PPRP #010 Pipes are best from afar.

On this episode I share some of my thoughts and experiences regarding what could be the most idea environment/location/or situation for making your pipes ring, and also when they maybe shouldn't be fired up. I've begun to connect some dots from recent experiences and some utterly fascinating literature I've been reading. I close the episode with what I might make a regular occurs, "Chris' Piping Poem of the episode"!

• Bagpipes not suited for all locations.'

• Not pleasant chamber music.
  • Turning off people not otherwise accustom to the bagpipe sound

• Evolved outside in the Highlands for celebration, memorial, or combat.

• "The hills themselves are its appropriate concert room, and among them it pervades the whole atmosphere, and becomes pat of the air until on can hardly tell whence it comes. It makes rhythm with the breeze and chimes in with the rush of the torrent, and becomes pat of the world in which it is produced. It suits the bare heath, the solitary cairn, the dark pass, the silent glen, and the mountain shrouded in mist as no music ever did or can do, and it is at its best floating across the silent loch or over the mountain stream.
  • What's a cairn? Google says, "a mound of rough stones built as a memorial or landmark, typically on a hilltop or skyline"
  • Large number of YouTube videos of pipers playing out doors in dramatic settings.

• Playing in doors, close to others should be avoided
  • "As to the man who practices the ordinary pipes in an ordinary city apartment, … he is

the worst enemy of his craft and worthy of all execration".

• Playing on the beach at the wedding

This episode contains a recording of a recent practice session. It is presented in all its crudeness and will hopefully stand as a comparison for which to mark progress against. The band, City of Mt. Dora Pipe Band, has always got me looking forward to and taking on new tunes. At this point we are moving from St. Patties Day into the patriotic holidays. Consequently, the songs of highest priority are the 5 U.S. military tunes, as well as the other classic patriotic tunes. I'm also continuously attempting to keep the previously learned songs somewhat fresh.

I'm still attempting to find an effective method of recording the pipes. This time I tried two mics, one towards the drones, and another facing the chanter. Upon review, seems to be way too much drones in the recording. Good lesson.  

Thanks for listening. I'd love any feedback

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THANKS!

00:25

01:42 Gerry Owen

02:50 Let Erin Remember/Dawning of the Day

04:40 Scotland the Brave

05:50 Caissons Go Rolling Along

06:50 Anchors Away

07:45 Marines' Hymn

08:45 Into the Wild Blue Yonder

10:00 Semper Paratus

10:50 Scotland the Brave… again/Minstrel Boy/Blue Bells of Scotland

13:20 We Honor Our Fallen

14:40 Highroad to Gairloch/Terribus

16:18 Highland Cathedral

18:21 The Gael… sort of

19:45 Oh Danny Boy… please make it stop

In this episode we think on the question of whether Amazing Grace should be played in any random situation. It is my feeling that perhaps the most famous of bagpipe tunes, Amazing Grace, has such power to command emotion that it should not be trifled with or taken lightly. I give a description of a recent event where I was asked to play AG and didn't feel it was the best tune for the circumstance. I also encounter some other challenges which I handled rather poorly and hopefully learned from. This episode features a funky rendition of AG by the band Tartanic.

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CHECK OUT TARTANIC AT: TARTANIC.NET

Podcast music upgrade, Tartanic!

Since beginning my more intense study and emersion into the world of bagpiping I have become acquainted with several new and interesting people, places, and things. One of those things/people is the band Tartanic. I first heard the group's music when it came up on a bagpipe related Pandora channel and was immediately interested. I grabbed my phone to see the name of what was playing and then created a Tartanic specific channel. Most things primitive, art, music, eating, appeal to me, so upon hearing the driving drum rhythms and intense bagpipe melodies that are the signature style of Tartanic I became a fan. This is the type of music perfectly suited for a late-night bonfire celebration of great feats or in preparation for an monumental challenge.

The bagpipes posses the ability to arouse intense feeling and emotion. The feeling predominately associated with bagpipes, a least in the culture of the United States, is probably that of grief, as funerals are where we are most often exposed to the pipes. But they are no less effective at creating an air of jubilation or inciting men to a violent fever. Tartanic certainly brings to life these two later emotions and goes perfectly with physical training. There is a wonderful contrast created by the simple, steady, pounding of the drums, then layered on top with a masterfully played and complex bagpiping. The drums draw your mind in and along as the pipes weave an ever-changing kaleidoscopic tapestry of sound. The effect can be utterly trance inducing.

The predominate bagpipe activity, customs, conduct, dress and style of play, is based on and originates from formal military procedure. While that possesses many outstanding attributes, Tartanic and other bands of a similar style execute what appears to me to be a freer form, jazz like style of play. I don't know if there is name for this particular branch of music, but I have come to refer it as primitive pipe and drum.   Its raw power and energy.

