Piping by Paddy Keenan, chanter by David Quinn, pipes by Dave Williams, photo by JVF.

The Irish Uilleann Bagpipes

The uilleann pipes have a storied history stretching back almost 300 years, which I am not qualified to expound upon here! For the gory details and all the best web links, see Patrick D'Arcy's wonderful Uilleann Pipes Obsession Page.

I am now playing a full set of uilleann pipes = chanter and drones, plus regulators. These were made by Seth Gallagher of New York State. This set was made in 2003, of ebony wood with nickel-silver ferrules, fittings, and keys. All of the reeds I'm using now are Arundo donax cane.

A full set of uilleann pipes.

A better view of the drones under the regulators.

Web Resources

For more pictures of uilleann pipes, see my Flickr account:
rocks & pipes

What's a "regulator?"

Well, nobody has come up with a conclusive explanation for the name, but the parts sticking out of the stock with keys and closed ends are called regulators. They are basically built like an uilleann pipes chanter, with a chanter-style reed, but closed off so that notes only sound when the keys are played.
The regulators can provide chordal or rhythmic accompaniment to the melody line, and supplement the drones. Unfortunately, since the hands are busy on the chanter, the regulators are played with the heel of the right hand!

The little devils behind all the noise are reeds, cunningly made from the reed grass Arundo donax. The raw material comes in tubes, which are split to form the chanter reed tongues, and used whole for the drone reeds:

URL: http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/vanfleet/uilleann.html

Updated: August 29, 2008

Please direct questions and comments to:

James A. Van Fleet
vanfleet@bucknell.edu
Portrait by John Van Fleet
artist for the Marvel Comics series Typhoid
and DC Comics Batman: the Chalice

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