Be Thankful: New Year’s Eve, Central Hotel, Glasgow, 1929

For many of us, especially those living in the so-called developed world, 1929 was a watershed year. Among other things, this year marked the beginning of “The Great Depression” and, with it, real economic and social upheaval. It’s unlikely that your parents, grand-parents or great-grand parents – depending on your age, of course – were untouched by the significant fall-out from roiling economies and the resulting widespread feeling of human want across much of the world.
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Practice Chanters Up!

There are apparently no fewer than 19 musical instruments that can be played with one hand (or no hands!). Among them, as you’ll likely know, are the trumpet, trombone, harmonica and didgeridoo.
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Magic with No Borders (Prosit!)

It’s the last day of August and, for the second time in about a month, I’ve found myself in the stunning pastoral countryside of rural Germany – for piping. What else!
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Maxville Games 1949 / What’s their secret!?

In undertaking some other work related to this coming weekend’s North American Championships, the Glengarry Highland Games at Maxville, Ontario, I stumbled on an interesting broadsheet page from Glengarry County Archives. This edition of the paper is full of interesting facts and colour related to the 1949 games, including, one back-page story headline, a real eye-waterer for pipers, especially: “Ottawa Girl Loses 3 Fingers While on Vacation”. You will see most of the games’ headline reporting lands on the front page (photo from front page included here).
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John Wilson’s Finest Tune: Tom Kettles

In his autobiography, “A Professional Piper in Peace and War” (1979), John Wilson wrote that he considered his composition, the six-parted reel, Tom Kettles, his “finest composition”. It’s a technically tricky tune, full of interest – and original melody. As I’ve mentioned before, for me it straddles the line between hornpipe and reel, with maybe the reel vibe edging out that of the hornpipe by a hair. It’s a happy-sounding tune with a bright and lyrical – almost song-like – quality to it.
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Invented by pipers: Competition 2/4 Marches

Here’s a couple of tunes that number among my favourite: Inveran, made by one of the greatest pipers – dare I say musician – to ever live, George Stewart McLennan and Millbank Cottage by William Dumbreck, a man who held the title of Pipe Major in two regiments: The Black Watch and The Royal Scots.

This style of tune – intricate and heavily embellished with many technical figures – is a branch of pipe music that we can safely say was invented by pipers. Pipers love strathspeys but we know they were born of the fiddle. Jigs? Who knows but they likely sprung from any number of fiddlers, whistle-players and nimble singers of puirt à beul.
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MacCrimmon’s Sweetheart with Canntaireachd

A piece of music that is in the back pocket of most experienced players of piobaireachd is the tune, Maol Donn. Better known, maybe, as “MacCrimmon’s Sweetheart”. It’s a beautifully assembled composition that sits perfectly in a major key of the Great Highland Bagpipe’s tonal centre. In the context of piobaireachd composition, it’s a very old tune, likely composed in the early part of the 18th century, a golden age of piobaireachd creation. At around 12 minutes in length it’s just-right for an around-the-games sort of tune for competition.
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Antigonish 1996: Not all 3-pace rolls

Among my stash of digitised VHS video is a good few hours of footage from the Peel Regional Police Pipe Band of my time as Pipe Major. The band then – as it is today, it seems to me – was well-travelled. With the exception of my first season (Antigonish!) we hit the World Pipe band Championships in Glasgow every year. In fact, its amazing to say now, as I think back, we even managed to make trips to Scotland for championship contests TWICE in the same season (Ayr and Renfrew) – to be clear: the band travelled to Scotland twice in the same summer. The commitment from this group was remarkable. It doesn’t take much thinking to reflect on the sacrifice members (and their families) made financially. And, for that matter, its true, so many bands do today – though – I, wonder, as a by-the-way, if that is diminishing a little.
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Happy Birthday: Live your life and forget your age

In my usual January Glasgow itinerancy I happened to meet up this late afternoon for a catch-up with a Scots friend, in this case, young Callum Wyndd. Callum, you may know, is a real up-and-comer in the solo piping world and a person I came to know as a member of the Glasgow Police Pipe Band (as the band was then known).
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Great Piping: P/M William “Billy” Gilmour

I’ve known about Billy Gilmour and his marvellous musical abilities for almost as long as I’ve been piping. Early on in my musical education I luckily found myself in the orbit of The 48th Highlanders of Canada. Through my lessons with my great first teacher, George Walker, I landed in the band – yes, for a little while, but a great while.
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