You might have rightly gotten the impression that I'm a fan. That being the case I thought to myself how awesome it would be if I could feature Tartanic music within my podcast for my own and the enjoyment of others. So I went to the bands website, http://www.tartanic.net/, and sent a quick email asking for their permission to use their music in the podcast. Someone responded in less than a day and very graciously agreed to allow me the use of their music, only asking I give appropriate credit.

With that, I am stoked to proclaim Tartanic the official, unofficial, butt kickin band of The Podtastic Piper Radio Program. I hope that anyone who might hear their stirring sounds will be as excited about it as I am! Check em out!

Have fun!

http://www.tartanic.net/

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PPRP #005 What do you do if you forget your instrument?

On this episode I offer advise on how to confront the terrible situation of being detained for an extended amount of time away from your instrument, unable to practice. I describe my experience in hearing a song, which I didn't know how to play, many times over in a short period of time. That made me very familiar with the how it sounded, so that when I sat down with the sheet music, I was able to learn the song in remarkably short amount of time.  That experience leads me to belief that half the work of learning a new tune on the bagpipes is simply becoming familiar with how "it goes." So, my tip for making progress on your pipes even when you can't play is to find the tune your working with on YouTube, and listen to it over and over, till you hear it in your head and you can't stand it anymore. Once you can recall the melody on command, learning to finger the notes will be much similar.

PPRP #004 Practice under the pavilion

This episode features some audio from an impromptu practice session. There is a nice little coffee shop in Longwood, FL, named Zanzibar. Behind this coffee house, and the adjacent businesses, is a covered area that the businesses use for some storage and to hold outdoor floral classes. There are some toddler toys left out there for kids at the classes so I'll usually grab a cup of regular and hangout as Micah enjoys playing with the toys. I've wondered for a while how the pipes would sound under pavilion, so I took the opportunity this day to brake out my ZoomH5 and tripod and play through some older and some newer tunes I'm trying to improve. I received permission from the business owners before brought out the pipes and disturbed the peace. Everyone gave there enthusiastic ok.

This was recorded with the XY microphone the come with the Zoom H5 and a windscreen. I didn't have any headphones, so no monitoring, and I was really just hoping it was picking up an decent sound.

You can learn a lot from listening to your playing recorded. All the wrong notes and poor tuning stands way out. What has sounded to be respectable to me while I'm playing it live, has, later upon review, been a little cringe worthy. Even recordings of the band performances illicit a bit of an eeeewwwwww. You can learn a lot from listening to your playing recorded. But hopefully its all on the road to improvement and betterment of skills. 

So here the tunes I played through for better or worse:

00:00:25 Scotland the Brave

00:01:15 Highroad to Gairloch/Terribus

00:03:00 We Honor Our Fallen

00:04:50 Green Hills of Tyrol/When the Battles Ore

00:06:50 Highland Cathedral

00:08:37 Farewell to Camraw/begging of Rowen Tree

00:09:47 Kelly the Boy from Killane/Minstrel Boy

I welcome and feedback, hopefully constructive:

[email protected]

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PPRP Episode 2 First step in learning the bagpipes. Practice Chanter

On this episode I discuss, after you have decided your going to learn to play the Great Highland Bagpipes, what is the first step you should take to, physically begin learning, acquire a practice chanter. I address what is a practice chanter, the different makes and models, and how much you should pay for one. Additionally I explained what are the different features available and what to look for when purchasing reeds for the chanter.

Purchasing a practice chanter is a big first step on the long and glorious road to learning the bagpipes as you are committing a small though not insignificant amount of money. That investment will pay off greatly through the years that follow, opening the doors to all the fun and comradery that comes with your progression as a piper. So soak it in and enjoy.

Thanks for listening! I'd love any feedback if you would be so kind as to share your thoughts and experiences. Thinks about piping? Was this helpful? Been piping for years? Let me know what I got wrong.

Thanks again! Chris

• Get a practice chanter
  • Double reed instrument
  • Wood vs ploy
• Different brands
  • Gibson
  • Gorden tuck
  • MacCallum
  • And others
• Don't buy a cheap wood chanter
  • They don't play
• Around $100 for a chanter
• Different sizes
  • Child
  • Regular
  • Long
• Demonstration of what it sounds like
• Flush holes vs double sunk
• Sole
• Reeds
  • Double reed
  • Fits in chamber
  • $5-$20
  • Hard vs easy reeds
• Instruction books
• 9 notes
• Learn the scales
• Learn 5 tunes before you think about buy a full set of pipes
• Electric practice chanter
  • $600