If you want to learn to play the Irish uilleann flutes, there are three teaching paths you can take. This assumes that you have already purchased a practice set of Uilleann Pipes to play.
The first method of enrollment is to get lessons from a teacher in your area. This may seem logical, but finding a Uilleann Pipes teacher will depend on where in the world you live. As traditional Irish music becomes popular and spreads around the world, there are now people interested in playing Irish music on Uilleann Pipes in Japan, Australia, Germany, and the US, to name just a few.
If you live in Ireland, where pipes originate, it’s quite easy to get lessons in Dublin, Cork or Galway. However, even in Ireland you may have trouble finding teachers in Donegal, Kerry or Lietrum. The main pipe association in Ireland is Na Piobairi Uilleann or NPU for short. They have a database of all their members who teach. They also teach the bagpipe classes at the “Willie Clancy Summer School” which has a full week of Uilleann bagpipe instruction each year. Classes in Dublin during school term and organizes piping weekends around Ireland with the help of its members.
If you live outside of Ireland and want to take lessons from a Uilleann Pipes teacher, things get much more difficult. Your best bet is to find out where the closest pipe club to where you live is. If you’re in the Boston area of the US, for example, there’s a Boston bagpipe club you can go to for lessons. But if you live in Idaho, USA, you may have to travel hundreds of miles to find a teacher.
The second way to learn Uilleann Pipes is by purchasing a tutorial book or CD/DVD tutorial. For the piper who lives in an area without teachers, this is the main method of self-study for her. Now there are many self-study tutorial books for Uilleann Pipes on the market. This shows how popular Uilleann Pipes have become in recent years. Some tutors have been around for many years and provide basic to advanced methods of playing the instrument with melodies for you to play.
The latest tutorial book has an audio cd included in the package. This has the advantage that the student can follow the music both by ear and by notation. It also helps to tune the tubes and keep the tempo correct. Some tutorial books also have alternative notation for students who cannot read music. The tutor with the included CD is therefore the one that most teachers would recommend to students who do not have face-to-face teaching.
DVD and video tutors are now on the market and these have the advantage of being able to see on the screen how the DVD master is playing the tune. Since the DVD and video are recorded in real time, you don’t get as many tunes to learn as you would from a printed book. You should also be honest with yourself in deciding what skill level you have before you make your purchase. If you are a pipeline beginner and buy an intermediate DVD/Video, you are in for a big surprise as you may not be able to play anything on it. It can take many years to get to intermediate level at Uilleann Pipes, so know your skill level before you buy. Most DVD/Vidio tutors for pipes come with notation and finger charts. Therefore, you have the advantage of being able to see the tutor and read the music. DVDs and pipe videos are now as popular as the tutor with audio books.
The third method that can help you is on the Internet. This can come in many forms such as: mentoring and information websites, uilleann pipe blogs, channeling audio and video links. some sites are free while others want a fee. The video of the pipers is put on myspace or Utube and there are many websites of piper clubs around the world who chat and exchange tunes with each other through the Internet. Some tutors even teach via video conference.
With all this help available, a budding piper should be able to find a suitable tutorial method to help them “Learn to Play the Uilleann Pipes”.
