djones wrote:From what I've read, though, UP players look at the GHB competitions as a bad idea.
This is not entirely correct. If you are more directly involved with the Irish community you will probably join up with the Comhaltas organization, and they do have piping competitions and grading. Its just that CCÉ is not as prevalent in some places versus others.
What tends to obscure UP playing is that it is not regimented in any way, like GHBs. There is also the issue of styles, which are many in UPs versus GHBs. One instructor will tell you to play things one way (e.g. timing of rolls) and another teacher will tell you something else. It really gets down to styles and what you, as an individual, prefer. This anarchy seems to upset some people, but I believe it to be the essence of ITM.
djm
I'd rather be atop the foothills than beneath them.
djm wrote:What tends to obscure UP playing is that it is not regimented in any way, like GHBs. There is also the issue of styles, which are many in UPs versus GHBs. One instructor will tell you to play things one way (e.g. timing of rolls) and another teacher will tell you something else. It really gets down to styles and what you, as an individual, prefer. This anarchy seems to upset some people, but I believe it to be the essence of ITM.
There's also the matter that GHBs are much louder and much more mobile allowing the pipers to march up the street making lots of noise and attracting lots of attention. Certainly in Quebec City, people associate bagpipes (NSP, SSP, UP, etc) with GHB. That tends to obscure UP. There's about a douzen GHB players in the city, and even a garrison of the 78th Fraser Highlanders. There are 3 uilleann pipers.
Speaking for myself (I opened this thread) I'm on the third video of the NPU series. I can do the stuff in the first two (kind of skipped the first video) well enough that I'm on to the third. I have 10 years of GHB and 5 years of smallpipes to give me a little boost to start.
I wonder if I could perhaps be the weaker student in an intermediate class? I keep thinking must beginner classes would cover a lot of what I can do (bellows technique, basic embellishments, scales in 2 octaves, etc) and, in an intermediate class, an instructor would fill me in on gaps or correct my GHB stylistics. I'm planning to register for the east Coast Tionól in September in East Durham with my wife, who is a fiddler.
Dave Jones[/quote]
Sounds like intermediate would be the place to start.
Andy Parnell wrote:Time to throw my two bob in. In the old days, it was 7 years on the chanter, 7 years on the drones, 7 years on the regulators. Now it's probably around 7 to 10 years to be an advanced player on average (with say 30 mins practice per day average) rather than 21 years...
7 years on the drones? Wasn't the famous quote "7 yrs listening, 7yrs practicing, 7 ys playing"?
I've always considered regulators have always been really an optional extra as have I read some older generation pipers thought too, thus shouldn't be used to judge a piper, but perhaps things are changing.
Andy Parnell wrote:
I'm currently at year 7. I've only just decided it's time to work on drones and regulators as I wanted to master the chanter first. I do a combination of playing in sessions and kitchen piping (though I do mine in the lounge as the kitchen here is too small). I'd self style myself as experienced and only just progressing into the final 7 to 10 year bracket now.
Do you think this is accurate in your own experiences?
Kind regards
Andy
It's hard to guage how long I've been playing. If had my pipes since 1991 and played them mad keenly for about 3 years then went into hiatus, only taking them out to do band gigs - no practice in between - only last year I started practicing again. So what's that.....maybe 5-6 years proper piping if averaged out. I can do all the ornaments but reckon I got a loooong way to go before a could call myself advanced. And if I never get regulators then I guess I'll never be a true piper if they really are an essential.
Maybe things are done differently on pipes where you come from but most newer pipers (and even experienced ones) tend to be trained in either small classes set up by a pipers club OR you apprentice yourself for a few years to an experienced piper. There are summer workshops, etc and it must be these things that you're talking about?
Generally, if you can do either of the first two things and supplement them with the odd workshop, then you'll progress a lot quicker. Your tutor will be able to tell you which summer workshop you should perhaps go to as well.
If you can only get to workshops on an ad hoc basis, then you'll no doubt have to make do as best you can with the ole' Heather Clarke tutor, etc...
Ausdag,
Regulators, are they necessary? Now there's a whole post in itself. Maybe we should start one for discussion?
Breaks are a good thing for any learning. Your learning curve actually happens in a stepped manner. For a while you'll be obsessed, then you'll reach a point where nothing else fits in your head and you plateau out. Then upwards again. That's how I find learning in nearly most sphere's of life including piping.
During the obsessed bits, that 30 mins thing is what I'm talking about. During the breaks I've had, I'll not pick up pipes for nearly a month, then one day, you can't take them off me!
I'm still learning though! It's one of these instruments that has countless combinations to understand and master!
The regs in my opinion ARE needed. Precisely because that each key on them is another combination to add to all the other combinations. It adds in even more variables!
Don't need more variables just yet? Then the regs aren't needed. Each variation is another tool to master, another possibility. Another hindrance if brought in too early.
In otherwords, it depends on where you're at I reckon.
What am I saying, I don't even have regs! But that's just where I'm at.
ausdag wrote: Wasn't the famous quote "7 yrs listening, 7yrs practicing, 7 ys playing"?
Is that the famous quote
I thought it was 7 years learning, 7 years practising, 7 years playing. Although, it should probably be modified to: "7 years learning, 7 years practising, 7 years playing, but first you have to wait 7 years to get your practice set and then work for 7 years to pay for the drones and regulators".
Andy Parnell wrote:
Maybe things are done differently on pipes where you come from but most newer pipers (and even experienced ones) tend to be trained in either small classes set up by a pipers club OR you apprentice yourself for a few years to an experienced piper. There are summer workshops, etc and it must be these things that you're talking about?
Generally, if you can do either of the first two things and supplement them with the odd workshop, then you'll progress a lot quicker. Your tutor will be able to tell you which summer workshop you should perhaps go to as well.
If you can only get to workshops on an ad hoc basis, then you'll no doubt have to make do as best you can with the ole' Heather Clarke tutor, etc...
Cheers!
Andy
Andy,
"Most pipers"?!?!? I wonder whether that isn't more typical in Europe than here in the States. Boy, do I EVER wish I had a pipers club or a master piper to apprentice myself to! That sounds like heaven, and I'm sure my piping would be off like a house afire. Alas, no such luck in my area -- the nearest lessons and pipers' club are three hours away at least.
My remark was indeed in reply to djones' claim that he wanted to sign up for a summer school workshop. I happen to know from his "location" info that djones lives near me, and that therefore he is just as much out of luck as I am. Poor fellow. We can't all be as lucky as you apprentices and pipers' club members are... but we do have the mid-July East Durham Irish Arts Week practically in our backyard. Which is not to be missed. Less than two weeks to go!
