Semi-Random Piping Video

It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these random piping videos from YouTube, so I thought it was time for an addition. This video is actually only semi-random; I made the recording myself instead of searching YouTube for it. The player is Pipe Major Alasdair Gillies, a household name in piping.

I was at the Celtic Festival of Southern Maryland yesterday and happened to be walking past the site of the professional MSR competition just as Alasdair was finishing his tuning. Knowing Alasdair to be one of the finest MSR players of the last century, I grabbed my camera and took up a position. The tunes are The 74th’s Farewell to Edinburgh, Susan MacLeod, and Dr. MacPhail’s Reel.

There were other pipers warming up within earshot, so the quality of the recording isn’t as good as I had hoped, but there’s no mistaking that this man is a master. At the end of the march, when he turns for the strathspey and reel and has his back to the camera, you can tell the depth and tuning of the drones. The notes were clean, embellishments perfect and rhythmical with the music, and the sunglasses added the touch of style. This man is no amateur.