Customer Reviews

The New Approach To Uilleann Piping (Bagpipes)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are trying to learn Uilleann Pipes without a tutor buy this book! I purchased a Uilleann practice set and discover the book that came with it was not a great help. This book with the CD included will help you learn the Uilleann pipes. The CD is narrated in a clear voice and uses good English without slang so it can be understood by those who speak American English. The musical instrument played in the lessons are a practice set without drones so you will be able to better compare your notes to theirs. The lesson structure will have you learning finger placement to achieve notes on the chanter and teach you how to read music as well. Note combinations are introduced to you in print and sound to show you how to get from one note to another and then tunes are played in their entirety so you can play along as you learn at you own pace.

Well, simply put, this is the best starter book available...the book by Seamus Ennis, The Master's Touch, is good as well, and has many songs to boot. Both are good intros, but the inclusion of the audio CD with this book by Heather Clarke is a welcome addition. If you are learning from an instructor or on your own, this book will do well for you--but bear in mind these pipes are complex instruments that most people who play love and hate at the same time--they aren't easy, but THEY ARE NOT IMPOSSIBLE!!!!!

I studied engineering in my undergrad so I think with that part of my brain. I've never played a musical instrument, couldn't carry a note in a bucket. After a couple of days studying Mr Clarke's great tutorial, I was both reading music and happily murdering notes on my cheap set of Pakistani pipes. The CD included was of great help tuning my pipes as was the freeware tuning program I downloaded off the net, AP tuner ([...]). If a musically clueless git like me can learn, anyone can. Definately worth the price.

This is a more clearly written and well thought out instructional guide than I expected to find.

I would consider this to be the equivalent of the Scottish "Green book" by which all other teaching methods are measured.

This book is an excellent reference for beginning pipers. If you do not have a teacher (as it is difficult to find Uilleann pipers in some areas) this book is absolutely essential. I starts with the basics of just making noise on the pipes, which is an undertaking in itself, and then proceeds to introduce the piper to a variety of tunes beginning with very simple ones and moving up in complexity. Seeing as you're buying a how to book I'm assuming that you are a beginning piper. A word on actual pipes, stay away from the Pakistani ones. If you are on a budget I would recommend buying a practice set from David Daye [...] as his pipes are both affordable and high quality.