Pipe Band Circles are So Square
April 16, 2008 on 9:19 pm by mike | In Music, Whinges, Pipe Bands | 4 Comments I’ve been going on for ages now about the standard competitive pipe band performance configuration, “the circle“. This arrangement makes no sense to me. Yeah, everyone can see the hands of the person leading the band, and that helps unison and timing of rhythmic transitions, but what about the many and varied down sides, the good reasons not to perform in a circle?
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My First Outdoor Pipe Band Contest
March 31, 2008 on 9:18 pm by mike | In Stories, Pipe Bands, Photographs | No Comments Southern Ontario in general and the Toronto area especially used to see a lot of teaching happening - and a lot of kids’ pipe bands. I can’t say for certain today how much teaching is going on but I do know we don’t have many “junior” bands around, the kind built for kids.
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A Huge Part of Pipe Band Ensemble
March 23, 2008 on 9:49 pm by mike | In Music, Whinges, Pipe Bands | 2 Comments There seems to be a fair bit of upset these days about a ruling that came to be as a result of a vote at the recent Annual General Meeting of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association. Apparently members in attendance voted to remove the “best bass section” prize from the list of those awarded at major pipe band championships. The upset appears to be coming mainly from bass and tenor drummers caught off-guard by the rule change. Like most meetings of this kind attendance was reportedly sparse and a poor representation of general membership. What transpired is a good reminder for next year’s meeting: turn up if you want a voice. I have to admit, to be fair, that not turning up at an AGM never stopped me from crabbing about what I viewed was an ill-conceived rule or policy change.
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Building Medleys: 7 Principles
June 18, 2007 on 7:29 pm by mike | In Music, Tips, Pipe Bands | 2 Comments So before we begin this musical adventure - this virtual attempt at creating an interesting competitive selection of music - it might be a good idea to establish a few principles to help move us along.
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Pipe Band Medleys
June 11, 2007 on 8:13 pm by mike | In Whinges, Pipe Bands | 6 CommentsThere might be some serious practical limitations when it comes to creating original and engaging competitive pipe band shows these days but I still have to think we’re being too timid in reaching for the hazy boundary and physical limits of pipe band instrumentation (meaning the bagpipe and the usual competitive instruments of percussion). Continue reading Pipe Band Medleys…
Pipe Bands: How to Breakthrough
June 5, 2007 on 8:17 pm by mike | In Tips, Pipe Bands | No Comments The original subject was “breakthrough to win”. I thought that a bit crass, knowing that in making music it’s all about the performance, right?
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1987 World Pipe Band Championships - II
May 28, 2007 on 4:36 pm by mike | In Video, Pipe Bands | 5 CommentsThis is the second video in the set. This time the march, strathspey and reel, ‘Brig. Ronald Cheape of Tiroran’, ‘Blair Drummond’ and ‘Charlie’s Welcome’.
1987 World Pipe Band Championships - I
May 28, 2007 on 9:37 am by mike | In Video, Pipe Bands | No CommentsYou can learn a lot from the old tapes, the old recordings. You can hear what’s changed and what hasn’t. The sound of bands has come a way in 20 years. The size of bands, too (this band: 11 pipers, 6 snares, 2 tenor drums and bass).
A Great Bass Drummer
May 19, 2007 on 7:12 pm by mike | In Pipe Bands, Photographs | 2 Comments I’ve been thinking a lot about the current phenomenon of what is now called the “mid section”. More later.
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