This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1910 edition. Excerpt: ... APPENDIX B Hints To Amateur Pipees By Patrick J. Touhey. The Celebrated American. Performer on the Irish Pipes There is probably no musical instrument in existence today that is so difficult to master as the Irish or Union bagpipe, and for that reason the percentage of proficient performers is much less than on any other instrument. The lack of competent teachers is also an important drawback, particularly because on no instrument is an instructor so necessary to the success of the learner, as on the Union pipes, unless perhaps it be on the Scotch or Highland pipes, on account of the shriller tones. In the hands of a capable performer, no instrument gives to Irish melody, especially dance music, such true traditional expression as the loved instrument of the Irish peasantry. To acquire any reasonable degree of expertness on this most complicated and highly developed bagpipe, the learner instead of attempting too much, should be content to commence at the bottom, as he would in any other line of studies, and not undertake to play haphazard, as too many often do. Fired by ambition on hearing the performance of some good piper, the music lover ordinarily having more or less acquaintance with some other wind instrument, obtains possession of a set of Irish pipes, out of tune and repair from disuse, and starts in to be a piper, without a teacher, and depending altogether on practice based probably on his previous fingering of the flute. He expects to accomplish in six months what may be took the piper whose playing inspired him, twenty years to acquire; the consequence being, of course, one more name added to the list of bad or indifferent pipers. It is well to remember at the start that the fluter, Highland piper, or clarinet player, has...