Music, Laments, and...hi-res photos?
Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 5:30 pm
"It is a sad tale, as are all the tales of Middle-Earth."
If Aragorn was bold enough to say that all of the stories of his and of ancient times were sad tales, it more than just stands to reason that the chief form of music, compositionally as well as for its nearly direct connection with poetry, across nearly all cultures save perhaps Hobbits, who were mostly oblivious, would be the Lament. Laments are what they sound like...there's no specific musical formulae, but they are generally slow, somber, often a-rhythmic (having no set tempo, etc.), and typically feature in a minor key (sad/darker sounding, for you not in-the-know).
How fortunate for us! Laments can be some of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces, and can more effectively put a group of tired Rangers to bed than any number of Ales. Well, almost.
Years upon years ago, I began teaching myself to play the Uilleann Bagpipes. Uilleann is Gaelic for 'Elbow', as they are pumped with a bellows rather than mouth-blown, and it is pronounced "Il-lan." They are the national instrument of Ireland, and have featured in recent years on the Titanic and Braveheart Soundtracks played by Eric Rigler, and on the Riverdance and Celtic Woman shows, often as solo acts, ALL playing, you guessed it: Laments.
Uilleann pipes have a unique sound found nowhere else...not even remotely close. There are notes that exist on the pipes that don't exist anywhere else...for example, the lowest note on a traditional chanter is D...one half-step up would be an E-flat. There IS an E-flat on the pipes, but it has a completely different tonal coloration/tembre from the rest of the instrument, and is referred to as "Ghost D".
For this reason and a few others, I believe that the Uilleann pipes are NOT Numenorean or within the Actual Dunedain culture, but rather form the closest modern equivalent to something that might have been found in Numenor, or around a council fire at Fornost, etc.
A full set of Uilleann Bagpipes, which are played sitting down, looks like this, with a chanter, three drones, and three regulators, which are tubes that remain silent until a key is pressed, emitting an accordion-like note. The regulators are played with the wrist as they lay across the lap, and typically form changing chords behind the melody while the drones remain constant.
These ARE NOT my pipes. If you have a spare $10,000, I'll be able to afford a full set that looks JUST like those. Yes please. Moving on, cheaper options include nixing the regulators to form a "half set", or nixing all of the drones, etc., to form what is called a "Practice Set."
Six years ago, a stupid teen sat on my pipes, breaking my chanter in half. The chanter is the melodic portion of any form of bagpipe, independent of the drones. Without it, pipes are useless. Mine have never sounded the same, regardless of repeated attempts with tape and glue.
Five years of procrastinating/saving money/bills and kids later, I placed an order with a deposit.
That was one year ago.
Today, my new chanter, with a very unique setup, arrived at my door.
THIS is ALSO not mine.
This chanter was made back in the 70's/80's, with a tenor drone, the smallest of the three drones normally attached to the side of the bag in a cluster, attached to the windcap, which is where the reed is housed. This doesn't offer the full sound of a 'stand' of drones, but it theoretically accompanies the chanter nicely enough for a smaller setting, or boosts the volume of the drones a bit if used with a full set. When I saw this, I fell in love with it. Too bad there are less than a dozen of these in existence, to my knowledge. This is the only photo of one I've ever seen.
It took me years to find someone willing to give it a go, and that was when I placed my order last year. Tommy Martin is a world-class piper, and plays on the regular rap sheet of several small-town groups you've never heard of, like Celtic Women and Riverdance. Turns out, he also makes pipes, and the first windcap-mounted tenor drone he's ever made came to my door today.
Materials: Turkish Boxwood for the main body, polished brass hardware, ebony mounts, windcap, and secondary parts.
They are stunning in person, sound phenomenal, and after I've gotten used to them a bit and have played in the reeds, I'll get you an audio sample. When the drone is turned on, the two different reed types (double reed=chanter, single reed=drone) create conflicting soundwaves within the windcap, which is normally a problem, but Tommy managed a few miracles, and the resulting "dissonance" is absolutely gorgeous.
I'll have more updates as we get used to one another, will follow up with some better photos at some point, as well as a few in kit, I'm sure.
