After several years of very close competitions, with the bands pushing each other to better and better performances and for the last two years, having the Grand Aggregate Championship for the season come down to just one judge’s placing at the Pacific Northwest Highland Games, the White Spot and Northwest Junior Pipe Band members have built close friendships.  The bands announced a partnership Monday for their top musicians to compete together at a higher level competition grade in 2011.  Click the image for link to the story on Pipes|Drums.  Both bands plan to remain independent and field separate indpendent bands in Grades 4 or 5, but in order to provide new challenges for the bands’ talented young musicians, the decision to work together at the higher level Grade 3 and provide new challenges was a great opportunity to support the growing talents of the bands’ musicians.  Naming and other details will come soon, but practices are slated to begin in September.

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A youth bagpipe band is always working to teach, develop, and build the next generation of pipers and drummers, while hoping to build an appreciation for talented piping and drumming in our community and beyond.  We encouraged our band members and families to be up in the wee hours last weekend on August 14th to see the top bands in the world compete, broadcast live worldwide for the second year in a row.  In this 12 part post, we’re pleased to link to videos by the BBC of the top 12 bands in the world.  We’re especially proud that two of the twelve bands are based in our competition region (both are in BC, but our region runs through Oregon), and several musicians from both Simon Fraser University and Dowco Triumph Street live in Washington.

Many of these bands have incredible histories, and are made up of some of the most talented and dedicated musicians (of any kind) in the world.  The piping and drumming community knows, but many in the public may not realize that memorization of this music is required, unlike many orchestra and many other competition based music events.  Not only do they have the multiple tunes in these medley selections memorized, but they have a 2nd medley selection and two different March, Strathspey & Reel selections that are chosen at the start line.   As the bands are preparing to compete, they have no idea what music they will be playing, so all 4 music selections have to be mastered to ensure a chance at success.

12th place, Dowco Triumph Street Pipe Band, Vancouver, BC.  Pipe Major David Hilder, Drum Sergeant Andre Tessier.  After winning the World Championships in Grade 2 while part of the Simon Fraser University organization 3 years ago, the band was promoted to Grade 1 and then re-formed with a new name after the former Triumph Street Pipe Band asked the band members to take on the name, returning to the forefront as a Grade 1 band.  Triumph Street Pipe Band, under the leadership of Pipe Major Hal Senyk, placed 5th in the World Championships in 1979, winning the Sash for best drum corps…the first band outside of Scotland to ever win a top prize in the major championships. DTSPB has made it through the qualifier each of the last two years and then competed in the final 14 bands. This year, there were 18 bands in the qualifier, and only 6 came through. A remarkable achievement for a new band in Grade 1 to place in the top 14 two years in a row, this year is one placing higher than last.

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11th Place: Robert Wiseman Dairies Vale of Atholl, Atholl in Perthshire, Scotland, Pipe Major Adrian Cramb, Drum Sergeant Paul Turner

With over 100 years of history, promoted to Grade 1 in 1983 and repeatedly in the top 6 at the Worlds, British, Scottish and European Championships. 

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10th place: The 78th Fraser Highlanders from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Pipe Major Bill Livingstone, Drum Sergeant Drew Duthart (son of Scottish drumming legend Alex Duthart, and a legendary drummer in his own right, achieving every drum corps prize possible between the ages of 14 and 19 and winning the World’s Juvenile Solo Drumming Championship).

Founded in 1982, over the 16 times it has traveled to and competed in the premier Grade 1 at the World Pipe Band Championships in Scotland, the 78th have been in the prize list 12 times, and in 1987 the 78th became the first non-Scottish band to win the top award.

Unfortunately, embedding was disabled at time of posting, so click the image below to watch the Medley performance.

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9th Place:  Inverary and District Pipe Band, Inverary, Scotland, Pipe Major Stuart Liddell, Drum Sergeant Steven McWhirter

Both leaders are former players with Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and very well known soloists, this band is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of competitive pipe bands.  The beginning band was officially founded in 2005 as a Novice Juvenile pipe band, the very beginning of the competition level in the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association.  Their second year 2006, they placed in the top 6 in every event they entered. In 2007 then they won 4 of 5 championships and promoted to Juvenile in where in 2008 they won 4 of 5 championships again and were promoted to Grade 2, where in 2009, they won all five championships and received promotion to Grade 1.  The core players are very young, with the addition of some new talent after the last two promotions, it’s remarkable that a Grade 1 band in its first year was pre-qualified and managed a top ten placing in the final results.

