A whirlwind of a summer
Ok, so I think the Keydet Piper may now have returned to blogging, after taking it easy for a few months. The reason for my absence is one of simple distraction (see point #4 below). I’m not promising to return to as full a blogging schedule as I’ve maintained at some points in the past, but I hope to be able to get some posts up on a somewhat more regular basis. There’s a few things that have occurred during my absence that I’d like to address.
1. The Piobaireachd Wednesday feature was proving to be pretty popular, and I’d like to resume work on that. I don’t foresee it being a regular weekly thing, but whenever I come across a good recording or manage to record some myself I’ll be sure to post it.
Speaking of that, here’s one to hold you over. I’ve been holding on to a stack of recordings I made at the USPF Amateur Piping Championship back in June, and this was the winning piobaireachd. The player is Kirk Brunson from Derry, New Hampshire, and the tune is Lament for Donald of Lagaan; he gives a very good account of this tune.
Kirk also won the MSR at this contest, making him the overall winner of the championship. Well done to him, certainly.
2. The Worlds happened a few weeks back, and Field Marshal Montgomery once again emerged on top, winning both the medley and the MSR. I wasn’t able to watch as much of the coverage as I would have liked, but I’ve listened to a lot of the recordings that are posted at the above link, and as usual Field Marshal put on a top-notch performance. The medley contest was actually really great, and commentator Bob Worrall kept commenting about the number of bands that played well.
In my mind the big story was ScottishPower, who put in a dynamite medley performance and ended the day in a solid second place. Their medley started with The Battle of Waterloo, which is one of those tunes that pretty much everyone plays, and showing (again) that a flashy medley opener is not required to contend as a top-tier grade 1 band.
Also check out a great medley performance from Boghall and Bathgate, and just to stir up some controversy here’s the medley entry from Toronto Police.
3. We’ve also seen the Argyllshire Gathering happen, with the Gold Medal there going to Finlay Johnston from Glasgow. The other top prizes at this contest went to Peter McCalister (Silver Medal), Stuart Liddell (Senior Piobaireachd), and Gordon Walker (Silver Star Former Winners’ MSR, the seventh time he’s won it). I haven’t heard any of these performances, but keep an eye on Pipeline over the next few weeks, and hopefully they’ll have some recordings. Also keep an eye out for the Northern Meeting, which takes place later this week.
4. Holy crap I’ve moved. In my last post of any substance, I announced that I was moving west, and I’ve now had a little time to get my feet under me here in Oregon. I missed the end of the local piping season, but I’m looking forward to next year to see what it’s all about. I’ve heard the level of play here is very high, brought up significantly by the proximity to the grade 1 powers Simon Fraser University and Triumph Street. I don’t know about solo competitions in 2013, but I’ll do my best to join up with the Portland Metro Pipe Band.
So stay tuned (in all senses of the word), and hopefully you’ll see some more bagpipe-related content coming at you from the Keydet Piper blog.
The Worlds Returns to the Internet in 2012
Good news for those pipers and drummers out there who aren’t planning to go to Scotland this August: The RSPBA has announced that the BBC will once again stream live coverage of the World Pipe Band Championship on August 11. The stream has been immensely popular in the previous three years that it’s been streamed, and I expect it will remain so this year.
Start planning your Worlds parties now!
How do you determine the best pipe band on the day?
Like them or hate them, band competitions are a fact of existence for most serious bands. It’s pretty much the only opportunity a band will have to play for an experienced and appreciative audience, and it’s a way for bands to be able to compare themselves to other bands.
Human nature has shown that pretty much any activity we engage in will become competitive at some point; it seems to strike an evolutionary need of ours to compare ourselves to other people who do the same activity. So in the piping and pipe band world, at least the part of it that I see on a regular basis, competitions are a big part of life.
I contend that pipe band competitions don’t do a very good job of determining which band is best. Here in the eastern US, almost every competition I attend with my band is a single event, so the bands have just one run to attempt to demonstrate their superiority. There’s not a lot that can be learned from a band in those few minutes, and the single event doesn’t determine which band is better, or even which band is better on that particular day, but rather which band had a better run in those five minutes in the circle.
