Last year, pipers in NWJPB, their parents, and pipers around the world were teased by the idea of a video game featuring bagpipes. It certainly got people in our community talking…and a bit disappointed to discover it was a joke.
Here’s a video:
Well, this one isn’t a joke. Nintendo is coming out with “Wii music” where you can choose from up to 60 instruments. Among those are the bagpipes. Check out the GameSpot article. You play the pipes by holding the remote upward and pressing the “1 and 2 buttons”. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any pictures of the game with a bagpiper, but it sounds like it could be fun.
This is compiled from a ton of responses to questions pipers and drummers receive, many of which are funny to those that are immersed in and committed to piping and drumming, and surround themselves with the unique community that devotes itself to the Scottish arts. However, in most cases, they speak to the ignorance and lack of understanding about bagpipes and drums. Sometimes they just speak to a human desire to be “in” or “have the inside track”…most of these cases are just funny. 
We recognize though, that as bagpipes gain popularity, more and more people are curious about the instrument, history, expectations, commitment and challenges. While many of the stories are funny…often it just illustrates how much work organizations like ours need to do to educate the public about our art. The original discussion thread is from the “Beer Tent” section of Bob Dunsire Forums, a growing discussion board and community of more than 10,000 pipers, drummers, and celtic music and arts fans around the world. See the discussion likely continuing to grow here>>
“Do you have to be Scottish to play Bagpipes?”
Washington State is sending two pipe bands to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships this year; the Keith Highlanders and Northwest Junior Pipe Band. Northwest Junior Pipe Band is the first youth pipe band from our State ever to attend the World Pipe Band Championships and the first youth band to even travel to Scotland since 1969. There are a lot of indications that piping and drumming is rapidly gaining popularity.
See the great article posted in February about piping and drumming in the Northwest here>>
ABC news recently ran a feature story about bagpiping. While they call it a “resurgence” many in the piping world think of it as continued growth in public interest. Rock Band “Red Hot Chili Pipers” is given some credit for “mainstreaming” bagpipes, but the story covers several of the reasons why bagpiping seems to be gaining popularity. The reporter attempts playing pipes in a humorous depiction of how challenging the instrument is to master.
“It takes some blowing power, and, of course, the skill and coordination. It’s rather like, if you can tap your head and rub your tummy at the same time, you’ve probably got it”
Watch the video, “Bagpipe Rock“
“So, why learn? Playing makes you look like a blowfish. And the pipes can reach 111 decibels — that’s louder than a pneumatic drill. In the wrong hands, it’s torture. ‘Being played by someone who knows how to play them, they will not sound like a strangled cat. You get a lovely sound from the instrument,’ said Manderson. It’s a sound that does something inexplicable to anyone with a lick of Scottish blood. But even those of you not lucky enough to be Scottish seem drawn to the drone.”
It’s good to see the “mainstream” press continuing to pick up on the work so many put into this unique hobby/lifestyle/music.
Shorecrest High School’s Band Program performed “A Long Way to the Top” by AC-DC, and won 1st place, and $10,000.00 for their band program. NWJPB Band Director Kevin Auld leads the Shorecrest Pipers in the band, and members of NWJPB were invited to perform on stage with the band and “Spike and the Impalers” at a December “Twisted Christmas” event.
Congratulations to a great music program! Thanks to The Rock Wood Fired Pizza for sponsoring the contest.
Hear a Podcast of the winners being announced.
See and hear all of the entries at the School of the Rock Contest homepage.
Congratulations to Skye Richendrfer, Director of the Skagit Valley Celtic Arts Foundation in receiving the Governor’s Arts & Heritage Award. The Arts and Heritage Awards recognize individuals and organizations for their significant contributions to the creativity and culture of Washington.
Skye K. Richendrfer, a former piper with Simon Fraser University Pipe Band is the founder of the Celtic Arts Foundation and the Skagit Valley Highland Games, which draws 10,000 attendees annually. His impact in the community is also demonstrated through is work to support the restoration of the historic Lincoln Theatre in downtown Mount Vernon, worked on fundraising to support the McIntyre Hall on the Skagit Valley College campus, and creating the “Celtic Stage” in Mount Vernon’s Edgewater Park.
Skye and the Celtic Arts Foundation have both been long time supporters of Northwest Junior Pipe Band, most recently helping us purchase new drums when the band began experiencing significant growth.
Ok, so it’s not a parable exactly, but it is just about perfect. Forgive the alliteration, I’m working on improving the catchiness of my headlines.
