mouth blown uilleann pipes?

[turquoise]

hi guys it is my first visit since one year .

i saw this post who was made in 2004 ..

http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php ... w=previous


i found his website . but not this pipe .. do you have news ...price ... does it work good . do one of you tried this pipe ..? thanks sylvain

[eedbjp]

I'll be honest, I didn't even click on your link. I just saw the word "mouth". I got blasted on this forum a couple years back because I made the sin of asking about a mouth blown chanter. So here is what I learned, because learning on this forum , like elementary school for those with ADD, requires a prerequisite amount of humiliation.Like the good teacher of third graders that I actually am, and a piper of 1.5 years, I will hopefully ward off the "inside jokers" of this forum, or at leat direct the comments to myself. I have learned that the pipes require the proficient use of an air delivery system, specifically a bellows and a bag. They also require a decent reed, and a chanter that has had the holes and bore done right. Because the bag and bellows can deliver a very strong and staedy push of air, the mouth won't work, plain and simple. You can actually blow directly into the chanter and make notes, but it will be the equivelant of strumming the string of a guitar, while someone turns the turrning knob back and forth. Or like playing the tromnbone, while someone slides the slide back and forth, and then takes a break when they are tired. If you really want to try this self-punishing but wonderful instrument, get a real "practce set" , not made in Pakistan. For $500-1000 you can do it right.

[Uilliam]

Well Eedjp if ye had gone to the link ye would have saved yersel an embarressment what turqoise is referring to is nothing to do with what ye are a blatheringaboot.
Jens is a fine maker,if this is what ye want they are not Uilleann Pipes but Bagpipes.
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam

[Key_of_D]

Eh, I'm by no means an authority figure on the uilleann pipes, but I thought it had more to do with the chanter being able to play 2 full octaves that would require the pipes to be dry reeded, or, bellows blown? Seamus Ennis says in his tutor to never blow the chanter with your mouth as the moisture could potentially warp and therefore ruin the reed, so it seems like the reeds are dry for a reason.

[eedbjp]

Well Eedjp if ye had gone to the link ye would have saved yersel an embarressment

A lesson learned. Thanks, eedbjp

[pancelticpiper]

Yes from the article it appears that these are based on uilleann bores and thus have a somewhat uilleann-like tone, but the chanter is played open and uses "continental" fingering, using a tiny thumbhole to facilitate the upper register like the Spanish gaita gallega.
So it wouldn't play like an uilleann pipe at all.
But about actual uilleann pipes being mouthblown, that could probably only happen when somebody invents a really good synthetic chanter reed.

[The Nyyaaa]

I've wondered about mouth blown pipes if someone used or converted a Ross-style dessicant system for Highland pipes. Perhaps a tube water trap with extra baffles to "catch" the water and a large dessicant container in the bag. I would think a tube would be required for the chanter stock so that air going to the reed is as dry as possible.

Of course, w/out bellows, the pipes wouldn't be "uilleann" with no "elbow" involved. Unless someone has a physical problem preventing operation of bellows, this would be frowned upon, no?

[tommykleen]

A mouth blown uilleann pipe is called a pennywhistle

...although not at all!

Absurdly,

t

[Key_of_D]

Of course, w/out bellows, the pipes wouldn't be "uilleann" with no "elbow" involved. Unless someone has a physical problem preventing operation of bellows, this would be frowned upon, no?

What would the bag arm be doing? The funky chicken?

[The Nyyaaa]

I was under the impression--perhaps wrongly--that the "elbow" allusion came from the bellows "elbow"...not the bag elbow. Wrong? Why would you call mouthblown bagpipes "elbow" pipes...it's a given that one arm (elbow) will be driving the bag. I thought they're called uilleann pipes because they're elbow or arm powered, as opposed to mouthblown.

Like I said, I'm assuming mouthblown pipes would be scorned. However, if someone had a physical problem preventing operation of bellows, let them go mouthblown as long as the music isn't butchered (this may not be possible). Harrumphs be damned...it's only music.

[Key_of_D]

I don't know... and you're probably right about the bellows but, from what I gathered uilleann is a fairly new term. I've read that the older name was union pipes, and I've heard (from somwhere) some call them the Irish organ pipes.

But again, I thought a mouthblown chanter reed for the uillean pipes wouldn't be possible, stating that due to a finer, more complex reed needed to obtain the 2+ octaves otherwise not reachable by other mouthblown bagpipes. But again I don't know for sure, nobody here as commented on that account so I guess I'll be left chasing my own tail.

[Hans-Joerg]

Seamus Ennis says in his tutor to never blow the chanter with your mouth as the moisture could potentially warp and therefore ruin the reed, so it seems like the reeds are dry for a reason.

Occasionally you see a reedmaker mouthblowing a chanter for a short test. You HAVE NOT SEEN THIS!
You only are allowed to do so as well if you are able to make a reed.

Besides – you might run the risk of destroying an Uilleann Pipe chanter – though mostly you come across cracks on older wooden flutes. Mouthblown chanters require a different setup. In addition, some tight ornamentations make – to me – for the fascination of Uilleann Pipes. Try doing theese on a mouthblown instrument!
Cheers,
Hans

[billh]

But again, I thought a mouthblown chanter reed for the uillean pipes wouldn't be possible, stating that due to a finer, more complex reed needed to obtain the 2+ octaves otherwise not reachable by other mouthblown bagpipes....

That's the general consensus. Perhaps someday someone will invent a synthetic reed that can produce both octaves satisfactorily, and there have been occasional reports of success but either the results have been disappointing or not reproducible, or both.

However, with the exception of someone with a specific injury, it's hard to see what the utility of such an instrument would be. Uilleann/union piping technique, posture, and repertoire are so different from mouthblown pipes that they need to be approached on their own terms. The presence of regulators, horizontal drones, and sitting posture all seem to argue against mouth blowing.

[turquoise]

hi it ids a long time i dont came here lol..near one year .... i saw your answers.

first i contacted the maker , he told me it was more test pipe he never realy produced , second . i waited and just bought a half set of mc nichols with a brian howard chanter , with this i will begin slowly to practice , bye turquoise...

[oleorezinator]

in 1990 at the east coast pipers club tionol in pittsburgh, there was talk of a plastic up reed made by hughes and mcleod that was in a chanter and playing. also mentioned was a hp reed that was playing well into the 2nd octave. anyone care to elaborate?