I propose that the EUSPBA expand their band competitions to include all events for each band grade. Two contests would be a much better indicator of which is the best band on the day.
All the pipe band organizations in the world have determined that bands should be able to play a medley and MSR in order to be considered a grade 1, 2, or 3 band. Why not make them demonstrate that they can do both on the same day?
I’m thinking about golf tournaments here, where the winner is determined by the aggregate results of four rounds of golf over the course of four days. In order to win, a golfer must put together four strong rounds of golf, and at the same time making a few bad shots doesn’t necessarily take a golfer out of contention.
It’s still really hard to determine which band is best after only a few minutes of playing, but having the bands play twice in a day would be a better indicator than a single performance.
I understand that there are logistical challenges that may from essentially doubling the length of the band contest, and those must be addressed. That’s the topic for another post, so stay tuned to figure out how I solve that problem.
When your reporter doesn’t understand what he/she is reporting on
I came across this article today; it was published last summer, right after St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band won the Worlds. It seems to come from a radio station in the Vancouver area, and focuses on their local band. There are a few clues that the article was not written by someone who understand how piping competitions work. What gives it away for you?
A pipe band for all players
In 2008, a group of some of the most decorated pipers and drummers in the world came together to form the Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band, which existed for one week. The idea was to get these top players together, practice hard for a week, and compete at the World Pipe Band Championships.
The beginnings of the band was born at the Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championship as several of the competitors were chatting and said that they’d like to play at the Worlds but didn’t have the time to commit to a band. Roddy MacLeod was the pipe major, John Fisher the leading drummer, and the ranks were filled by many top soloists who were not attached to a band (and some who were). The band qualified for the final in Grade 1 and finished 11th overall.
A documentary film was made about the event: On The Day. It’s very well done and worth watching if you can get your hands on it.
Yesterday I heard about a documentary film made about a band that is the exact opposite of the Spirit of Scotland. Called Follow Me… I’m Right Behind You, the band is formed by the College of Piping Training and invites people who otherwise would have no chance of playing at the Worlds. They play in grade 4B, have no intention of winning (or, I imagine, finishing anything except last), and the whole point is to allow the players to say that they’ve played at the Worlds.
I rather like the spirit of this band better than the Spirit of Scotland. Here’s my favorite quote from the trailer:
“No matter how bad the playing, and no matter how much they go to pieces on the day, we don’t turn anybody away.”
That really goes to the heart of teaching. Most of the bands who play at the Worlds, especially lower grade bands who travel from overseas, are not expecting to win. They go to play at the largest pipe band contest in the world, to get the experience of playing on the Worlds stage, to be there with 200 bands and 8000 musicians from all over the world, to say that they’ve done it.
I’m in favor of this band for bad players, and I hope they continue for years to come. I’d very much like to see this film, and if anyone knows where I can find a DVD copy of it, please let me know.
Random piping video
You may have noticed an upswing of posts over the past few weeks, and that has tailed off now that classes have started. I have some ideas for some posts that I’d like to write up when I have a chance, but for now here’s a video to hold you over.
The is the Peel Regional Police’s medley performance from the North American Pipe Band Championships at Maxville, Ontario in August of this year. This was the same medley they used last year, and the first time I heard it I thought it was fantastic. I still think so, and still very much enjoy listening to it. This performance earned them 1st place in this event, which combined with their 1st place in the MSR competition won them the championship.
What a great medley. It’s probably time for them to rotate it out since they’ve been playing it for two years, but I will miss it.
Once again, a stunning lack of variety
I made a post the other day about the repetition of tunes in the final round MSR at the World Pipe Band Championship, and I sat down this morning and compiled a tune list from the qualifying event in the morning. There were 18 bands in the qualifying round, and here’s the breakdown.
Shaking up the MSR
I recently posted my analysis of the tune selection in the final round MSR of the World Pipe Band Championship, and my conclusion was that, once again, there were entirely too many tunes repeated.
