I have been working with ‘composite’ drone reeds (metal body/cane tongue) in my Uilleann Pipes since around the mid 90’s. I find there are a couple of advantages over the more traditional ‘guill’. They are easily maintained and re-tongued. They are more stable when the temperature and humidity change e.g. in a session. Being shorter […]
Materials that you will need: A Bass saxophone reed or Bass Clarinet reed soft grade. A tenor Sax reed is also acceptable for tenor and baritone drone reeds but it will need a little more working on if making Bass drone reeds. A Stanley knife blade, or similar. A hammer. A reed body. Thread. Fine […]
The following guidelines apply generally to tuning all kinds of drone reeds. a) The shorter the tongue the higher the pitch. b) The thinner the tongue the higher the pitch. c) The longer the tongue the lower the pitch. d) The thicker the tongue the lower the pitch. e) The pitch can be lowered by […]
Keeping your Uilleann reeds in tune is both a challenge and a necessity. Cane is an organic material and as such will be affected by your climate – heat and humidity. I strongly urge every piper to learn how to make reeds. Knowing that you are able to replace a reed if damaged will make […]
There are generally only five problems that commonly arise. 1. ‘Clapping’, i.e. the reed closes shut with the result that there is no sound 2. Poor tone, funny noises or double toning. 3. Squealing as pressure is brought to bear on the reed. 4. No sound but a lot of air. 5. Tuning problems i.e. […]
It is essential that the Drone Stock is not in any danger of falling out of the Drone Stock Cup. The ‘Drone Stock Cup’ is the large silver ferrule at the bag end of the Drone Stock. To rotate the assembly in the cup, you must always grip the cup with one hand whilst turning […]
The History of Irish Uilleann Pipes This article by Martin Nolan appeared in An Píobairí Uilleann III.2. Thanks to An Na Píobairí Uilleann for their kind permission to reproduce this article. The first reference to the bagpipes in Ireland is found in a dinnseanchas or topographical poem, “Aonach Carman”, the fair of Carman, a composition of the […]
About Irish Uilleann Pipes This article by Martin Nolan appeared in An Píobairí Uilleann III.2. Thanks to An Na Píobairí Uilleann for their kind permission to reproduce this article. The Uilleann pipes is the Irish form of the bagpipes, a family of instruments with representatives throughout Europe as well as parts of Asia and Africa. It emerged […]
Buying a Set of Irish Uilleann Pipes This article by Martin Nolan appeared in An Píobairí Uilleann III.2. Thanks to An Na Píobairí Uilleann for their kind permission to reproduce this article. All too often aspiring pipers set off to acquire a set of pipes, be they practice set, half-set or full set, with very little knowledge […]
Mouth Aperture As previously explained your reed can either close up or open up as a result of changes in ambient heat and humidity. If it has opened up and the mouth is too large your chanter pressure will be too ‘heavy’ to play comfortably, the tone may be too harsh, the tuning may be […]