Na Píobairí Uilleann

Chairman, NPU

An Píobaire

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7 4 4 20110920 4 The training initiative will need funding to help meet the costs at the PIPECRAFT centre. It is hoped that on the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF UIL- LEANN PIPING, groups of pipers in various loca- tions will organise small events such as recitals in local venues. Events could involve fundrais- ing on some scale, however modest. Creating awareness of piping and training will be assisted by NPU promoting the event through media outlets internationally, nationally and locally. We will encourage, assist and support activity in as many countries and locations as possible. This will provide an additional opportunity for groups of pipers to raise awareness of their ac- tivities in their locality and to have an enjoyable musical gathering on an annual basis. If you are interested in getting involved with other pipers in your locality or country or if you have suggestions for this event, please notify Na Píobairí Uilleann by contacting Ken Lynam at nande@eircom.net and we will help co-ordinate the promotion of the event in your locality. IMPROVED DRONE QUILL MAKING At the reedmaking workshop of the Willie Clancy Summer School Jim Wenham again demonstrated a method of making guills which he learned from Cillian Ó Briain. It is on the “Heart of the Instrument” DVD. This method differs in some some respects from the standard way of using the cane guill with the node end left intact and tongue cut to approximately 1/3 of the guill depth. The method was developed by Cillian to achieve a better success rate and from the examples demonstrated this seems to be the case. The essential features of this method of making guills involves. • Cutting off the closed end of the guill, re- taining enough of the closed end to leave a slight narrowed interior to the guill end and use this end as the part bound and inserted into the Drone. This narrowed part seems to function as a throat. • Closing off the other end using a cork and some red sealing wax to make an airtight seal. • When forming the tongue, make the cut with the razor, slightly shallower than 1/3 depth, keep the cut closer to the end of the corked end of the guill. This shallower tongue gives a narrower slot, admitting less air and seems to produce a greater number of successful and steady blown guills. I will reproduce some of Jim Wenham’s sketches of these processes in a future edition of An Píobaire but in the meantime, it is worth having a look again at the reedmaking Heart of the Instrument DVD to see Cillian Ó Briain make and fit guills using this method. USE OF PURE TUNG OIL FOR IMPREGNATING REED CANE TO MAKE IT MORE STABLE FOR REEDS PLAYED IN VARYING CONDITIONS OF HUMIDITY AND TEMPERATURE. Also at the reedmaking workshop, Oliver Mc- Carthy showed an assembly he has made as a chamber for pressure impregnating cane to make it more moisture-resistant especially for playing in high humidity conditions. The chamber, made from 32mm uPVC piping and fitted with an oil filled pressure gauge would allow cane to be pres- sure impregnated with pure tung oil. Oliver has found that this method works well but he indicated that there may be other methods of impregnation of the cane or liquids which could be used but the idea of cane treatment to improve reliability under highly variable atmospheric conditions merits fur- ther study and experimentation. Topics such as coating of the cane, vacuum treatment, safety as to avoidance of spontaneous ignition of oil, risk of nut allergies and use of other alternative treatments are to be considered by those keen on these reed making experimentations. Thanks to Oliver for drawing the idea to our attention. Dave Hegarty Chairman

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2011-09-22T00:00:00

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