The uilleann pipes (pronounced "ee-lan" or "ee-lyan"), also called Union pipes or Irish pipes, are the traditional bagpipe of Ireland. Their name comes from the Irish phrase "píobaí uilleann," which means "pipes of the elbow," referring to how they are inflated. The term "uilleann pipes" was first used in the 20th century by Grattan Flood. Some people mistakenly thought the name "Union" was related to the 1800 Act of Union, but this is incorrect. A poem from 1796 already used the word "union."

The bag of the uilleann pipes is filled with air using a small bellows attached around the waist and right arm (or left arm for left-handed players). The bellows help the player avoid blowing directly into the bag, making it easier to keep air pressure steady. They also allow dry air to reach the reeds, which helps the instrument stay in tune and last longer. Some players can talk or sing while playing. The bag is held under the other elbow, and squeezing it controls the airflow to the reeds, which create the musical notes.

Air from the bag travels to the chanter, drones, and regulators. The chanter is played with fingers, like a flute. It has a range of two full octaves, including sharps and flats, because it can be overblown to produce higher notes. The chanter is often held on the piper's thigh, with the bottom hole closed to direct airflow through the open tone holes. If one tone hole is closed before the next opens, a short, broken sound called staccato is created.

The three drones are open pipes that constantly play three notes spaced an octave apart. The three regulators are closed pipes that do not make sound unless their keys are opened by the piper's wrist or hand. Each regulator key produces a different note when opened. The keys are arranged so multiple can be pressed at once, allowing the piper to play simple chords for rhythm and harmony. The uilleann pipes also include many musical decorations using grace notes.

The sound of the uilleann pipes is different from other bagpipes. They have a softer, sweeter tone compared to instruments like the Great Irish warpipes, Great Highland bagpipes, or Italian zampognas. The uilleann pipes are often played indoors and are almost always played while sitting.

Etymology

The word "uilleann" comes from the Irish word "uillinn," which means "elbow." The Irish name for the instrument, "píb uilleann" (or "píob uilleann"), translates to "pipes of the elbow."

The first written record of the instrument was called "Union pipes" at the end of the 18th century. This name may have referred to the way the instrument’s parts—chanter, drones, and regulators—work together. Another idea is that it was linked to a time when England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland were not yet united. However, this is not true because "Union pipes" was used before the Act of Union in 1801. It is also possible that "Union pipes" was a name used in formal events in Scotland, Ireland, and parts of England, where the instrument was popular among wealthy people.

The term "uilleann pipes" was first recorded in the early 20th century. William Henry Grattan Flood, an Irish music scholar, suggested that "uilleann" came from the Irish word for "elbow." He pointed to a line in Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice (1600) that mentions "woollen pipes." This idea was shared by earlier scholars and later accepted by the Gaelic League. However, Breandán Breathnach later showed that it was unlikely the word "uilleann" changed to "woollen" before the 16th century (when the instrument did not exist) and then to "union" two centuries later.

History

The first bagpipes in Ireland that are well recorded were similar to the Scottish Highland bagpipes now played in Scotland. These were called the "Great Irish Warpipes." In Irish and Scottish Gaelic, the instrument was named píob mhór, which means "great pipe."

While the mouth-blown warpipe was still used in battles in France and other parts of Europe, it had nearly disappeared in Ireland. Around the early 1800s, the union or uilleann pipe was developed. This happened at the same time as the creation of the bellows-driven Northumbrian smallpipes and the bellows-driven Scottish Lowland bagpipes. These three instruments were much quieter and had a softer sound than their mouth-blown predecessors. Their design required a bellows under the right arm to pump air through a tube to a leather bag under the left arm. This bag provided air at a steady pressure to the chanter and drones (and regulators in the case of the Irish uilleann pipes). A music book from the 1740s called this early version of the uilleann pipes the "Pastoral or New bagpipe." The Pastoral pipes were played using a bellows and could be played while sitting or standing. The Pastoral pipes had a conical-shaped chanter that was played "open," meaning smoothly, unlike the uilleann pipes, which could also be played "closed," meaning with short, separate notes. Early Pastoral pipes had two drones, and later versions had one or two regulators. The Pastoral pipes and later flat set union pipes evolved as ideas about the instrument were shared between Ireland, Scotland, and England during the 1700s and early 1800s.

