Category: Tuition

History: A Look at two Piping Books from the 19th Century

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Thanks to the kind offices of Niall Macdonald, great-grand son of the late Neil Angus of that ilk, I have been loaned copies of two interesting, early piping books. I always enjoy a browse through this material. It lets us see how the music, and the writing of it, has developed, and it shows how the early scribes endeavoured to put an oral tradition down on paper. The first is…

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Editor’s Notebook: Let Piping Flourish/ Kyle Warren Book/ Kiwi Bands/ Roy Gunn

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John Mulhearn: I was wondering if you might be able to post something about the upcoming event at the ‘Aye Write’ book festival at which myself and Richard McLauchlan will be discussing our new books? The event is this Sunday, November 9, and the copy reads: ‘…….. two fellow pipers discuss their books and enjoy a tune or two….Richard McLauchlan is our guide to the fascinating history of the bagpipes,…

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Glass Chanter Retained by Angus MacPhee

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At a meeting of the Inverness Piping Society, Angus MacPhee was presented with the 2025 Glass Chanter for the second year running, write Steven McCabe and Jean Cameron. The chanter and a cash prize of £200 go to the piper with the most points in the North Games – those held north of the Great Glen. In the event of a draw the piper with the highest piobaireachd score wins….

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Editor’s Notebook: Grading and the Games/ Glenfiddich Winner/ Northern Winter School/ SPA Juveniles

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Reader Ben Greeves from Northern Ireland has commented on the recent rule adopted by the Competing Pipers’ Association whereby they will not consider results for their grading process unless these were achieved before an adjudicator accredited by Solo Piping Judges Association. I think many of the solo competitions in Ireland North and South are before SPJA judges, Ben. Recently Logan Tannock did the Piper of the Year in Ballymena and…

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‘Beyond Binneas’  – A New Look at a Famous Piobaireachd Collection

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The ground breaking piobaireachd collection ‘Binneas is Boreraig’ (BiB), was published by Dr Roddy Ross some 60 years ago, and aimed to capture the playing of the master piper Malcolm Macpherson.   By Pat Terry It employed notational devices that pipers familiar with the notation used in many other collections of ceòl mòr found strange [colour coded, three-line stave].  In 2022, Chris Terry (a pupil of John MacFadyen) set out…

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