The Uilleann Pipes are very popular in traditional music in Ireland.
They are called Uilleann Pipes because you have to use your elbow (Uilleann
in Irish) to play them.
Bellows and Chanter
A set of pipes has a bag, bellows, chanter, three drones and threeB
regulators.
The air is pumped into a bag under the pipers right elbow from a bellows
attached by a strap to his/her right elbow. Notes are made by covering
and uncovering holes on the chanter and by pressing on the bag with
the right arm. The chanter has a range of two octaves (in the key of
D), often has keys, and in addition to drones (three or four), the uilleann
pipes have regulators, extra pipes which can play certain chords.
 Regulator
A 'practice set' is often used, which has a chanter but no drones or
regulators.
The player puts the chanter on his/her right knee and the drones and
the regulators are hang across the legs to the right. The drones have
keys on them and act as harmony. The player presses the keys with the
side of his/her hand to make the sound on the drones.
The Uilleann pipes have a more mellow tone than the Bagpipes, as they
were more for playing indoors. You must play them sitting down unlike
whereas you can march with bagpipes.
 Full
set of pipes
Listen to the pipes being played:
 Seamus
Ennis from the album Forty Years of Irish Piping (Green
Linnet)
Gerry O'Sullivan
from the album The Invasion (Green Linnet)
Brenda
McCann (Fiddle) and Eammon Walsh (Uilleann Pipes) (Video and Audio
2086Kb) from CCE
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