I’ve been considering it. I love the sound, but the more I check into it, the less appealing it seems. Playability, portability, cost, damage to arm sinews (something called Pipers’ Finger), and finally it seems to need constant tweaking, adjustments, and maintenance. And when I read the U-Pipe forum it only gets worse. They discuss stuff like how to get particular notes…rarely an issue on the whistle. And in the hands of an amateur it’s a sound only an Irishman could appreciate, if he’s on LSD.
I tried once badly, the lad you need to email is on a web site called http://www.bagpiper-weddings.com by the name of robbie byrne, he was a scots guard piper who plays the uilleann’s in a group. he also teaches whistle at local night school.
cheers
There is also http://www.uilleann.com which lists some players and teachers in various parts of the country. I found a piper in Boise through it.
Edit - don’t forget to get a few pairs of earplugs to lend out if you want people to sit next to you at sessions 
[ This Message was edited by: avanutria on 2002-08-21 14:12 ]
Talk to the experts. Go to this site http://www.daye1.com/pennychanter.html#Links and subscribe to “The Worldwide Uilleann Pipes E-mail Discussion List”. It’ll get you in touch with 360 uilleann pipers, who’ll tell “everything” 
And if you thought whistle practice took a lot of time…
I know when something is beyond my skills and I truely appreciate pipers. This is an instrument I don’t think I could ever master; however…
Uilleann Pipes are an option for me. I figure that 3-4 hours of continuous practice would probably break ‘the tie that binds’ me and my beloved. However, considering her intensity level with the ‘til death do us part’ vow, such and attempt would probably be suicidal =>
I love the sound of pipes in a session, but know better that to try to bring’em home.
Hope you find the information you need to …
Whitmores… c’mon man, they’re always talking about how to play a Cnat on various whistles as it’s different from maker to maker. It’s no different here. No instrument is perfect.
I say, forget the marriage and drop a thousand on a practice set and in a few months your ‘squeak-to-note’ ratio will improve enough to where you’ll no longer hear your neighbors slam their windows shut when you practice.
Do it Whitmores… don’t be a wannabe. Listen to that tiny voice in your head and open up your checkbook. Do it man… do it…
If you do take the plunge, be prepared to work your a** off. If you can’t make a commitment to daily practice, you won’t make progress, but you don’t need to spend eight hours a day at it, either. The key is to be consistent.
Get a good rig to start with, too, with a reasonably easy reed. Stubborn, intractable chanter reeds that refuse play in tune kill more would-be pipers than alcohol, tobacco, ticked-off spouses, or fatty foods.
Words of great wisdom from Pat.Pipes are the most difficult of any woodwind instrument that I’ve played and I was a sax/clarinet major in university and am a high school band director…so be prepared to practice practice practice and become very philosophical on days when you want to play and your pipes don’t!!!
I’m learning. It’s not easy - but I think it will be worth the effort!
Get some lessons, at least to start with. I think that’s important.
Jo.
Okay but how do you pronouce ‘uilleann’?
[ This Message was edited by: FJohnSharp on 2002-08-21 23:05 ]
Ill-un
Thanks. I’ve been pronouncing it you-lee-in.
Pipes are indeed a tricky instrument, but they are NOT anywhere NEARLY as impossible as some make it seem. If this was truly the case, I don’t think we would see as many makers with such a huge lead time for sets, nor would we see costs as high as they are now.
They require patience, commitment, and a decent ear, but in time, you can get them. Try them, perhaps one of David Daye’s practice sets, and if you don’t like them, you can turn right around and sell it for what you payed…sometimes more.
GO FOR IT!!
B~
Boy, are you an optimist Brian!:)Not to be a downer, but forwarned is forearmed(as far as pipes are concerned anyway).
Well, Janice Brian is right, hte pipes are not more difficult than any other instrument. The only problem is finding a well made instrument that keeps going for you.
What I’m getting at is my catch word of the week:
Perspective
There is not ANY and I mean ANY musician who the first time they picked up their instrument and played it at a virtuoso level. It boils down to practice and exposure .
When I started the whistle, it took me three months before I could play a tune all the way through without a major flub. After the initial learning period, it became easier, and now I can hold my own in most sessions anyway.
As for the pipes, I’m still in my “getting to know you” phase. It’ll be many long years of practice and playing, but I’m confident I can do it someday. And that’s probably the only thing that keeps me going! LOL
TRY 'EM!!!
B~
Yeah, I make fun of Bri’s playing, but he let me try it, and man - that is multitasking at it’s finest! hehe I have a new respect for pipe players now.
Give it a shot - you’ll never know otherwise. The worst that will happen is your friends will make fun of you! 
Well-I guess I mean to master. And I’m comparing my own personal piping experience to my own experience as a woodwind player-general consensus is that saxophone is an easy instrument to get started on, but one of the most difficult(of the woodwinds) to master. Again(my experience),I got to be a pretty good sax player with less work, effort and frustration than the pipes and of course, I’m still not anywhere near where I’d like to be on the pipes. However, I did start on a less than ideal set up and isolated from other pipers(I started myself-and for 8 months played with the bag and bellows reversed on a right hand set,don’t ask!)It is much easier in North America now, lots more pipe makers, including Dave Daye, who makes great cheap instruments, and with Internet access. And (side line, here) there is a great music thesis in all of this somewhere.
I don’t agree with you Janice, the pipes are not too bad at all once you have them going.
But then, I have done my time on them. So it’s easy for me to say it’s not too bad.
What about this Piper’s Finger thing he mentioned? Is that a legitimate concern?