This is one of the best articles about the art, competition, and history of bagpiping in the US that many of us have ever seen. Written by a “former” piper Aaron Jentzen for the Pittshburgh City Paper, it goes into great detail about the Balmoral Classic and the concert where two NWJPB instructors travelled to catch the St. Lawrence O’Toole Pipe Band perform last November.
We highly recommend the article, and encourage you to share it as well. The US is seeing a notable increase in the popularity and talent of bagpiping and Scottish drumming. Kudos to the Pitssburgh City Paper for publishing such a high quality article, with very few of the usual factual errors, jokes about bagpipes or other mistakes we often see in stories about the art of bagpiping.
One quote I really like, which sort of summarizes my experience with piping…I didn’t know anything about it 4 years ago, and didn’t “hate” pipes, but I know I hadn’t been exposed to much “great” piping…so I didn’t have any real appreciation for the talent that surrounds us:
“I’m willing to admit that everybody in the entire world can be divided up — not evenly — into those who love the bagpipes and those who hate the bagpipes,” [George] Balderose [one of the Balmoral Classic organizers] says.
Still, he adds, “I’d like to think that those who hate the bagpipes hate them because they were played badly.”
St. Lawrence O‘Toole Pipe Band, that is. Founded in 1910, SLOT was the first Irish Pipe Band to visit England AND America. From their exciting and often politically active beginnings in a tumultuous time in Irish history the band grew through the 50’s, winning the All Ireland Senior Championships in 1958. After these heady days, the band membership began a downward slide until the late 60’s when there were only 4 active members left in the band, who decided they’d invest effort and give the band “one last chance”. Those members brought their sons and friends, and began teaching and working hard to succeed again. They captured interest and attention, and the band began competing after having been downgraded to Grade 3 during their decline, they were upgraded to Grade 2 in 1974 after winning the “All Ireland”. In 1985, the band won Champion of Champions for Grade 2 in the Ireland Pipe Band Association. After winning prizes at all contests in 1987, taking 1st in 13 of 15 contests and 2nd at the Worlds two years in a row, they were upgraded to Grade 1 in 1989. They continue to perform and place in the top 6 spots in most major Championships to this day. This year, SLOT placed 4th twice, 5th once, 6th twice and 7th once in the 6 major events (The World Championships is counted twice; once for Medley and once for MSR).
SLOT at the Ulster Championships this year:
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As predicted by many, the new Triumph Street Pipe Band won the North American Championshps in Maxville, Ontario at the Glengarry Highland Games on August 4th, 2007. Triumph Street Pipe Band is many talented members of the former Robert Malcom Memorial Pipe Band Grade 2, who took the World Championships in 2006. Northwest Junior Pipe Band congratulates Triumph Street Pipe Band, and especially the three Northwest Junior Pipe Band Alumni who play pipes and drums with the band. It seems likely that the 2007/2008 season will see a new Grade 1 band in the BC Pipers Association competition scene after the series of 1st place finishes Triumph Street has had.
Jim McGillivray has just launched a ground-breaking web resource for the bagpiping community. See his announcement here>> and visit Pipetunes.ca to sample hundreds of tunes, and if you like them, you can purchase the sheet music one tune at a time. Jim has big plans for new features, and has obviously worked hard to make the website a good experience and resource for the piping community.
 
From the description on the new web site:
“Download and print individual pipe tunes! On pipetunes.ca you’ll find superb settings of hundreds of traditional tunes, as well as authorized, copyright material from today’s best composers. Browse by listening to excerpts of the tunes. You can also download practice-chanter demonstrations of the tunes by leading piper and teacher Jim McGillivray, as well as by many of the composers themselves.”
Jim McGillivray bio, from Andrew Lenz’s Bagpipe Journey article, Who’s Who in Piping:
(1955 - ) Canadian. World level piper. Started piping at age 11. Author of “Rhythmic Fingerwork” Tutor and two bestselling DVDs, “Pipes Ready!” and “Pipes Up!” which cover pipe maintenance and tuning respectively. Winner of the Northern Meeting Gold Medal in 1985, the Inverness Clasp in 1987 and the Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal in 1991, among other awards. In 2005, became the first Canadian ever invited to judge at Scotland’s premier Agyllshire Gathering, and in 2006 the first North American to judge at the Glenfiddich Championship. Since 1998 he has taught piping full time at St. Andrew’s College, a private boys’ school in Aurora, Ontario, where he lives. Also a respected player of Scottish Smallpipes, Border Pipes and Northumbrian Smallpipes. Pronounced “Muh-Gill-vree.” Moderator at the BobDunsire.com forums.