The tunes that are often played in these band contests are excellent tunes: Highland Wedding, Clan MacRae Society, Lord Alexander Kennedy; Susan MacLeod, Blair Drummond, Maggie Cameron; Mrs. MacPherson of Inveran, John Morrison of Assynt House, MacAllister’s Dirk. They are all classics, difficult to play, and any band that can play them well certainly deserves to win a contest at the top level.
But I don’t want to hear every band play them.
Partly I think it sets a bad example for bands in the lower grades, encouraging them to pick tunes that might be too hard for them. This never ends well. More importantly though, I don’t want to hear the same tunes all throughout the competition.
Offered here is my humble suggestion for encouraging some variety in the tune selection without discarding the classic tunes altogether.
For these MSR competitions, the band must submit two sets, and they do this when they register for the competition. When the band comes to the line, a random draw from the chief steward determines which set they are required to play. I suggest that one submitted set from each band must not contain any of the most popular tunes for the last five years.
So a band is welcome to submit Set #1 as Highland Wedding, Susan MacLeod, and John Morrison of Assynt House, but Set #2 can’t have any of those more popular tunes; let’s try something like John MacDonald of Glencoe, The Shepherd’s Crook, and Major David Manson.
If we require that each band’s Set #2 have none of these more popular tunes, probability says that half of the sets we’d hear would have the tunes that aren’t heard as often, but we’d still have a chance to hear these popular tunes. That’s my thought. Any other suggestions?
More variety in the MSR, but still not enough
I’ve posted before about how little variety there is among the MSR sets submitted by the top level bands. That particular post was just after the World Pipe Band Championships last year, and this year was about the same. I just went through the recordings posted on the BBC website of the 14 bands in the final MSR, and determined the following:
March
- The march was where there was the most variety, with nine different tunes.
- The most popular march was Pipe Major Tom MacAllister (4 times), with Balmoral Highlanders and The Clan MacRae Society being played twice each. These were the only tunes that were repeated.
- Usual favorites Highland Wedding, Donald Cameron, and Lord Alexander Kennedy only made one appearance each.
Strathspey
- Eight different strathspeys were played, with Susan MacLeod being played most often (4 times). Maggie Cameron and Atholl Cummers were each repeated twice, as was The Islay Ball, which hasn’t been very popular in years past.
- Perennial favorite Dora MacLeod was only played by one band, as was Tulloch Castle.
Reel
- There were only six different reels played, showing the least diversity
- John Morrison of Assynt House was the most popular (4 times), with MacAllister’s Dirk next (3 times) and two appearances each of Mrs. MacPherson of Inveran, John MacKechnie, and Charlie’s Welcome.
- Pretty Marion was only played once, and it was the only reel not repeated.
So there’s still an appalling lack of variety in the MSR tune selection, but there seems to be a bit more variety than last year. What can be done to shake things up a bit? Well, I have an idea that might appear here sometime in the next few days.
Competition videos
I recently posted a video of my first competition with MacMillan Pipe Band at the Southern Maryland Celtic Festival, and since then videos of the other bands in the contest have been posted as well.
The videos are presented here in order of play, which was also, coincidentally, the order of placing. This was the grade 3 band MSR contest that took place on April 24, 2010.
1st place: MacMillan Pipe Band, Rockville, MD
Tunes: Balmoral Highlanders, Susan MacLeod, Colonel MacLeod
2nd place: Saffron United Pipe Band, Babylon, NY
Tunes: Pipe Major Willie Gray’s Farewell to the Glasgow Police, Dornie, Ferry, Fiona MacLeod
3rd place: Greater Richmond Pipes & Drums, Richmond, VA
Tunes: Captain Carswell, Highland Harry, Kalabakan
Random piping video
As I mentioned earlier, this weekend I competed in my first grade 3 band contest. The video of the band has made its way to YouTube, and I post it here for your enjoyment. I can hear a few things that could stand to be improved, but overall I thought it was a good performance.
Back to the bands
The Celtic Festival of Southern Maryland happened this weekend, and this event traditionally marks the start of the competition season in the mid-Atlantic region. I opted out of the solo competitions this time around, choosing instead to focus on my first band competition in about 18 months. Even though I took last year off to concentrate on my solos, I found myself missing the band competition scene.
