Uilleann Pipes a Meditation for Official Police Spokesman
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - Constable Tim Fanning, media relations officer for the Vancouver Police Department, has high profile in the local community due to his frequent appearances on television and radio, where he is seen reporting from all manner of crime scenes. But what many may not know, is that Tim Fanning also belongs to a very exclusive club – the uilleann pipe players of the world.
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| TIM FANNING is shown above playing his uilleann pipes. |
The uilleann pipes are one of the most difficult and complicated instruments to play and Liam O’Flynn, one of the great Irish uilleann pipers, is quoted as saying, “being a piper is much more than playing tunes, it involves the whole mind and body.”
I recently spoke with Tim Fanning about his interest in uilleann pipes and why he chose this hauntingly beautiful, yet at times temperamental instrument to play, and also to ask about his Irish heritage.
Explaining about the intricacies of playing the uilleann pipes, Tim said, “uilleann pipes are a very unique instrument, not only are your hands moving, but your arms are moving and at least one foot’s moving.
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| TIM FANNING is the official spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department. He is seen here in his uniform. |
“You use your whole body, and you get to the point, as with any kind of music, where you stop thinking about what you’re doing. But, certainly in the early years, you’re thinking about everything that you have to do.
“Most pipers start off with a chanter, just a bag, bellows and chanter, that’s a practice set, and then they move to a half set that has the drones, which isn’t a whole lot to worry about, but you can turn them on and off.
“And then, when you get to the full set, where you have regulators and you’re playing keys then...it’s quite something. You’re using not just your fingertips as you would on a piano or guitar, but you’re using your wrist to hit the regulators, and you’ve got your right elbow pushing the bag, so there’s a lot to do physically.
All musicians should be concerned with their tuning, but as a piper the instrument is very temperamental. As soon as you take it out of your house and go to wherever you’re going to play, whether it’s a concert hall or a pub, it’s going to change.
“So, one of the great focuses of the piper, is to listen to make sure that you’re playing in tune. If you’re playing a little flat or a little sharp, you’ve got to adjust how hard you blow by how hard you’re going to squeeze the bag, because you want everything to match up.”
Fanning started out playing the Highland pipes, he also plays the flute, whistles and saxophone. He credits the great Irish groups of the Pogues, Planxty and Paddy Maloney of the Chieftains for his love of the uilleann pipes.
The Highland pipes are much sharper and they don’t play in pitch with other instruments, so it’s much more difficult to tune a band at Highland pipes. Whereas, with the uilleann pipes, you can play with the fiddle and concertina, and it works very well.
Tim studied piping for awhile with Tomas Standeven, a great uilleann piper and Gaelic speaker, who passed away a few years ago. He said, “I’m attracted to music that has soul, whether it’s classical or contemporary music, and uilleann pipes have such soul to them.
“You can play the most mournful air or play the most joyous jig or reel. I guess that was the attraction. I am such a believer in the arts, everyone should practice one form of art everyday. It’s such a great way to relax your whole body. Whether you write a story or paint a picture, or whether you make music or listen to music. Art is just key to life. I guess I try to use both sides of my brain, so music is a great stress releaser for me.”
The Fannings are originally from Tipperary in Ireland. They first moved to Manchester, England, and eventually made their way to Vancouver, where Tim was born.
“Actually, my father just passed away last month and I played at his funeral service. People asked me ‘how can you do that?’ But I was able to play, and thankfully my pipes cooperated. I felt that it was part of my grieving process, and I was also able to offer something up for my dad.”
There’s lots of music in Tim’s home. His wife Megan is a well-known jazz singer and his two sons, Conor and Kieran, love music and literature. He said there are times when the family has to fight for practice time in the house. Tim practices about five times a week and plays with the popular and well-known Celtic group, Ballyhooley.
He said, “I’ve been a policeman for the past 25 years, so I’ve seen a lot. In the position that I’m in now, we’re probably dealing with the most horrific cases that Vancouver sees, whether it’s a murder or a horrific car crash. So, there’s a lot of pressure in that position and it’s a release to be able to play the uilleann pipes...I equate it to meditation.”
Tim says when he retires from his day job he plans to spend more time on his music and study once again under a teacher of uilleann pipes.
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For more information about uilleann piping, check out the B.C. Uilleann Pipers Society at: www.angelfire.com/bc2/uilleann. For more information about jazz singer Meggan Fanning and to hear her music, visit: www.meganfanning.com. For bookings and information about Ballyhooley, call Rory Sharpe at (604) 986-3552, or visit: www.ballyhooley.com.
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