The uilleann pipes (pronounced "ee-lan" or "ee-lyan"), also called Union pipes or Irish pipes, are the traditional bagpipe of Ireland. The name comes from the Irish phrase "píobaí uilleann," which means "pipes of the elbow," referring to how the instrument is filled with air. The term "uilleann pipes" was first used in the 20th century by a person named Grattan Flood. Some people incorrectly believed the name "Union" was related to the 1800 Act of Union, but a poem from 1796 shows the term "union" was already in use.

The bag of the uilleann pipes is filled using small bellows attached around the waist and the right arm (or left arm for left-handed players). These bellows make it easier to control air pressure and keep the air dry, which helps the instrument stay in tune and last longer. The bag is squeezed under the opposite elbow to control airflow to the reeds, which create the notes.

Air from the bag flows to the chanter, drones, and regulators. The chanter is played like a flute with fingers. It can play two full octaves, including sharps and flats, by blowing harder to reach higher notes. The chanter is often held on the piper’s thigh, with the bottom hole closed so air only escapes through the open holes. Closing one hole before opening the next creates short, separated notes. The three drones are open pipes that continuously play three notes spaced an octave apart. The three regulators are closed pipes with keys that can be opened by the piper’s wrist or hand. When opened, each regulator key plays a different note, allowing the piper to play simple chords for harmony and rhythm.

The sound of the uilleann pipes is different from other bagpipes. It is softer and sweeter compared to instruments like the Great Irish warpipes, Great Highland bagpipes, or Italian zampognas. The uilleann pipes are usually played indoors and 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 known written mention of the instrument was "Union pipes" in the late 1700s. This name might have referred to how the parts of the instrument—such as the chanter, drones, and regulators—work together. Another idea is that the name "Union pipes" was linked to a time when England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland were not yet united as one country. However, this is incorrect because the instrument was already called "Union pipes" before the Act of Union in 1801. It is also possible that the instrument was popular among wealthy people in Scotland, Ireland, and parts of England, and the term "Union pipes" may have come from this social popularity.

The term "uilleann pipes" was first recorded in the early 1900s. 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. Some believe the name "uilleann" was chosen to avoid the word "Union," which was tied to the Act of Union. However, Breandán Breathnach noted that it is unlikely the word "woollen" (similar to "uilleann") was used before the 16th century, long before the instrument existed, and that the connection to "Union" later was not clear.

History

The first well-documented bagpipes in Ireland 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 the píob mhór, meaning "great pipe."

While the mouth-blown warpipe was widely used in battles across Europe, it nearly disappeared in Ireland. Around the early 18th century, the union or uilleann pipe developed at the same time as the bellows-driven Northumbrian smallpipes and the bellows-driven Scottish Lowland bagpipes. All three instruments were much quieter and had a softer sound than their mouth-blown predecessors. Their design required attaching a bellows under the right arm, which pushed air through a tube to a leather bag under the left arm. This bag provided air at a steady pressure to the chanter and the drones (and regulators in the case of the Irish uilleann pipes). A music guide from the 1740s called this early version of the uilleann pipes the "Pastoral or New bagpipe." The Pastoral pipes were bellows-blown and played while sitting or standing. The conical chanter was played "open," meaning smoothly, unlike the uilleann pipes, which could also be played "closed," meaning in short, separated notes. Early Pastoral pipes had two drones, and later versions had one or two regulators. The Pastoral and later flat set Union pipes evolved as ideas about the instrument were shared between Ireland, Scotland, and England during the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The earliest surviving sets of uilleann pipes date to the second half of the 18th century, though these dates are not certain. Scientific study of the instrument has only recently begun, and questions about its development remain unresolved. The uilleann or union pipes may have originated from the Pastoral pipes (Border pipes, Northumbrian pipes, Scottish smallpipes) and became popular in Ireland among the Protestant Anglo-Irish community and its wealthy pipers, who could afford the costly handmade instruments. The Irish uilleann pipes are more complex in design, and their development likely occurred among the wealthy. Many early players in Ireland were Protestant, including the mid-18th-century piper Jackson from County Limerick and the 18th-century blind pipemaker William Kennedy from Tandragee. The famous Rowsome family from County Wexford were members of the Church of Ireland until the mid- to late 19th century. The uilleann pipes were often used by Protestant clergy as an alternative to church organs. As late as the 19th century, the instrument was still closely linked to the Anglo-Irish, such as the Anglican clergyman Canon James Goodman (1828–1896) from Kerry, who had his custom-made uilleann pipes buried with him at Creagh (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 the pipers club in Cork in the 1890s), had Goodman’s pipes recovered from Creagh cemetery. They were later donated to Cork piper Michael O'Riabhaigh, who revived the (by then extinct) pipers club in Cork in the 1960s.