The earliest surviving uilleann pipes date to the second half of the 1700s, but their exact dates are not certain. Scientists have only recently studied the instrument, and many questions about its development remain unanswered. The uilleann or union pipes may have come from the Pastoral pipes (also called Border pipes, Northumbrian pipes, or Scottish smallpipes) and became popular in Ireland among the Protestant Anglo-Irish community and their wealthy pipers, who could afford these expensive handmade instruments. The Irish uilleann pipes are more complex in design, and their development likely happened among wealthy people. Many early players in Ireland were Protestant. For example, Jackson from County Limerick and William Kennedy, a blind pipemaker from Tandragee, were well-known in the 1700s. The Rowsome family from County Wexford were also members of the Church of Ireland until the late 1800s. The uilleann pipes were often used by Protestant clergy as an alternative to church organs. Even in the 1800s, the instrument was still closely linked to the Anglo-Irish community. For example, Canon James Goodman (1828–1896), an Anglican clergyman from Kerry, had his custom-made uilleann pipes buried with him in a Church of Ireland cemetery near Baltimore, County Cork. His friend, John Hingston from Skibbereen, also played the uilleann pipes. Another friend of Canon Goodman, Alderman Phair of Cork (founder of a pipers club in the 1890s), had Goodman’s pipes recovered from the cemetery. They were later given to Cork piper Michael O'Riabhaigh, who revived the (then extinct) pipers club in Cork in the 1960s.

Tuning

Today, the instrument is usually tuned to the key of D, a tradition started by the Taylor brothers (originally from Drogheda, Ireland, and later from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) in the late 1800s. Canon Goodman played a set of Taylor pipes. Before this, most pipes were tuned to different keys, such as D♭, C, B, and B♭, which made it difficult to play with other instruments. The length of the chanter determines the overall tuning; other parts of the instrument, like drones and regulators, are also tuned to match the chanter's key. Chanters about 362 mm (14 1/4 inches) long produce a lowest note near D4 (the D above middle C) when A4 is set to 440 Hz, which is the modern standard for concert pitch. These pipes are a recent invention created by the Taylor brothers. They typically have larger openings and bigger tone holes than older "flat" sets, making them much louder, though not as loud as Scottish Highland pipes. The Taylors designed them to meet the needs of playing in larger venues in the United States. Today, these D-tuned pipes are the most common type of uilleann pipes, though some players still prefer the softer sound of older, narrower-bore pipes, which are available in pitches from D down to B♭. Before the Taylors, some makers built concert pitch pipes using the narrower bores and smaller fingerholes of flat sets. Some of these instruments were made for lower pitch standards, such as A4 = 415 Hz. The Taylors also made instruments for higher pitch standards, like the Old Philharmonic pitch of A4 = 453 Hz, which was common in late 19th-century America.

D-tuned pipes are most often used in groups, while flat-pitched pipes are more commonly used for solo playing. Sometimes, fiddlers tune their instruments down to match a piper’s flat set, but other instruments used in Irish music, such as accordions and flutes, are often too rigid to allow this. It is important to note that Irish music was mostly solo until the late 1800s, when fixed-pitch instruments became more common. Like some older pipe organs, uilleann pipes are not usually tuned to equal temperament but instead to just intonation, which allows the chanter and regulators to blend smoothly with the three drones. Most fixed-pitch instruments used in Irish music are tuned to equal temperament, which can sometimes create tension when played with the pipes.

Instrument variations

A full set of uilleann pipes includes a chanter, drones, and regulators. A half-set does not include regulators, and a practice set does not include regulators or drones. All three types are used by professional musicians.

Because the uilleann pipes are complex, beginners often start with partial sets called practice sets. A practice set has only the basic parts: a pipe bag, bellows, and chanter. It does not include drones or regulators. The chanter can be made in different keys, starting from the "concert pitch" D chanter and going down in half-note steps to a B♭ chanter. A B♭ chanter is sometimes called a "flat set," as are any sets below the key of D.

To play the uilleann pipes well, students must learn to pump the bellows steadily, control the pressure on the bag, and play the chanter at the same time. Because of this, beginners often use practice sets until they are comfortable with these skills. Practice sets are not only used by beginners but also by advanced players who want to play only the chanter with other musicians. In these cases, practice sets can be tuned to equal temperament if needed.