A few months ago I committed to be a distance member of the grade 3 MacMillan Pipe Band from Rockville, MD. Rockville is a long way to go from Maine, but I have been a groupie of this band for a few years now, so I know most of the folks in it. They play good music and have fun, and that’s what I look for in a band.
This contest was not only my first competition with this band, but also my first band competition at the grade 3 level; it’s not really that much different than the myriad of grade 4 contests I’ve played.
The band ended up winning the MSR contest, out of a field of three bands. This gets the band off on a good start, and we’re looking forward to the medley competition at Fair Hill in a few weeks. At that games I’ll also be looking forward to the grade 1 band contest, featuring the 78th Fraser Highlanders from Ontario. I haven’t decided if I’ll be doing solos at Fair Hill, since I still have a lot of practicing to do on band music, so we’ll see how it goes. I’ll keep you posted.
The secret to a good pipe band
Michael Grey posted a statement of what he identified as “the blindingly obvious” about pipe bands:
“People playing good music well with people they like is the secret to a good pipe band.“
That’s why I enjoyed my three years with Macdonald Pipe Band in Pittsburgh so much: as a band, everyone wanted to play the music properly, and to improve their own abilities. As a group of people, they enjoyed hanging out together. It was ideal, and I miss it very much.
On pipers and politics, part II
I recently made a post about pipe band politics in response to a thread that had been posted in a bagpipe forum. The person who started the thread listed his or her grievances against the current head of a band and how he has been attempting to manipulate and control the band.
After some discussions with several people I believe that I should make some clarifications regarding my statements.
First, the tone of my previous post implies that I am sympathetic to the person who started the discussion thread, thought it was not explicitly stated (though perhaps I was when I wrote the post). As I’ve thought about it the past few days, however, I am revising my stance to “neutral.”
I call myself a skeptic, which means I reserve judgment on certain topics until I have heard evidence from both sides of a debate. I don’t suggest that the events described accusations made in the thread were intentionally fallacious, but they do represent only one point of view, and are an emotional response from one individual. In other words, it is just hearsay with nothing to support the claims made.
My post was intended to be about politics in the piping world in general, but it was swayed by the situation at hand because I had recently read about it.
I would like to add the following comment about piping politics in general, and finish with the same comments that closed my previous post:
I think it’s extremely sad that politics has crept into the piping world. It’s inevitable, I suppose, that some people think they know better than the people who actually do know better, and therefore they see it as their right to call the shots. This isn’t limited to piping, of course, but it is certainly widespread. I know of several bands that have dissolved because of egos and control issues, and several gifted musicians who have turned their back on the piping community because of the petty politics among its members. Friendships have been destroyed, people have become jaded, and people have come to hate the piping world because of the people involved in it.
My first experience with a competition band was ideal: no egos in the band, no cliques, no power struggles. Just music and friendship. Everyone in the band got along and enjoyed the company of the others, and we enjoyed playing music together and hanging out together. We were serious about playing good music, but at the same time realized that is was supposed to be fun. The three years I played with Macdonald Pipe Band in Pittsburgh were a lot of fun, and it provided the catalyst for my solo competition career, as well as my interest in pipes turning into an obsession. Some of my best friends were made in that band, and I miss them quite a bit.
Every pipe band I associate with in the future will be compared to my time with Macdonald, and I’m afraid nothing will be as good. Part of that I’m sure is that it was my first experience and I had nothing else to compare it to, but it was also a lot of fun.
On pipers and politics
**Update** Response to this post can be found here.
Not the kind of politics you see on the news, but rather the politics of the piping world. A thread on a bagpipe forum was brought to my attention today, and it makes for a depressing read. The title of the thread is a good indication of the content: “How to destroy a pipe band in 3 easy steps.”
The person who started the thread talks about his or her experiences with a competition pipe band and the squabbling and power struggles between the two top-level pipers in charge. Or more accurately, between the current controlling and manipulative leader and the former leader whom everyone liked and just wanted to play bagpipes.
