Dunaber Music

Just as I Would’ve Played It

A while back I was going on about how I thought most of us go about listening to music – specifically, bagpipe music. My ramble was around how we should try and get over the discomfort we feel (that’s the delicate way of putting it) when we hear musical interpretations outside of what we’re used to hearing – or playing.
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Rab Wallace / College of Piping Down on Canada?

I was at band practice today and one of the guys mentioned they’d come across a blurb on Rab Wallace’s blog where he slagged off the Toronto Police Pipe Band. How odd, I thought. Rab’s always been nothing but a professional when it comes to providing considered opinion. Anyway, I’m home now and checked out the offending words. And surprise: they’re offending. Here’s one of his entries:
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5 Seminal Moments in Pipe Band History

The trouble with trying to nail down a seminal moment is you can only really choose from your own experience – moments you’ve lived through – or – imagine past “moments” in history and choose accordingly. Either way, in picking important moments in time, no matter how thoughtful and reflective you think you’ve been, it all comes down to opinion. And we all know the world needs more of that.

In this list I’ve stayed away from competition winning streaks; I’m not sure record-breaking fits in that well with the definition I’m using: those moments that might be defined as “highly original and influencing the development of future events”.

So here’re my five “seminal” moments; I haven’t cast them in stone, of course, and these could all change tomorrow:
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5 Things that Revolutionized the Pipe Band

I was building a list in my big square head – perfect, I thought, to note here: “Seminal Moments in Pipe Band History”. Anyway, as I started thinking and writing I found two lists developing: “inventions” and “moments”. My “seminal moments” sit in a draft file, the easier list is here. So here, I suggest, are five of the most important inventions, or developments, that went a long way to make the modern pipe band the impressive thing that it is today.
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The Captain (and Me)

Colin MacLellan sent along a few photos this week. All have become instant treasures. Colin was in town this weekend and while the memory is still fresh (in a hazy sort of way) of me seeing him the last away at 4:30 this morning following a post-competition party, I pass it along here.
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Play the Sweet Music (You Like)

I was driving to band practice this morning and happened on a really interesting interview on the radio.
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Nuts

The tip of the day:
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Listening With Open Ears

After pouring out their heart and soul and doing their best to play music for judges pipers often – very often – hear (or read on score sheets) comments like this: “Not the way I prefer to hear this tune,”, “Not the way I was taught this tune” and, if the judge is in high rotation (read: hired a lot more than s/he probably should be for their good health), “Not as good as I heard you play last week”. I can tell you I have had all of these comments – and a lot more – on my own crit sheets.
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Pipe Bands: Wisdom of the Ancients

A sample here of the blindingly obvious:
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Allemande Left (Nod to the Judge)

Last night’s final of the Toronto Branch of the Pipers’ & Pipe Band Society of Ontario’s amateur knock-out was a first-class event. The morning after listening to a dozen excellent amateur pipers go through their paces got me to thinking. OK. I was thinking about this last night, but I’m still thinking about it this morning.
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