Na Píobairí Uilleann

Chairman, NPU

An Píobaire

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8 5 25 20121206 are surprisingly few and simple. Ray doesn’t use a chisel, for example. He uses a sharp knife, a rod of the appropriate diameter, sand paper and nip- pers. For the staple Ray forms metal tubing on a mandrel. Once formed, the blades of the reed are attached to the staple with double stick tape, Teflon tape (such as plumbers use), and thread. A bridle of copper wire, pulled straight in a vise, is the last bit added. Then the blades are sanded until the reed makes the desired sound and the chanter plays in tune. African black wood is an amazing material. Ray does not use any polishing agents except sand paper and a buffing wheel. The biggest moment after hearing my chanter “speak” for the first time was seeing the translucent, shim- mering wood right after I buffed it. You can look into it like a jewel. The translucence dark- ens over time with the wood taking on the rich, black color it is famous for. Holding the finished instrument in my hand, getting the first few notes out of it, is an expe- rience you must have to understand. Once you have experienced that you will never again complain about the cost of a bagpipe. Your ap- preciation for the artist, the pipe maker who consistently makes instruments of the highest quality, will reach oceanic proportions. You will never hear the masters of piping again in the same way. Framing appreciation and em- bedded in the instrument itself are the experi- ences you had while making it: the delicious lunches made by Ray’s wife, Belinda; the jokes, the comradery; mugs of hot tea in the af- ternoon; the sessions in Ardara and Dunkineely with Donna Harkin; Ray fishing off the pier in Teelin; Glencolmkille; the pubs in Donegal. The reason I did this was to gain an understand- ing of what goes into my bagpipes. When I’m in top form, the chanter is vibrating and drones are like water you float in, then I have the illusion that the instrument and I are one. It is the “can you tell the dancer from the dance?” sort of thing Yeats talked about. To take part in the making of the instrument is the only way to get at the crux of that sensation. There is a moment when the stick transforms into a musical instrument. It is not pure magic like transubstantiation or the birth of a child, but it is something like that. John Dally 25

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