I’ve heard a lot about this sort of thing, and it’s really pretty disgusting. This situation is even more disgusting because I know the two pipers involved and am familiar with the two bands mentioned. It makes me sad, but I can’t say that I’m surprised.
Unfortunately some people feel the need to be in control of things, and pipe bands offer a great way for the small time control freak to get in on the action. Many pipers are pretty laid back and mild-mannered, so when a strong personality comes into the picture he or she often sees an opportunity to be in charge. Bands are almost entirely volunteer, and the stakes are very low. Ruining a pipe band doesn’t destroy one’s professional or political career, so there’s not really much at stake, except the happiness of the people who liked things the way they were. The people involved in that sort of experience can destroy friendships and make people hate the piping community they loved so much before. I know of some very talented and passionate former members of the piping community who are now out of it because of the politics.
My first experience with a competition band was ideal: no egos in the band, no cliques, no power struggles. Just music and friendship. Everyone in the band got along and enjoyed the company of the others, and we enjoyed playing music together and hanging out together. We were serious about playing good music, but at the same time realized that is was supposed to be fun. The three years I played with Macdonald Pipe Band in Pittsburgh were a lot of fun, and it provided the catalyst for my solo competition career, as well as my interest in pipes turning into an obsession. Some of my best friends were made in that band, and I miss them quite a bit.
Every pipe band I associate with in the future will be compared to my time with Macdonald, and I’m afraid nothing will be as good. Part of that I’m sure is that it was my first experience and I had nothing else to compare it to, but it was also a lot of fun.
Here’s to hoping that the situation works out favorably for those who liked things the way they were.
Go long!
I’ve commented before about the stunning lack of variety in tune selection for top level band MSR contests, and I’m hopping up on a different but related soap box this time. I will again visit the 2009 World Pipe Band Championship, this time the MSR from the grade 1 final round.
Just to recap the rules, the MSR set must consist of a 2/4 march, strathspey, and reel played as a set. Each tune must be at least four parts, and the performance must start with a three pace drum roll, not contain harmonies or reprises, and end promptly on the last note of the reel. In a grade 1 band contest each band must submit two sets, and a draw at the line determines which they are to play. It’s really a pretty esoteric competition and a non-piper will probably find it difficult to sit through more than just a few bands at a time.
In listening to the CD from this year, the majority of bands played tunes longer than the required four parts, which perhaps contributes to the limited repertoire. Here’s a listing of the bands in order of final placing in the MSR event and their selected tunes. I’ve marked tunes with six parts in red and tunes with eight parts in green.
- Simon Fraser University: The Highland Wedding / Blair Drummond / John Morrison of Assynt House
- Field Marshal Montgomery: The Highland Wedding / Blair Drummond / Pretty Marion
- St Laurence O’Toole: The Highland Wedding / Atholl Cummers / McAllister’s Dirk
- Strathclyde Police: Donald Cameron / Cameronian Rant / Mrs MacPherson of Inveran
- The House of Edgar Shotts & Dykehead: Balmoral Highlanders / Susan MacLeod / McAllister’s Dirk
- Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia: Pipe Major Tom McAllister / Susan MacLeod / John Morrison of Assynt House
- Scottish Power: Angus Campbell’s Farewell to Stirling / Tulloch Castle / John Morrison of Assynt House
- Fife Constabulary: The Highland Wedding / Susan MacLeod / Mrs MacPherson of Inveran
- Robert Wiseman Dairies Vale of Atholl: Colin Thomson / Atholl Cummers / Mrs MacPherson of Inveran
- Cullybackey: The Clan Macrae Society / Susan MacLeod / John MacKechnie
- Manawatu Scottish: The Clan Macrae Society / Atholl Cummers / McAllister’s Dirk
- Ballycoan: The Clan Macrae Society / Susan MacLeod / John MacKechnie
- Dowco Triumph Street: The Highland Wedding / Maggie Cameron / Pretty Marion
- Australia Highlanders: Colin Thomson / Blair Drummond / John Morrison of Assynt House
As you can see, there’s not much black text in there. Here’s the breakdown:
- Three bands played four part marches, and only two different tunes: Colin Thomson and Angus Campbell’s Farewell to Stirling.
