PipeKeys HD - Irish Uilleann Bagpipes Keyboard

Note - iOS 8.3 caused the sliders in this app to become transparent. Will issue an update as soon as possible. I apologize for any inconvenience.

PipeKeys HD is an authentic sounding concert D pitch 3/4 set of Irish Uilleann Bagpipes chanter, drones, and two regulators in the form of a standard two octave piano keyboard.

The Uilleann pipes are a complex, bellows blown bagpipe that is commonly used in traditional Irish music. It is heard quite often in movies with Irish themes because of its very unique sound.

Please visit the app website for a demonstration video!

The range of the chanter is from D4 to B5.

Touch the drone puck image to switch the drones on and off.

Touch the keys to play the chanter and regulators. Chanter keys light up green, regulator keys (the lowest two keys) light up red when touched.

Play the regulator chords on the top and bottom halves of the lowest two notes (C and C#) on the keyboard.

The regulator chords available are:

F#/D
G/D
A/F#
B/G

Finger vibrato for expression, as is done on the real instrument, can be added by sliding back and forth vertical along the length of the chanter keys. The note C has an extended pitch bend range as typically used when playing a real chanter. The low (bottom) D note is generally not played with vibrato on the real instrument, so vibrato is not available on that note in the app.

The volume balance between the drones, regulators, and chanter may be adjusted using the sliders. All settings are saved when the app exits.

You may enable an optional stereo flanging effect for the drones on the settings page. This is particularly effective in headphones.

You may play along with the music on your iPad by starting the track playing and then launching PipeKeys HD.

The sounds are recorded from my personal 3/4 set of Uilleann pipes and are of extremely high quality.

Please visit the app website for more information and demonstration videos.

Two-tone drone puck image courtesy of Mike DeSmidt.