Uilleann pipes have a different harmonic structure, sounding sweeter and quieter than many other bagpipes, such as the Great Irish Warpipes, Great Highland Bagpipes or the Italian Zampognas. The uilleann pipes are often played indoors, and are almost always played sitting down.
The first bagpipes in Ireland were similar, if not identical, to the Highland pipes of Scotland. These were known as the 'Great Irish Warpipes'. In Irish and Scottish Gaelic, this instrument was called the píob mhór (great pipe).The earliest surviving sets of uilleann pipes date from the second half of the 18th century but it must be said that datings are not definitive. Only recently has scientific attention begun to be paid to the instrument and problems relating to various stages of its development have yet to be resolved.
The instrument most typically is tuned in the key of D, although 'flat' sets do exist in other keys. These only began to be used in the 1970s, when pipemakers began to receive requests for pipes that would be in tune with tin whistles, which are stamped with the key they play in.
The modern concert pitch pipes are a relatively recent invention, pioneered by the Taylor brothers, originally of Drogheda, and later of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the late nineteenth century. Concert pitch pipes typically have wider bores and larger tone holes than the earlier 'flat' pitch sets, and as a consequence are a good deal louder, though by no means as loud as the Highland pipes of Scotland. They were developed by the Taylors to meet the requirements of playing in larger venues in the United States; today they are the most common type of uilleann pipes encountered, though many players still prefer the mellower sound of the narrow-bore pipes.
The flat-pitched pipes are mostly used for solo playing - a fiddler can 'tune down' his or her instrument to play with a piper's flat set, but the inflexibility of other instruments used in Irish music (accordions, flutes, etc.) usually disallows this.
Because of the instrument's complexity, beginning uilleann pipers often start out with partial sets known as practice sets.
A practice set consists of only the basic elements of pipe bag, bellows and chanter, with no drones or regulators.
In order to play the uilleann pipes effectively, students must learn to pump the bellows steadily while controlling the pressure on the bag and playing the chanter simultaneously. Therefore, beginning students often play on practice sets until they become comfortable with those basic mechanics. Despite their name, however, practice sets are used not only by beginning players but also by some advanced players when they wish to play just the chanter with other musicians, either live or in recording sessions. In these instances, the practice sets can be tuned to equal temperament if needed.
A 'half set' is the next stage up from a practice set. As with other forms of bagpipes, uilleann pipes use 'drones', which are most commonly three pipes accompanying the melody of the chanter with a constant background tonic note. The pipes are generally equipped with three drones; (Pastoral pipes have four.) These drones are connected to the pipe bag by a 'stock', an intricately made wooden cylinder tied into the bag by a thick yarn or hemp thread. The stock and drones are laid across the right thigh. This is distinct from other forms of bagpipes, in which the drones are usually carried over the shoulder or over the right arm.
A 'full set', as the name implies, is a complete set of uilleann pipes and is of complex construction.
The chanter is the part that is used to play the melody. It has eight finger holes. The chanter is set on the right knee thus closing off the bottom hole. Many players use a strip of leather placed over the knee, called a 'popping strap', which provides for an airtight seal. To achieve 'bottom D' the chanter is lifted off the knee, exposing the exit of the chanter's bore, where the note is produced. Generally, for all other notes (except for special effects, or to vary the volume and tone) the chanter stays on the knee.
One characteristic of the chanter is that it can produce staccato notes, because the piper seals it off at the bottom; with all of the finger holes closed, the chanter is silenced. This is also necessary for obtaining the second octave; the chanter must be closed and the bag pressure increased, and then fingered notes will sound in the second octave. A great range of different timbres can be achieved by varying the fingering of notes and also raising the chanter off the knee, which gives the uilleann pipes a degree of dynamic range not found in other forms of bagpipes. Pipers who use staccato fingering often are termed 'closed-style' pipers. Those who use legato fingering more predominately are referred to as 'open-style' pipers. Open piping has historical associations with musicians who played on the street or outdoors, since the open fingering is somewhat louder, especially with the chanter played off-the-knee.
The chanter uses a double reed, similar to that of the oboe or bassoon. Unlike most reed instruments, the uilleann pipe reed must be crafted so that it can play two full octaves accurately, without the fine tuning allowed by the use of a player's lips; only bag pressure and fingering patterns can be used to maintain the correct pitch of each note. It is for this reason that making uilleann pipe chanter reeds is a demanding task. Uilleann pipe reeds are also often called 'the piper's despair' for the immense difficulty of maintaining, tuning and especially making the double reed of the regulators and, most importantly, the chanter.