Tuning

The instrument is most often tuned in the key of D today, a practice started by the Taylor brothers (originally from Drogheda, Ireland, and later from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) in the late 1800s. Canon Goodman used a Taylor set. 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 instrument's tuning; parts like the 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 usually have larger openings and bigger tone holes than earlier "flat" sets, making them much louder, though not as loud as Scottish Highland pipes. The Taylors designed them to be heard in large venues in the United States. Today, D pipes are the most common type of uilleann pipes, though many players still prefer the softer sound of older, narrower-bore pipes, which are available in keys from D down to B♭. Before the Taylors, some makers built concert pitch pipes using the smaller bores and smaller fingerholes of flat sets. Some of these instruments were made for lower pitch standards, like A4 = 415 Hz. The Taylors also built instruments for higher pitch standards, such as the Old Philharmonic pitch of A4 = 453 Hz, which was common in late 19th-century America.

D pipes are 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 in Irish music, like accordions and flutes, are not flexible enough to do this. It is important to note that Irish music was mostly played alone until the late 1800s, when fixed-pitch instruments became more common. Like some older pipe organs, uilleann pipes are not usually tuned to even temperament, but instead to just intonation, allowing the chanter and regulators to blend smoothly with the three drones. Most fixed-pitch instruments in Irish music use equal temperament, which can create tension with the tuning of the pipes.

Instrument variations

A full set of uilleann pipes includes a chanter, drones, and regulators. A half-set does not include the regulators, and a practice set does not include either regulators or drones. All three types of sets are used in professional performances.

Because the instrument is complex, beginning uilleann pipers 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 comes in different keys, starting from the "concert pitch" D chanter and going down in half-note steps to a B♭ chanter. Sets with a B♭ chanter are often called "flat sets."

To play the uilleann pipes well, students must learn to pump the bellows steadily while controlling the pressure on the bag and playing the chanter at the same time. Beginners often use practice sets until they become comfortable with these basic skills. Practice sets are also used by some advanced players when they want to play only the chanter with other musicians, either live or in recordings. 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 provide a constant background tone while the chanter plays the melody. The three drones are the tenor drone (same pitch as the lowest note of the chanter), the baritone drone (one octave below the tenor), and the bass drone (two octaves below the tenor). Some types of pipes, like the Pastoral pipes, have four drones, including an extra one that plays a harmony note. Drones are connected to the pipe bag through a "stock," which is a wooden cylinder tied to the bag with yarn or hemp. The stock also connects to the regulators (as in a full set). 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 connected 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 solid wood with holes bored through it, making it more durable. The piper can also turn individual drones on or off by pressing the bag slightly and tapping the end of a drone. This helps with tuning or playing the chanter alone. Drones use a single-bladed reed, unlike the double reed used in the chanter and regulators. In the past, drone reeds were made from elderberry twigs, but cane became more common in the late 19th century.

A full set includes all parts of the uilleann pipes: a half set with three regulators added. The regulators are closed pipes, similar to the chanter, attached to the stock. Like the drones, they are called tenor, baritone, and bass, from smallest to largest. Each regulator has keys that allow the piper to play notes that accompany the melody. The tenor regulator has five keys, while the baritone and bass have four each. The notes of the regulators, from highest to lowest (assuming a D pitch), are: tenor: C, B, A, G, F♯; baritone: A, G, F♯, D; bass: C, B, A, G. The tenor and baritone regulators are attached to the front of the stock, above the drones, while the bass regulator is attached to the side.

Another way to use the regulators is to play "hand chords." When the melody is played on the chanter with the left hand, the right hand can press keys on all three regulators at once to create complex chords. This is often done in slow pieces, like an "air," to add drama at the end of a section.

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 holes for D, E♭, E, F♯, G, A, B, C, C♯, and high D). To play the lowest D (D4), the chanter is lifted off the knee, exposing the end of the pipe where the note is made. The chanter is placed back on the knee to close the bottom hole. Some players use a leather strip called a "popping strap" over the knee to create an airtight seal. Others use a flap valve on the chanter. For most notes, the chanter stays on the knee.

One feature of the chanter is its ability to play staccato notes. When all finger holes are closed, the chanter is silent. This is also needed to play notes in the second octave, which requires increasing the bag pressure and then pressing the fingers. The uilleann pipes can produce a wide range of sounds by changing finger positions and lifting the chanter off the knee. Players who use staccato fingering are called "closed-style" pipers. Those who use smooth, connected notes (legato) 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 the open note hole on the chanter. The lowest note has two versions: "soft D" and "hard D." The hard D is louder and sharper and is played by pressing the bag slightly 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 allow all semitones: F, G♯, B♭, and C. Older chanters 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

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) /think