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8th place: Fife Constabulary. Scotland, UK. Pipe Major James Murray, Pipe Sergeant Drew Mathieson. Founded 2007, the last of the 8 Scottish police forces to have their own pipe band.  Another remarkable story for a Grade 1 pipe band to finish 12th in 2008 and 9th in 2009 and now placing 1 better than that.

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7th place:  Strathclyde Police, Glasgow, Scotland. PM Don Bradford, DS Eric Ward

A roller-coaster story over the past couple years, Strathclyde Police has been in the news repeatedly with headlines of “It’s Over” and “Pull the Plug”, losing support of their sponsoring police force, receiving conflicting messages from the Police Chief and other sources and finally losing players as a result, Strathclyde Police has battled back this season to provide top performances.  Pipe Major Ian McLellan led the band to most of its former championships, and Don Bradford was the Pipe Sergeant under the most recent PM, Donald MacKay who left the role during the past years’ troubles. Don Bradford stepped up to Pipe Major and ended up resigning and then bravely stepping up again to rebuild the band at the last minute to help rescue this historic organization. Well done to all involved in this band’s history.  Strathclyde Police were formed in 1883 and was one of the first pipe bands to be formed outside of the British military.

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6th Place: Scottish Power Pipe Band, Scotland, Pipe Major Chris Armstrong, Drum Sergeant Barry Wilson

Chris Armstrong is producing a lot of unique, contemporary, entertaining and challenging solo bagpipe music,  is a full time instructor at the National Piping Centre, and has been leading the band since 2005.  The band has twice won the World Championships.  Two time winners of the Scottish Championships and the Cowal Championships, the Band has also held the All-Ireland title and placed second in the World Pipe Band Championships twice.

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5th Place: The House of Edgar Shotts & Dykehead. Shotts, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.  Pipe Major Robert Mathieson, now Gavin Walker, Drum Sergeant Jim Kilpatrick (one of the winningest drummers in the world) and well known lead tenor Tyler Fry

Celebrating their 100th anniversary, and Grade 1 since 1936, Shotts & Dykehead are known to challenge tradition in their performances.  Last year the crowd at the Grade 1 arena cheered wildly when the drummers turned around and faced the audience during their medley, after the rules were relaxed to allow it.  This year, the band took the field with two bass drummers, to great effect. 

Shortly before the World Championships, PM Robert Mathieson announced that he was stepping down after 23 years in the post.  According to reports, he wishes to continue playing with the band, but believes it’s time to hand over the leadership to younger talent.  It was great to see the band in the top 6 again, though many wished they had placed 1st, an ideal tribute to an incredible leader.

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4th Place:  Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia, West Lothian, Scotland, Pipe Major Ross Walker, Drum Sergeant Gordon Brown

Founded in 1972, the band leads a Novice Juvenile and a Juvenile band as well as their Grade 1 band.  Current Pipe Major Ross Walker and Leading Drummer Gordon Brown are products of this Pipe Band “academy“ learning to play with the band’s youth program in the late 70‘s.

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3rd Place: Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC. Pipe Major Terry Lee, Drum Sergeant J. Reid Maxwell (the first leader of drum corps with two different pipe band World Champions and literally dozens of championships under his belt in solos and bands)

Simon Fraser has been an incredible force in the piping scene world wide for a number of years.  With 6 Word Championship titles, including the 2008 and 2009 World Championships, there’s no question they’re one of the top bands in the world.  Additionaly, they have a beginning program, no longer limited to youth, but that has produced top notch, championship winning bands in Juvenile competitions, and there are many talented and up and coming players in the Robert Malcolm Memorial pipe band organization.  The band debuted a new kilt design this year to mixed responses, but their performance, especially in the Medley, was top notch and many expected them to place higher in the end results, but the differences in talent and precision execution between all of these bands at the top level are so minor, it’s always difficut to predict the top 6 the judges will pick, even to trained ears who see all the bands compete.

Embedding appears to be disabled on this video, click the photo for the Medley link.