- Seven bands played four part strathspeys, but only three different tunes: Maggie Cameron, Susan MacLeod, Tulloch Castle.
- No band played a four part reel.
- Five bands (including those who placed first through fourth) played no tune shorter than six parts.
I don’t know if it’s a trend, a fad, or a trendy fad, but I really don’t like it. There are a ton of great tunes out there, and bands rule out so many of them by limiting themselves only to longer tunes. Solo competitions, even at the top level, feature a much higher percentage of four parted tunes, although the six parted reels are very prevalent.
I’d like to see a grade 1 band be gutsy enough to buck the trend and play some shorter, but not necessarily smaller, tunes.
How about some variety?
I just spent some listening to the grade 1 qualifying round from the World Pipe Band Championship on August 15; the BBC was kind enough to offer streaming coverage of the event and they still have the recordings on the web. The qualifying round was an MSR contest, and I believe bands were able to select which of their two MSRs they would play. The top six bands moved on to the finals.
I’ve noted before that it seems like bands always use the same tunes for their MSR, and I decided to keep track. There were 15 bands that played in the qualifying round. Here’s a quick analysis of what I wrote down.
- Unique marches: 7
- Most played marches (tie): Clan MacRae Society and Highland Wedding, 4 bands each
- Other favorites not in the prize list: Balmoral Highlanders (2), Lord Alexander Kennedy (1)
- Unique Strathspeys: 5
- Most played strathspey: Susan MacLeod, 6 bands
- Honorable mention: Dora MacLeod (4 bands), Atholl Cummers (3 bands)
- Unique Reels: 8
- Most played reel: Mrs. MacPherson of Inveraan, 5 bands
- Expected to hear more often: John Morrison of Assynt House (2), MacAllister’s Dirk (1), Sheepwife (1)
- Played the same set: Lothian & Borders Police and Fife Constabulary (Highland Wedding, Susan MacLeod, Mrs. MacPherson).
My major complaint about MSR contests is that there seems to be a very short list of acceptable tunes, and I don’t find it very enjoyable to listen to the same few tunes repeatedly. Of those five different strathspeys, two of them were only played once: Maggie Cameron and The Islay Ball. That means that 12 of these 15 bands (80%) played one of the three most popular tunes.
Come on folks, these sets shouldn’t all be the same tunes! There are so many great tunes out there, of all of these types, so how about we try playing them in competition?
Michael Grey is a well-known piper and judge in Canada, and he has famously spoken out with his disgust for the MSR, and I’m not ready to take it that far. I would like to see some different tunes though, and I would love to see a year where the RSPBA would outlaw some of the more popular tunes listed here. People might have to think of something new for a change, and I don’t see that as a bad thing.
They started something
I’ve posted before about the new medley performances from the Toronto Police Pipe Band that has started such a dialogue in the piping world. They came on with their medley in 2008 and a different one in 2009, both of which were completely different from anything the piping world has ever seen. One of the big differences is that they don’t start with the usual three pace rolls and “marchpipe” (marching hornpipe). This doesn’t break any rules for medley competitions in the US or Canada, (Scotland is a different story, where it’s specifically stated that the medley must start with three-pace rolls), but it’s certainly not what is expected in a band contest, and it’s “just not how things are done.”
I can’t really think of a worse reason to keep doing things than traditions like that, so I applaud the innovation. And I think they’ve started something, because this year I’ve seen several bands following this idea, throwing out the rolls and starting their performance before they start marching into the circle. Two that come to mind are the grade 2 City of Regina Pipe Band from Regina, Saskatchewan, and the Grade 3 MacMillan Pipe Band from Rockville, MD. Any others that you’re aware of?
I like to see things change. I’m glad to see things shift away from “the way they’ve always been,” especially if there’s rule to prevent it, so good on you for breaking from the norm. Keep it up, and I’ll predict that in five years this will be the norm and the three pace rolls to start the medley will be much rarer.
