Hi,

OK can you pat your head while rubbing your tummy, while tap dancing and making changing the tyre on your car?.... if so then you are ready for the uillean pipes.

The bellows are pumped with your right arm, which inflates the bag under your left arm, so you have to pump with one while trying to keep a constant pressure with the one on the bag. so far so good but you haven't even tried to get a note out yet!

Unlike the whistle where you only cover the holes you need, on the pipes you cover the ones you want, leave the next one open (uncovered) and then cover all the remaining ones as well.

On top of this fingering..... when you play a low D (pipes are in D usually) you have to lift the chanter off your leg. (Sorry... forgot to mention this... up until this point the chanter has been pushed into your thigh.)

so far you are squeezing, pumping, fingering and lifting the thing off and on your leg...... Now as I have mentioned before I only have a practice set if you go for a full set you also get drones which you play with your right wrist(!!!) whilst still concentrating on doing all the other stuff.

It is a lovely sounding instrument and I have tremendous respect for anyone who can play it.

Of course the whistle is a ligitimate instrument I never fail to get comments when I play mine, (usually good).

Slainte

Alison