A half set is the next step after a practice set. Like other bagpipes, uilleann pipes use "drones," which are three pipes that create a constant background note to support the melody of the chanter. These drones are called the tenor, baritone, and bass. The tenor drone sounds the same as the lowest note of the chanter. The baritone drone is one octave lower, and the bass drone is two octaves lower. Some older versions of the uilleann pipes, called Pastoral pipes, had four drones, including an extra one that played a harmony note.

Drones are connected to the pipe bag through a wooden cylinder called a "stock." This cylinder is tied to the bag with thick yarn or hemp thread. The regulators (part of a full set) also connect to the stock. The stock and drones are placed across the right thigh, which is different from other bagpipes, where drones are usually carried over the shoulder or arm.

Drones can be turned off using a key attached to the stock. Originally, the stock was a hollow cylinder with metal tubes inside to hold the regulators and supply air to them. Later, in the late 19th century, the stock was made from a solid piece of wood with five holes drilled through it. This design was stronger and less likely to break. A piper can also turn individual drones on or off by pressing the bag and tapping the end of a drone. This helps with tuning or playing the chanter alone. Drones use single-bladed reeds, unlike the double reeds used in the chanter and regulators. In the past, drone reeds were made from elderberry twigs, but later, cane was used.

A full set includes a half set plus three regulators. These are closed pipes, similar to the chanter, attached to the stock. Regulators have keys (five on the tenor and four on the baritone and bass) that allow players to create chords or single notes. The notes on the regulators, from highest to lowest (with a nominal pitch of D), are: tenor: C, B, A, G, F♯; baritone: A, G, F♯, D; bass: C, B, A, G. The tenor and baritone regulators are placed on the front of the stock, above the drones, while the bass regulator is attached to the side of the stock.

Regulators can also be used to play "hand chords." This happens when the left hand plays the melody on the chanter, and the right hand uses all three regulators to create complex chords. This technique is often used in slower pieces, like airs, to add dramatic effect.

The chanter is the part of the uilleann pipes used to play the melody. It has eight finger holes (example: a D-pitched chanter has bottom D, E♭, E, F♯, G, A, B, C, C♯, and high D). To play the bottom D (D4), the chanter is lifted off the knee, exposing the end of the bore where the note is produced. The chanter is then placed on the right knee to close the bottom hole. Some players use a leather strip called a "popping strap" to create an airtight seal. Others use a flap valve on the chanter.

The chanter can produce staccato notes because the piper can silence it by closing all the finger holes. This is also needed to play notes in the second octave, which requires increasing the bag pressure and then playing the notes. By changing finger positions and lifting the chanter, players can create a wide range of sounds. Pipers who use staccato fingering are called "closed-style" pipers, while those who use legato fingering are called "open-style" pipers. Open-style playing was historically used by traveling musicians who played outdoors, as it is louder.

A type of vibrato and tremolo can be created by tapping a finger below an open note hole on the chanter. The bottom note has two "modes": "soft D" and "hard D." The hard D is louder and sharper and is played by increasing the bag pressure and flicking a higher note finger. Most chanters are tuned so the hard D is in tune, while the soft D is slightly flat.

Many chanters have keys to play all the semitones in the scale. Four keys (F♮, G♯, B♭, C♮) allow accurate semitone playing. Older chanters sometimes had additional keys for higher notes. Most uilleann chanters are very responsive to "half-holing" or "sliding," where notes are played by partially covering finger holes. This is why many chanters sold in Ireland do not have keys. With practice, pipers can play semitones accurately using this technique.

Notable players

• Willie Clancy (1918–1973)
• Troy Donockley (born 1964) of Nightwish
• Johnny Doran (c. 1908 –1950)
• Séamus Ennis (1919–1982)
• Finbar Furey (born 1946)
• Paddy Keenan (born 1950)
• Declan Masterson
• Michael McGoldrick (born 1971)
• Paddy Moloney (1938–2021) of the Chieftains
• Liam O'Flynn (1945–2018) of Planxty
• Leo Rowsome (1903–1970)
• Davy Spillane (born 1959)
• William Talbot (1792-1874)