed - all eight notes played in less than a second. The whole time, the chanter should be held off the leg.

The first note is an A, played by lifting only the ring finger of your upper hand. The
second note is bottom D, so close the ring finger. The third note is F#, played by lifting only the middle finger of the lower hand. Number four is bottom D again. Number five is G, lifting only the index finger of the lower hand. Number six - Bottom D, Number seven is A again - lifting just the upper ring finger. Number eight is bottom D.

As you learn this, resist the urge to speed up too soon. Play it over and over, and when you speed up, do it almost imperceptibly. Patience is the key to learning this, and Tim's method worked well for me.

After you have trained your fingers to play the notes clearly in succession, and you have
gotten the speed up gradualy, you can work on the rhythm of the cran. When played properly, you should hear the low D's in a clear triplet pattern. Also keep in mind that
there is more than one type of cran.