Ah, technology
This was posted today on pipes|drums: BBC Scotland to stream World’s live from Glasgow Green. Very much coolness here; all of the Grade 1 band competitions will be streamed live on the internet, starting with the qualifying round and going straight through the finals and awards ceremony. Again I say very much coolness.
I’m also happy to see that the recordings will be available on the website to those of us stuck outside the UK, which was different from last year. Since I won’t be able to watch the performances live, I’ll have to check out the on demand videos.
For the past few years, the DVD of the Grade 1 qualifying round and finals has been pretty popular in the piping world. I assume there are still plans to release a DVD, but I don’t know for sure. Either way, this is an example of technology being used to spread the good word about piping, and I’m very excited to hear about it.
They’re at it again
In the 2008 season, the Toronto Police Pipe Band started a number of heated discussions with the unveiling of their new competition medley. This wasn’t a medley, it was actually a composition with just one name. Composed by Michael Grey, “Variations on a Theme of Good Intentions” can be interpreted as a statement on pipe band compositions, much like the Shotts turn at the Worlds in 2008, though a bit more drastic than that. Michael Grey makes no allusions to his dissatisfaction with the pipe band set competition (MSR), and I see this medley as a statement that the medley competitions should be altered as well. The medley sparked many heated debates about things, and if nothing else it started a dialogue.
So the Toronto Police are at it again. This year they’ve unveiled their new medley, entitled “Idiomatica.” Here’s a video of them at the Georgetown Highland Games on June 13 (sorry, unable to embed it here). Link will open in a new window.
Here’s my verdict: I like it. I felt it a bit closer to the traditional style of medley than last year, with the exception of the intro. I’ll be honest, I was tapping my foot almost the whole medley. It’s very interesting musically, and while there are a lot of harmonies I never felt like they were overdone, but rather provided a nice departure from the single voice of the bagpipes that’s usually heard.
I’m not wild about the intro, especially cutting out the chanters as they turn around. There’s nothing in the rules that says they can’t, but it’s one of those things that has to be done well or not at all. The rogue note that escaped from someone’s chanter ruined it for me. It seemed to me that the whole intro was different just for the sake of being different. There might be another message there, but that’s how it came across to me.As the medley went on I really got into it, really enjoyed it.
The final verdict: I like the composition, but I’m still not sure how I feel about it in a competition. Your thoughts?
Breaking from tradition
The House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band is certainly one of the top bands in the world today. They’ve won the World Pipe Band Championships fifteen times since 1948, and have placed in the top three every year since 1993, including five wins. Shotts is a dominant force that attract top quality players from all over the world, and are always contenders for the top prizes.
It was very surprising, therefore, that they pulled off this stunt at the Worlds this year. In the last tune of the medley, every piper turned around 180 degrees to face the audience instead of the center of the circle. Turning around will inevitably lead to a decline in unison playing and lower marks from the judges based on the technical performance, but perhaps riskier is being marked down for doing something different. The band broke no rules except tradition, which can be quite strong in its own right. For a contending band to do something different that would jeopardize the chance of winning takes courage and confidence.
Shotts Pipe Major Rob Mathieson has called for reform of the pipe band competition format, pointing out that we are really the only musical groups that perform with our backs to the audience and judges. It makes good musical sense to have all the musicians in view of each other, but not very good entertainment sense to block out the listeners.
Perhaps something like the arrangement in this concert, where only the pipe major has his back to the audience. That’s the St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band from Ireland in concert in Pittsburgh, PA in November 2007, by the way. The majority of the musicians are facing out and everyone can see the one who is directing. It makes better sense to me, but trying to get the pipe band world to accept it, or any change to “the way things have always been done,” will be a slow process.
In case you’re wondering, Shotts finished fourth in the medley and third overall at the Worlds.
Random Piping Video
In August 2008, a new pipe band competed for the first time at the World Pipe Band Championships. With Roddy MacLeod as pipe major, the Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band boasted a very impressive lineup of pipers with something more than a dozen gold medals won by band members.
This morning I found a video of the band warming up before the MSR contest (maybe the Grade 1 qualifier?) at the Worlds. It’s interesting to watch, and they playing ain’t bad either.
