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I've been taking Uilleann pipes classes for the last 2 months, and I'm loving it so far. I wanted to play since seeing Seamus Ennis on YouTube a year or two ago, and finally got around to starting this fall. I've been listening to practically nothing but irish music for the past 4-5 months (Planxty, Bothy Band, basically anything with pipes in it). In fact, I'm putting down the cash for my own half-set. It's also started me into playing irish tunes on guitar, and got me thinking about getting a bouzouki. Are there any recommendations on bouzouki makers? I'm pretty knowledgable with guitars (I've been playing for ~20 years, taking it more seriously for about 15) but I realized I know nothing about other fretted stringed instruments, which brands are good, etc.
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Nov 15, 2013 04:42
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 05:07 |
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Great, not many uilleann pipers on the forum yet! But did you decide to take up the UP prior to seeing this thread, so this doesn't count as a point on the board for us? Hmm, I probably saw some videos (actually the Ennis video you linked to was the first one I saw and what got me hooked) and was interested in learning them before coming here, but I read this thread a bit before I actually took the plunge and started taking classes. So it provided encouragement, I guess? TapTheForwardAssist posted:Which make of half set are you ordering? From Tim & Stephanie Benson, in western NY. They were recommended by my teacher. I've played one of their practice sets with a cocobolo chanter, it was boss. TapTheForwardAssist posted:As to your bouzouki question. First off, have you already explored the Irish tuning DADGAD on your current guitar? That might be a cheap way to scratch your 'zouk itch while you're busy saving for your pipes. But if you definitely want to add a new instrument rather than just new tuning, the main mid-level affordable ones to check out are Trinity College and Gold Tone, running $600 or so new. There are some established tweaks to address the shortcomings of the TC model, small commonly-needed changes to action and bridge and all, and I assume some of those apply to the GT as well. Cool, thanks for the info. I'll check out those bouzoukis as a starting point. I have a 12-string that I keep in DADGAD or DADGBD, I've tried picking up a tune or two (just learned the Harvest Home).
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Nov 17, 2013 23:46
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Separately, Jerry Freeman is a dude who "tweaks" Generation tinwhistles, modifying the head to make them play smoother. Apparently Generations were way better back before the 80s or so, when the old molds wore out and they made newer/inferior ones for the plastic heads. So Jerry gets in there with needle files and sandpaper and makes them play way, way better for $30 or so. He's got 10 days left on an Indie GoGo campaign to raise funds for him to digitally image his best whistle-heads, and then recreate them in some new kind of high-quality 3D printing so that he can mass-produce the kind of whistles that take an hour's work of handwork to get playing now. There's no donor bonuses since it'll be at least a year until he's in production, but if you're curious to see fancy science applied to make high-end whistles, you can chip him $5 or whatever to help out. I'm definitely up to buy one when they go into production: I was going to post this. I met Jerry at a piping event last year and he's a very nice guy. Some music teachers I know at the local Comhaltas school think highly of Freeman's tweaked whistles. I have a Mellow Dog and a Blue Bird and they're great. I'm going to get some of his tweaked Generations in C and Bb next. I also have a Killarney whistle (a bit more expensive, $70) that I really like, that was also recommended by pro musicians in my area. Lavender Philtrum posted:I have a D tinwhistle from Oak that I play occasionally and I enjoy it but it seems a little temperamental sometimes- like it just doesn't play 'as well' on certain days. Is this a matter of me or the whistle? Mainly the reason I don't play it much is because it's a little loud and shrill and I don't want to annoy anyone with extended playing, not that it's difficult or sounds bad. It depends on the whistle. Shrillness or screechiness might be a sign of a less-than-ideal whistle. For Generations he just tweaks the mouthpieces. His other whistles (Black/Blue Bird, Mellow Dog) are combinations of one commercial whistle head with another body (I think). E.g. the Mellow Dog is a Walton's Mellow D whistle with a Feadog head. When he adjusts the mouthpiece it does change the tone to some degree but I think that depends more on the whistle you buy (some are "smoother", more pure and sine-wave like; or "chiffier", which means a reedier, flute-like sound). Since his tweaked whistles are still factory-produced instruments there will still be some variation but he makes sure that everything plays in tune and that the pressure required for the various notes are relatively even. Some whistles sometimes screech in the second octave when they come from the factory and he makes sure that doesn't happen. I think it's worth the extra money to have a whistle that is guaranteed to be easy to play and sound good, vs. searching through many factory-produced whistles until you find one of the "good ones". You will probably enjoy practicing much more and that will have an effect on your progress. Keep in mind you can spend $150-$250 on a Burke or Goldie whistle so $30 for something that pro musicians are raving about is a steal. Edit: In addition to the Indiegogo campaign (which I made a small donation to, it's a good idea), here's his eBay store: http://www.ebay.com/sch/freemanwhistles/ Rhombic Drive fucked around with this message at 07:12 on Aug 5, 2015 |
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Aug 4, 2015 20:28
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Hedningen posted:So, ended up finding a good set of secondhand pipes via a Facebook group for pipers. BC Childress chanter, along with a nice pipebag and a set of bellows by Dow, which are gorgeous leather-and-brass, with really comfortable sheepskin padding. You can do a lot worse than one of Bruce's sets to learn on. I met a guy who had a practice set from him and it was in tune and easy to play, though a bit muffled-sounding (that could also be a reed issue). His workmanship is pretty good though. If you're unsure about the reed the only solution is having an experienced piper play your chanter. That's something you could ask your teacher to do if you meet in person. IMO the difficulty of the pipes is slightly overstated, once you get over the initial humps a lot of the difficulty comes from maintenance and having a set that actually plays well. If you have a good instrument it's not much harder than anything else really. That being said, it's definitely not a hobby instrument though, you really need to be passionate to stick with it. Good luck with the reedmaking, it's a great skill to have. Mickey Dunne said that if you make a reed every day for a year you are on the right track. Haha. Edit: One piece of advice is to listen to a lot of solo piping music. Like, every spare chance you get. Listening is such a huge part of learning this instrument, it's just as important as practicing. You need to have how you want to sound etched onto your brain before you can make your fingers do it. If you're obsessed with it your progress will be a lot faster. Rhombic Drive fucked around with this message at 16:46 on May 19, 2016 |
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May 19, 2016 16:31
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Hedningen posted:I really should record something. I'm just rear end at doing it myself due to weird mental pressure - the moment I start, I suddenly lose most of my musical ability. It's hilarious - I'll see if I can set something up where my wife is recording without telling me so I don't start forgetting how to play. It's basically crippling "Oh god, permanent record of sucking!", similar to jamming with a new group, but even worse. Something that I found that helps is just to record your entire practice session. Whenever you play, record it. You can listen to it later to get a different perspective on your playing and can play without worrying about messing up a 'take'. If you end up doing something you like, just edit it into its own file later.
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Jun 28, 2016 15:39
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 05:07 |
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If there is an Irish music school in your area they might do rentals. Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann branches sometimes run music schools: https://comhaltas.ie/locations/detail/north_america
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Nov 1, 2016 03:13
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