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2nd Place: Field Marshal Montgomery, Lisburn, Northern Ireland.  Pipe Major Richard Parkes MBE, MSc, Drum Sergeant Keith Orr

Having won as many championships as Simon Fraser University, FMM is always in the top 6, and usually in the top 3 in recent years.  Founded around 1945, they’ve been a strong competition focused band from the beginning.

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2010 World Champions:  St. Laurence O’Toole Pipe Band, Pipe Major Terry Tully, Drum Sergeant Stephen Creighton

Founded 100 years ago, having won every other championship but never the Worlds, this was a powerful season for SLOT and a lot of people were expecting them to do very well.  Even among some of the biggest fans of the other bands, after their performances, there was a lot of speculation that they had done it.  Terry Tully is known for beautiful piping compositions, some of which are fast becoming “standards”, and NWJPB plays some of his music as well.  Following the Medley performance below, take a look at Terry’s interview after the announcement, it was an incredible moment.

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There were several incredible stories we followed during our Scotland trip in 2008:

1. Our own experiences winning two first place trophies at Perth and Crieff and 5th in the World
2. SFU winning the World Championships for the 5th time, as well as best drum corps
3. Besides SFU, there were three pipe bands from the Northwest and BC including NWJPB, the Keith Highlanders AND the White Spot Pipe Bands; taking on the worlds and placing in the top 6
4. The story of the Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band.   

This band included top soloists and instructors from all over the world who were not competing in bands.  Several of those performers come from the Pacific Northwest / BC area.  Now, a very talented documentary film maker is nearing completion of a story about the band, the obstacles they overcame to compete with the top bands in the world, make it through the qualifier round and ultimately win an incredibly respectable 11th place.  NWJPB made a small donation to help John finish this important project, and we encourage our supporters to do the same.  

Music, Piping and Drumming can be an incredibly healthy and meaningful activity for youth, and the more opportunities there are for people to become familiar with the superstars of piping and drumming, the more youth will consider this a reasonable option.  Please check out the press release introducing you to John McDonald, the project, and please consider donating to the cause.  Help us help John bring stories like this into the mainstream!

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Ken Yiesly in his Piping Live! 2008 T-shirt shows off his silver Bagpipes

NWJPB is an extended family.  This story celebrates the life and history of NWJPB Grandparents celebrating their 52nd anniversary, and pays a lot of attention to bagpipes, and the experiences of a couple of NWJPB members on our recent trip to the World Pipe Band Championships, 2008.  A brief excerpt from the story:

Ken was able to retire from the military shortly after in 1975 and the family was finally able to put down roots. 

To mark the occasion, Mieko bought him a set of silver bagpipes, his favorite instrument since childhood. 

“That’s all he wanted, the nut,” Mieko said. “But he’s my nut.”

Congratulations to Ken and Mieko on your 52 years!

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We found this video after our return from Scotland.  We’ll continue searching for video, pictures and stories, because one thing about our trip to Scotland that has many of our members eager to go back again, was the welcoming attitude and the warm, open arms the people of Glasgow, Perth, North Berwick, and Crieff, the Piping Live! Festival organizers, and the RSPBA and the organizers of the World Championship events showed us on our first visit to Scotland.  Passers-by were talking about the band’s talent and using phrases like “I thought they were Scots,” reporters, photographers, and the BBC seemed to be watching us at every event, and we were often asked to pose for photos. 

The Evening Times / The Herald published this video on YouTube, which featured NWJPB performing in George Square as the opener to the story about the week long Piping Live! festival.

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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.

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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?”

Often, this comes in the form of a statement:  “Only Scottish people can play bagpipes properly” or “you must be Scottish”.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  One of the motivations for many people who start out definitely IS to learn something or get “in touch” with their heritage.  But there are literally thousands of people who play bagpipes or Scottish drums from all over the world.  Northwest Junior Pipe Band encourages youth of any background to come and find out what all the fun is about.  There are bagpipe bands and bagpipers in hundreds of countries from Australia to Mexico (we had a new member join our Grade 5 band this year after learning to play pipes in Mexico), Asia to the Netherlands.  Bagpipes are an acquired taste for many, but there is no cultural background requirement to love them.

“Are you a Bagger…do you play the Pipe Organ?”

