Category: Piobaireachd

Editor’s Notebook: Practice Time/ Low G Taorluath/ Sgian Dubh/ Internship/ Coronation Tune/ Results 1996

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How many of you come close to following the guidance in this practice table? I suspect not many will manage the five hours a day. The maximum I could ever do, in say the run up to to Oban and Inverness, would have been two hours. For my pupils I recommend a minimum of an hour a day. This can be split into three sections: 20 minutes on the practice…

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Blair Atholl Gathering Order of Play and Judges

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This Sunday, May 28, sees the Blair Atholl Gathering with more than 60 solo pipers, junior and senior, scheduled to compete. In the Seniors there are graded contests for piobaireachd. Light music events for March, Strathspey and Reel and Hornpipe & Jig are open competitions. Such are the numbers that the ceol beag will be split into four heats with judges selecting four in each category to go forward to…

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Pipers Play a Leading Role in Historic 1956 Visit to the Western Isles by the Late Queen

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With the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II last year, I thought some readers might be interested in the two tunes below. They were composed to commemorate Her Majesty’s historic first-ever visit by a British monarch to Scotland’s Western Isles. The year was 1956, and Barra and North Uist were just part of her itinerary.  Accompanying her were Prince Philip and their two children at that time, Prince (now…

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Gordon Castle, Fochabers, Results

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Thirteen played in the adult competitions. Eight played in the various junior competitions. The weather was cool and remained dry. The competition boards were rather close to each other and this caused the bagpipe sound to be slightly adversely affected, but nevertheless the playing generally was very good. Of course it is always a danger at games venues that there will be extraneous sounds. It is to the credit of the…

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Editor’s Notebook: The Games/ Major Small/ Pretty Marion/ Festival Pix/ Book Help

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Nothing epitomises the romance of the games more than this old photograph from Glenfinnan in the 1970s. It shows the famous bench of Seton Gordon, Angus MacPherson, Invershin, and Col. Jock MacDonald, Viewfield, Skye, in confab. Combined ages not that far off 300. Clearly making notes after discussing the playing, but later just as likely to be talking of some arcane ethological phenomena (Seton was a renowned naturalist), a convoluted…

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