Q-School: World Pipe Band Championships Style

October 17, 2008 on 7:19 pm by Michael Grey | In Pipe Bands, Whinges | 16 Comments

People heavily involved in the competitive pipe band world (without doubt a far smaller group than those immersed in the “non-competing” pipe band world) know the scoop, the “gen”, when it comes to how the Worlds thing works. We know, when it comes to the Worlds, intense participant passion is the way it is; passion, and for the event itself, a litany of Byzantine rules and quirky subtext. Continue reading Q-School: World Pipe Band Championships Style…

A Lot of Fun Thanks to youtube

October 1, 2008 on 9:33 pm by Michael Grey | In Pipe Bands, Stories, Video | 13 Comments

The band had a lot of fun this season, or I think they did.  I know I did.  Stretchy music and youtube.com – what a combo.  Posts of our medley performances on the video site gave us waves of anonymous commentary; a sort of huge sputtering, spittley mouth-piece of amazingly passionate – and mostly vitriolic - comment.  Entertaining in the extreme for us.  I think of anonymous comment as entertainment and that with a bona fide signature as constructive.      
Continue reading A Lot of Fun Thanks to youtube…

Hope for a New Premier Grade Event

September 27, 2008 on 4:02 pm by Michael Grey | In News, Pipe Bands, Stories | 15 Comments

There was a time I was heavily involved in the administration of the Pipers’ & Pipe Band Society of Ontario.  Bigtime involved.  Vice-President of the Toronto Branch when I was 18, President at 19.  Can you imagine!  What a presumptuous little brat I must’ve been (or am, depending on who you ask). 
Continue reading Hope for a New Premier Grade Event…

Breton Pipe Bands

July 6, 2008 on 10:31 am by Michael Grey | In Music, Pipe Bands, Video | Comments Off on Breton Pipe Bands

Yoann Le Goff sent me this site this morning: a link to a video recording of the premier grade pipe band event at Menez Meur, held June 30, 2008.   I am sure you will enjoy this video, you can watch and it’s almost like you’re standing in the crowd on what looks like an overcast early summer’s day in Brittainy.  C’était un spectacle merveilleux.
Continue reading Breton Pipe Bands…

Idiom

June 23, 2008 on 9:55 am by Michael Grey | In Music, Pipe Bands | 10 Comments

The competitive pipe band world is a challenging environment to make music.  Rules (and hefty musical parameters) aside, its a place, generally speaking, where there are strong preconceptions about what a pipe band should – or should not – perform.  For example, the competition medley, launched as an event around 1970, is barely middle age in human terms, and in musical terms is still suckling at the teat.  For the most part, what’s heard in pipe band contests today are really well thought-out arrangements and configurations of the main tune types common to bagpipe light music.  And, with one main, notable exception: the “reelpipe intro” or “hornreel” or whatever you call it, there  hasn’t been huge interest in shaking up the 25 year-old (plus) competition “medley” format.
Continue reading Idiom…

Variations on a Theme of Good Intentions

June 17, 2008 on 1:52 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Pipe Bands, Whinges | 7 Comments

Last Saturday at the Georgetown games the band I play in, The Toronto Police Pipe Band, participated in the grade one pipe band contest. The event was a “medley” event and we played a piece of music I built called, “Variations on a Theme of Good Intentions“. What an experience.  We had all anticipated playing this “medley” and the crowd reaction was spine-tingling.  I have never in my long piping career experienced spontaneous, mid-performance cheers from a crowd at a pipe band contest. I’m not sure about the other players  but it was all I could do to hold concentration.  Believe me, these are the kinds of “challenges” we want to be faced with when competing! Forget the results for a moment, reaction like this is a performer’s triumph.  It is what this is all about, or should be. 
Continue reading Variations on a Theme of Good Intentions…

Joints

June 12, 2008 on 7:48 pm by Michael Grey | In Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Tips | Comments Off on Joints

It’s summer, the pipes and drums are in high gear, and the games are afoot.  It’s also the time of year we put our instruments (and ourselves) under their biggest tests - under stressful and, usually, trying conditions.   Wind, rain, sleet, cold, hot, “gloom of night“ – we perform under the full gamut of weather conditions.  We’re the “postpeople” of the music world.  Rarely do we get that perfect, cloudless 21 degree performance day.  But we always aim to deliver. 
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Early 20th Century Pipe Band Ensemble

April 22, 2008 on 7:47 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Pipe Bands | 3 Comments

A while ago I happened across a great site, the University of California’s (Santa Barbara) Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project. Here you can have a listen to any one of a vast array of mp3 recordings lifted from the university’s collection of almost 8,000 wax cylinders.
Continue reading Early 20th Century Pipe Band Ensemble…

Pipe Band Circles are So Square

April 16, 2008 on 9:19 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Pipe Bands, Whinges | 4 Comments

I’ve been going on for ages now about the standard competitive pipe band performance configuration, “the circle”.  This arrangement makes no sense to me.  Yeah, everyone can see the hands of the person leading the band, and that helps unison and timing of rhythmic transitions, but what about the many and varied down sides, the good reasons not to perform in a circle?
Continue reading Pipe Band Circles are So Square…

My First Outdoor Pipe Band Contest

March 31, 2008 on 9:18 pm by Michael Grey | In Photographs, Pipe Bands, Stories | 1 Comment

Southern Ontario in general and the Toronto area especially used to see a lot of teaching happening – and a lot of kids’ pipe bands.  I can’t say for certain today how much teaching is going on but I do know we don’t have many “junior” bands around, the kind built for kids. 
Continue reading My First Outdoor Pipe Band Contest…

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