A Quick Guide To The Uilleann Pipes

Up until about an hour ago, I knew pretty much nothing about the Uilleann pipes (the Irish bagpipes with bellows operated by the elbow). Here are a few interesting and fun facts I came across that have made me (and will maybe make you) a bit more knowledgeable:

* There are actually four different kinds or "sets" of Uilleann pipes. Who knew? The four types are as follows: Practice or Quarter Set, Half Set, Three Quarter Set, & Full Set. If you want to know the difference between the four, check out www.uilleannobsession.com/faq.

* The Uilleann pipes are technically bagpipes but are not as loud and played sitting down instead of standing. And believe it or not, Uilleann pipes are no louder than a fiddle or accordion and are typically played indoors.

* Held either on the knee or under the arms, the The Uilleann pipes' bellows inflate allowing some musicians to sing or talk during playing!

* The part of the instrument that allows the player to create a melody is called the chanter and it basically looks like a recorder.

* These pipes are 300 years old!

* If you want to read more about how the instrument works (there's way too much for me to get into) then check out this wiki and pretend I told you what is what.

* Rather appropriately, the the word uilleann comes from the Irish word uillinn ... and take a wild guess at the meaning of uillinn ... elbow!

* David Letterman (you know, of the Late Show in the USA) once referred to the Uillean pipes as "a sofa cushion hooked up to a stick."

Now it's time to kick back and enjoy the sounds of this unique instrument. Click here for all of the Uilleann pipes videos on Diddlyi. And please leave a comment if you have any other interesting facts for us all!


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