Five Études for Uilleann Pipes

About

(This poem was used to introduce the music at the premiere)

I once heard a piper forlornly discuss how playing their instrument was like wrestling an octopus

There’s so many things to try to control, The chanter, the bag, the regs and the drones

Most decent pipers will master just three, The regulators however remain a mystery

For those who don’t know the regs are those yokes at which most pipers occasionally poke

To add a simple harmony to the ornamented chanter melody

Now with these new pieces Mick O’Brien and me are hoping to bring more dexterity

To the art of regulator technique, so these pieces are a bit unique

There’s three Etudes you’ll hear tonight, each one has a different aim in sight

The first one shows how the pipes can be, a bit like a choir in harmony

The second one’s to train the fingers to treat, the regs like a keyboard, it’s very tricky

The last one you’ll hear shouldn’t tax your ear, It has a pleasant melody that changes gear

From a barndance to a hornpipe and then a highland, a reel and a slide and then Mick will be smiling

Cos he’ll have passed his toughest task to date, a challenge no other piper has faced

So please give him a warm welcome and attentive ears, Mick the master piper is here……