Cheers.
If Aragorn was bold enough to say that all of the stories of his and of ancient times were sad tales, it more than just stands to reason that the chief form of music, compositionally as well as for its nearly direct connection with poetry, across nearly all cultures save perhaps Hobbits, who were mostly oblivious, would be the Lament. Laments are what they sound like...there's no specific musical formulae, but they are generally slow, somber, often a-rhythmic (having no set tempo, etc.), and typically feature in a minor key (sad/darker sounding, for you not in-the-know).
How fortunate for us! Laments can be some of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces, and can more effectively put a group of tired Rangers to bed than any number of Ales. Well, almost.
Years upon years ago, I began teaching myself to play the Uilleann Bagpipes. Uilleann is Gaelic for 'Elbow', as they are pumped with a bellows rather than mouth-blown, and it is pronounced "Il-lan." They are the national instrument of Ireland, and have featured in recent years on the Titanic and Braveheart Soundtracks played by Eric Rigler, and on the Riverdance and Celtic Woman shows, often as solo acts, ALL playing, you guessed it: Laments.
Uilleann pipes have a unique sound found nowhere else...not even remotely close. There are notes that exist on the pipes that don't exist anywhere else...for example, the lowest note on a traditional chanter is D...one half-step up would be an E-flat. There IS an E-flat on the pipes, but it has a completely different tonal coloration/tembre from the rest of the instrument, and is referred to as "Ghost D".
For this reason and a few others, I believe that the Uilleann pipes are NOT Numenorean or within the Actual Dunedain culture, but rather form the closest modern equivalent to something that might have been found in Numenor, or around a council fire at Fornost, etc.
A full set of Uilleann Bagpipes, which are played sitting down, looks like this, with a chanter, three drones, and three regulators, which are tubes that remain silent until a key is pressed, emitting an accordion-like note. The regulators are played with the wrist as they lay across the lap, and typically form changing chords behind the melody while the drones remain constant.
These ARE NOT my pipes. If you have a spare $10,000, I'll be able to afford a full set that looks JUST like those. Yes please. Moving on, cheaper options include nixing the regulators to form a "half set", or nixing all of the drones, etc., to form what is called a "Practice Set."
Six years ago, a stupid teen sat on my pipes, breaking my chanter in half. The chanter is the melodic portion of any form of bagpipe, independent of the drones. Without it, pipes are useless. Mine have never sounded the same, regardless of repeated attempts with tape and glue.
Five years of procrastinating/saving money/bills and kids later, I placed an order with a deposit.
That was one year ago.
Today, my new chanter, with a very unique setup, arrived at my door.
THIS is ALSO not mine.
This chanter was made back in the 70's/80's, with a tenor drone, the smallest of the three drones normally attached to the side of the bag in a cluster, attached to the windcap, which is where the reed is housed. This doesn't offer the full sound of a 'stand' of drones, but it theoretically accompanies the chanter nicely enough for a smaller setting, or boosts the volume of the drones a bit if used with a full set. When I saw this, I fell in love with it. Too bad there are less than a dozen of these in existence, to my knowledge. This is the only photo of one I've ever seen.
It took me years to find someone willing to give it a go, and that was when I placed my order last year. Tommy Martin is a world-class piper, and plays on the regular rap sheet of several small-town groups you've never heard of, like Celtic Women and Riverdance. Turns out, he also makes pipes, and the first windcap-mounted tenor drone he's ever made came to my door today.
Materials: Turkish Boxwood for the main body, polished brass hardware, ebony mounts, windcap, and secondary parts.
They are stunning in person, sound phenomenal, and after I've gotten used to them a bit and have played in the reeds, I'll get you an audio sample. When the drone is turned on, the two different reed types (double reed=chanter, single reed=drone) create conflicting soundwaves within the windcap, which is normally a problem, but Tommy managed a few miracles, and the resulting "dissonance" is absolutely gorgeous.
I'll have more updates as we get used to one another, will follow up with some better photos at some point, as well as a few in kit, I'm sure.
Cheers.