Reflections on competitions

This is a post that I’ve been meaning to write for about a week now, but am finally getting around to it. Now that I’ve had a few weeks to look back on my first (and now second) competitions in grade 1, I have a few thoughts about my experiences so far in the premier amateur grade.

• Sound is very important in grade 1. The judges expect the instrument to be well set, very well tuned, and to be steadily blown. I went into my first contest with the same approach I used last year in grade 2, and while I didn’t get slammed by the judges they all commented that my pipes could be sweeter. Listening to the others in the grade, I see what they meant. While practicing since then, I listened very carefully to my pipes, and I feel that I’m able to tune the drones better than I was, and better able to keep them in tune. It’s still not perfect, but when listening with a more critical ear it’s amazing what you hear.
• Expression is very important. Every player in grade 1 is generally very good technically, and it’s expression and musicality that sets the best ones apart. In my 2/4 march this weekend the judge intentionally chose the same tune as the player who ended up winning the event; she told me after that I played very well (placed 4th out of 8), and in order to beat the winner I should concentrate on making the phrasing a bit more aggressive, especially at the beginning of the part. I’m not exactly certain what she means by that, but I recorded my performance so I’ll listen to it and see if I can learn from it.

After my second competition, I feel like I actually belong in grade 1, which if you were following the blog a few weeks ago was something that was on my mind. Although I broke down in my strathspey and reel, I placed in the middle of the pack in the other competitions, so I’m starting to feel better about this year. I’m still not planning to do as many competitions as I did last year, but I’ll definitely feel more comfortable about competing this year.