Pipe Band Workshop: Some Tips on Competition March, Strathspey and Reel Tune Selection

A general rule of thumb for tune selection in March Strathspey and Reel competitions, more especially in the lower grades, is to avoid six-parted tunes. With them you increase the potential for error and you will succeed just as easily with four-parters. Check on the most popular pieces – the RSPBA programmes from Major Championships are good source. There you will find all the tried and tested, quality tunes. Lower…

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

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…

Rolling Back the Years – The Geoff Hore Legacy

Readers may recall that here in New Zealand we’ve been working on the ‘Geoff Hore Legacy’ by amassing his rather large collection of articles he wrote for the NZ ‘Pipeband’ magazine. The works have now been digitised and are available on the NZ Piping Centre website. The work is primarily of local NZ interest but the inclusion of the histories of Logans and Pattersons publishers will be of more universal…

Jim Butler, Pipers’ Whisky Pipe Band/ British Columbia Pipers Association Gathering 2022

I was so sorry to read about the death of Jim Butler, writes Iain Duncan.  Such a nice guy, we were Pipe Sergeants of our respective bands, Jim, Pipers’ Whisky (they had various incarnations), and me with Glasgow Skye.   Latterly we would bump into each other at Piping Live and 2019 was the last time we met (in the Ardnamurchan restaurant across from the Piping Centre).  For the PP…

Duncan Johnstone Memorial Results

This competition for junior professionals was held today at the National Piping Centre, Otago Street and McPhater Street, Glasgow. There were large entries in all categories. Each section winner is pictured above. B Grade Piobaireachd1 Ben Mulhearn2 Greig Canning3 Ross Miller4 Jamie Elder5 Brodie Watson-MasseyJudges: C Armstrong, S Samson B Grade MSR1 Ciaren Ross2 John Dew3 Jamie Elder4 Fraser Allison5 Jonathon SimpsonJudges: A Henderson, G McCready Open Jig1 Calum Watson2…