Insights into Pipe Band Ensemble

The study ‘Insights into Pipe Band Ensemble’ is dedicated to improving pipe drum ensemble outcomes in both set and medley competition. With a focus on 2/4 march, strathspey, and reel music, the study follows a basic premise that some MSR pipe tunes are so rhythmically compatible with the music of the competition side drum, that their accompanying drum scores almost write themselves, while other MSR tunes are almost impossible to integrate with…

New Website Launches With Original ‘Ensemble Friendly’ Pipe Band Music

Since retiring in 2021, I have been working full-time on a study, and it has evolved into something that I think the pipe band world will be very interested in. The work, titled: ‘Insights into Pipe Band Ensemble’, was written to investigate how MSR pipe-tunes of the future might be composed so that their rhythms allow for a side-drum accompaniment to integrate more closely with them. By Alan Jones In…

Analysis: What Are the Best MSRs for a Band and Those Who Write its Drum Scores?

Having been a lead drummer for many years, I have spent countless hours composing snare drum accompaniments to bagpipe tunes. I have always wondered why some tunes seem so compatible with the snare drum that their accompanying scores almost write themselves, while other tunes are less so, with some requiring a lot more work and (often) compromise before an acceptable drumming match can be scripted. During the Covid-19 lockdown in…