Category: News

Pipe Band Workshop: A Closer Look at Medley Construction

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When building a Medley, pipe majors should consider time constraints. Some of the most successful bands in Grade 1 in recent years have tended to limit their Medley to just over the five minutes. (The requirement in this grade is five to seven minutes.) These bands can still produce exciting music within the shorter time frame and have less likelihood of any slip up. Introductory Tunes: These can win or…

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History: Peter Henderson, the Iconic Bagpipe Maker

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The following is taken from a 1930s catalogue of the famous Glasgow firm of pipe makers…… To our customers we offer this our latest catalogue, hoping that the confidence and goodwill which has for so long existed may continue in the future. To prospective customers we hope this catalogue will prove of value to them and lead to business associations that will be to our mutual advantage. To old friends…

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Be a Better Piper: Learning Canntaireachd, the Piper’s Language

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The non piobaireachd player may be wondering what this ‘canntaireachd’ (pronounced approximately ‘can-cher-ach’) is. No mystery, no big deal. It’s just mouth music, a sort of formulated diddling common in folk traditions the world over. In Scotland, when we had a sense of humour, it has been characterised in the music hall as ‘heedrum-hawdrum’, or, when inverted for comic effect by the Glasgwow folksinger Matt McGinn, ‘you haw der um…

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Editor’s Notebook: Pipe Band Season/ Solo Season/ NZ Contest/ Stonehaven Disband/ Scots Wha Hae

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Cheering news from the Chairman yesterday and I hope bands respond similarly by supporting the 2022 majors and, in particular, the minor contests. Use them or lose them. The concession Mr Reilly talked about, the lessening of strictures, will, I hear rumours, centre round own choice in Grade 1 and 2. Bands will still have to submit the required number of MSRs and Medleys but at the line they will…

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Upbeat Message from RSPBA Chairman Augurs Well for Forthcoming Pipe Band Season

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The Chairman of the RSPBA, Kevin Reilly, has issued a stirring rallying call to all competing bands encouraging them to pull out all the stops for the forthcoming season. Mr Reilly said it was time to put the past two years behind us, time to repair the damage, time to rediscover the music and friendship inherent in the pipe band movement. He spoke as the Association announced the availibility of…

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