This is just a classic example of confusion or lack of familiarity with the instrument.  They’re Bagpipes, and “baggers” are usually people that work in grocery stores.  Pipe Organs are a similar concept (as are many wind based instruments)…but definitely not nearly as portable as a set of bagpipes.  Piper, Bagpiper, Highland Piper…those are the most commonly accepted terms.    We’re not a “Bag Band”, but “Pipe Band” is ok!

On the lack of understanding about the difficulty and commitment necessary to play bagpipes. From “pancelticpiper”

Sometimes, the questions highlight the impact of our “instant gratification” culture.  Learning the bagpipe, the Scottish drums, the variety of unique folk, dance, classical and historical music that we’re devoted to takes significant dedication.

Two stories, both of which really highlight that NO musical instrument can “just be played” without a serious time investment, and that the value of a talented bagpipe performance is often misunderstood:

A woman calls seeking a piper to play around 20 minutes at her event. I tell her the fee is $150.
She was incredulous but didn’t skip a beat, immediately coming back with “So how much do you charge for bagpipe lessons?”
I tell her $25 per lesson.
“So tell you what: I’ll take one lesson, rent a bagpipe for a few dollars, and do the playing myself!”

…her event did not feature bagpipe music.

I got a call from the “property master” of the Ellen show. He explained that Ellen begins each show with some bit of schtick, and her idea for one show was to march in playing the bagpipes.

This guy was surprisingly knowing in that he realised that if he rented a bagpipe from a Hollywood prop house it wouldn’t be in playing condition. He knew that he had to rent a bagpipe which was currently “set up” and played.

He actually told me “Ellen wants you to show me how to play them, then I can show her.”

So I show up (with a contract which stipulates that they must reimburse me for any damage to the pipes) and I give a quick demo to the propery master of how to play the pipes. He watched me in a serious, focused way… then said “I think you’ll have to show Ellen yourself.”

…her program did not feature bagpipe music.

On “Laws” about what Kilt or Tartan one can wear.

People often believe (or claim) there are rules or laws about wearing highland dress. Nobody has ever identified a law on paper that prevents you from wearing the tartan of a specified clan. In many cases, people wear the “tartan” of their ancestry, but the “Tartan Police” will not track you down and fine you if you just choose a tartan that you like. The only recommendation is to get a quality kilt and dress from a vendor that cares about the history and importance of the clothing. Our pipe band this needs to spend nearly $10,000.00 on uniforms for new members. Expect to spend a minimum of $500.00 for a good kilt. With that, add 100 for the belt, 100 for the Sporran, 30 for acceptable hose (socks), 125 for “Ghillie Brogues” (shoes), and around 300.00 if you want a traditional Argyle or Prince Charlie jacket.

If you’re paying over $1200.00 for traditional Scottish dress, you’ve earned the right to create your own traditions and wear something you like without fear of the Secret Tartan Police tracking you down. 

“You can tune those things?”

Yes, absolutely.  Pipe bands spend a significant amount of time tuning the three different drones on each bagpipe to sound exactly the same (3 drones times 10 pipers in a band…30 independent sounds to be tuned together) and the “chanter”…the part of the bagpipe that actually makes the music.  There are 9 notes on the chanter.  Tape is very often used to make the finger holes smaller, raising the pitch, or opened up more lowering the pitch.  The position, design, material and temperature of the reed the wind blows through can affect the tuning as well.  I like to believe that many people who claim not to like bagpipes have never heard a well-tuned and talented bagpiper or pipe band perform.

“Why are you wearing earplugs?”

Bagpipes can reach 116 decibels, about the level of a chainsaw.  For performers in Northwest Junior Pipe Band, earplugs are mandatory at practices and performances.

“Can you turn those down?” Thanks to “Janelle, aka Tenor Granny”

Basically, no.  The Great Highland Bagpipe and Highland Snare are designed to be loud.  They’re designed for outdoor play, and there’s no volume adjustment.  However, there are “indoor” bagpipes designed for “tolerable” levels; shuttle pipes, small pipes, kitchen pipes, and other options.  Many pipers have a set of each. 

