The Grade 1 Medley competition as always produced a varied range of tune selections, ingenuity, innovative approaches, intricate piping and drumming, quality playing to a very high level, and varied musical impacts.  For me the best musical performances were those which included a blend of traditional and contemporary tunes (melodic ones), tunes which fitted well together and avoided too long and complicated transitions, avoided complex harmonies and counter melodies where…

Having sat through all the Grade 1 performances at the World Pipe Band Championships (WPBC) this year on both Friday and Saturday, I have prepared my summary in three separate sections – general comments about the event, thoughts on the Grade 1 medley performances, and some observations about the revised two-day format for Grade 1.  I should make it clear from the outset that I was sitting in the main…

By Alistair Aitken OBE, former RSPBA adjudicator The first SPBA Scottish Pipe Band Championships were held in Blairgowrie on 12 June 1948.  As I have mentioned previously on Piping Press, the venue during the 1960s and 1970s was Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh but for the past 20 years the venue has been Levengrove Park in Dumbarton, the event organised by West Dunbartonshire Council and West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust Events…

By Alistair Aitken OBE, former RSPBA adjudicator This article continues my series providing observations on the 2019 outdoor competition season in the UK as it progresses.  Since my last posting on Piping Press there have been local competitions at Annan in Scotland and Corby in England (the venue for the World Pipe Band Championships in 1975).  There have also been two RSPBA Major Championships – the European Championships at Inverness…

By Alistair Aitken OBE, former RSPBA adjudicator Saturday 15 June saw the second of the RSPBA Major Championships of 2019 (the UK Championships) which this year took place in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. Most readers of Piping Press presumably will know that the UK Pipe Band Championships replaced in 2014 the Championships previously held in Dunoon as part of the famous Cowal Highland Gathering. For the last four years the event has…