Dunaber Music

Merry Christmas!

Here’s a bit of a Christmas laugh for one and all: a Toronto Police Pipe Band Christmas Greeting (none of the elves, by the way, know they star in the show [oops] – but you may recognize Ian K MacDonald, Doug Stronach, Malcolm MacLean [of Ardnamurchan], Angus Douglas Lampkin and me).
Continue reading Merry Christmas!…

The Piper as Jack O`Lantern

An interesting image of an old postcard, circa 1912, provided here:
Continue reading The Piper as Jack O`Lantern…

It’s a Small Worlds After All

BBC’s live streaming of today’s World Pipe Band Championships worked beautifully. In one marvelous effort the BBC has transformed, in one big-servered swoop, the perception of the the grand event as a need-to-be-there happening, at least for observers. A good set of speakers and high speed internet access provided any listener, anywhere, with at least as sound a listening post as those on the Green tenth row back from the ropes. To those who have never attended the event the broadcast has allowed a look-in to how things work and gives a fair representation to the scale of the event. To those pipe band zealots who have been (many times before, like me) and couldn’t attend, BBC’s magnanimity provided a fix that helped ease the angst of not being there.
Continue reading It’s a Small Worlds After All…

Irony

Like a lot of you who happen to drop in I get most of my piping world news from pipesdrums.com. The Piping Live festival launch story really got me thinking – or annoyed, maybe that’s a better word (whinge alert).
Continue reading Irony…

Online Music Directory

I have a few hard copies of various tune directories.  They are all out of date, though the oldest is not more than ten years old.  Directories are handiest for tracking tune sources, but interesting reading, too, for getting a sense for the printed proliferation of any one particular tune.   According to Iain Millington’s “The Complete Bagpipe Tune and Drum Score Index” (Montreal: Concordia University, 1992) , the strathspey “Mony Musk” is available in no fewer than 35 printed sources.  Who knew?  I find that impressive number interesting, especially for a tune that is not hugely popular (though, for what it’s worth, one of my favourites to play in solo competition). Continue reading Online Music Directory…

Sign the “Save Strathclyde Police Pipe Band” Petition

From the land of brilliant thinkers like David Hume and Adam Smith we’re shocked yet again with another indescribably dunderheaded idea – and this within a week of last week’s judge-banning mess.  The narrow, inward-looking leadership of Strathclyde Police service, as most now know, have decided it makes jolly good sense for the fine people of Glasgow – and Scotland - to rip the heart out of one of the country’s greatest living cultural assets, the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band. Continue reading Sign the “Save Strathclyde Police Pipe Band” Petition…

Scotland’s Year of No’ Coming?

Like the rest of the pipe band world (minus the marketing maestros leading the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association) I was pretty shocked to read that the international judging team was kicked off Scotland’s judging panel.   When the facts as we know them are laid out it’s impossible to understand the reason behind the decision. Continue reading Scotland’s Year of No’ Coming?…

Scotland the Loud

There’s an excellent book around, “How Scots Invented the Modern World“.  A good read.  The Scots also invented, among a long list of other things, the Great Highland Bagpipe (duh), whisky, curling and golf.  All seriously popular exports in most places I know, especially Canada.  I don’t get the curling thing so much, I have curled, and it’s sort of fun, but not a pursuit that makes me jump out of bed at the prospect of curling a game (or is it sweeping a game?). 
Continue reading Scotland the Loud…

Hope for a New Premier Grade Event

There was a time I was heavily involved in the administration of the Pipers’ & Pipe Band Society of Ontario.  Bigtime involved.  Vice-President of the Toronto Branch when I was 18, President at 19.  Can you imagine!  What a presumptuous little brat I must’ve been (or am, depending on who you ask). 
Continue reading Hope for a New Premier Grade Event…

Oliver Schroer

Oliver Schroer died yesterday.  A sad day.  We do have his music.  You can experience some of it here.  RIP

M.