Concert Organiser ” We are going to use our own sound man and system today, because last time you were here some of our older audience found you were too loud”
Piper “We didn’t use the microphones last time and we won’t this time”
Concert Organises “Oh! Can you turn them down then please?”
Piper “No, we can’t turn them down”
Organiser “But you’ll have to. They really are too loud.
Pipe Major steps in and says ” Don’t worry, we’ll play softer”
After we had played, Concert Organiser “Thank you that was much better than last time”

“Do all Scottish Drummers play Bagpipes?”

This is by far my favorite interaction from the discussion; admittedly cobbled together over a variety of conversations…but sometimes when we don’t hear the answer we expect from someone, it takes a while to sink in. Other times, the person answering the questions changes his “tune”. Thanks to Cliff Davis, Bass Drummer.

Seemingly nice person making conversation: “Do you have any hobbies?”

“I play the bass drum in a pipe band.”

“I love the fife, I saw a group at a Revolutionary War exhibit when I was in Virginia. Is it hard to learn the fife?”

“Actually I meant to say bagpipes and drums. It’s a bagpipe band with drums, and I play the bass drum.”

“Oh I see; how long have you played the bagpipes?”

“Actually, I’m a drummer. I play the bass drum in a pipe band. I’m a lifelong drummer that discovered pipe band about twenty years ago when I was in my thirties. I love pipeband drumming; lots of swing, and it’s some of the coolest drumming around.”

“Is it hard to learn to play the pipes?”

“The bagpipe is a difficult instrument to learn and particularly difficult to master. I think that most students spend at least six months to a year on a practice chanter before they are ready to go on to the bagpipes. But I’m no authority because I’m a drummer.”

“Oh, I see. Do you have to have Scottish blood to wear a plaid skirt and play the bagpipes? Do you get to throw those telephone poles? What do they wear under those skirts? What is the name of that fife song in the Old Spice commercial? And tell me again, how long did you say you’ve been a bagpiper?”

“About ten years.”

 “Are there real songs for those things?”

There are thousands of tunes composed for the Great Highland Bagpipe, and many that “fit” the instrument, but people are still learning about this unique instrument and the types of music they’re capable of.  The challenge of bagpipe music is that there are nine basic notes, without the full range of possibilities available to most instruments.  While some “popular” music can be translated to the bagpipes, many tunes sound unusual if played on pipes.  In addition, there are “Scottish” and “Irish” tune styles or “idioms” that most commonly get written for the highland bagpipe.  Probably the most common are March tunes, designed for parades, events, festivals and celebrations accompanying the troops in or out.  Similar to the “Fife and Drum” corps that you think of in American history…the small “piccollo” or flute marching in front of snare drummers.  There are also a variety of different dance styles including the Strathspey (uniquely Scottish in origin), the Reel, the Jig, the Hornpipe.  One of the most commonly recognized and celebrated tunes for the bagpipe is “Amazing Grace“, a christian hymn, with words originally written by  Englishman John Newton in the 1700′s, but only relatively recently associated with bagpipes…within the past 100 years.  Piobaireachd is the “historic” and “classical” music for bagpipes, with a history going back hundreds of years.

“Where do you put the batteries?”

In your electric tuner?  Bagpipes are purely wind and arm-powered.  It is pretty amazing that so much sound can be produced from human power, but it’s true.  No batteries required, just a lot of breath and arm control.

A word on “manners”

Several commented about people walking up to them while playing and just beginning to ask questions in the middle of a song.  This may be related to the question about whether there are songs written for bagpipes…but it’s hard to know for sure.  When you encounter a musician performing or playing music, just politely wait until they finish playing to ask them.  Most pipers and drummers are happy to answer your questions…but no-one wants to be interrupted when they’re performing or demonstrating a skill that they have invested significant time in building.  If you’re at a Highland Games event and see a man or woman sitting at a table by a performing piper or drummer; listening and writing notes…that’s a competition judge, and you should avoid interupting them as well.

 Other Resources

For one of the most complete set of references answer questions about bagpipes, pipe bands and more, please visit Andrew Lenz’s “Bagpipe Journey” website (prominently linked in our sidebar).  He has a huge collection of reference articles covering everything from anatomy of a bagpipe to finding a good instructor, or finding a bagpipe band to join.  Andrew’s website is an excellent resource for almost anything you want to know about bagpiping.

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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>>

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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.

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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.

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