A Competition Strathspey: “The Blue Heron” (Score & Sound File)

This tune comes from my third collection of tunes, “Old & New Tunes” (1995). The Blue Heron is a competition-style strathspey.  Continue reading A Competition Strathspey: “The Blue Heron” (Score & Sound File)…

The Golden Rule of Good Practice

“Practice what you can’t do”.

That’s it.

M.  

A New Hornpipe: “Sliding into Colintraive” (Score & Sound File)

Yet another tune from the fifth book, “Music for Everybody”; this time, “Sliding into Colintraive”. This hornpipe is the kind of tune my great teacher, the Aberdonian, George Walker, would call, “hillbilly music”. To George, anything uptempo and easily played on the fiddle would usually fall under the hillbilly category. I remember playing what I could at one Toronto Knock-out final: lots of Cape Breton reels to finish – lots of sweat. George was there and came by as I was putting the pipes away, “Ach, metty, fine playin’ but all that hillbilly music!”
Continue reading A New Hornpipe: “Sliding into Colintraive” (Score & Sound File)…

A New March: “The Valley Train” (Score & Sound File)

Here’s a very simple 3/4 march you may find interesting, “The Valley Train”, another tune from my fifth book. I should really have called it “The Dundas Valley Train”. That might’ve made the title a little more specific, a little more accurate, a little more meaningful – you know, the markers of good composition!
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A Gaelic Proverb

When I was hard at it learning Scottish Gaelic I used to get right into the old proverbs – songs, too, thanks to my teacher, Isabel MacDonald.  But, I have to say, I loved the proverbs and poems (especially Duncan Ban MacIntyre). 
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Overcoming Real Challenges (John Wilson)

One of my prized “piping possessions” is a signed copy of John Wilson’s autobiography, “A Professional Piper in Peace and War”: the front page, inscribed in broad strokes, “With all good wishes, Michael, from the author, John Wilson, 13th, January, 1979″. Sweet. 
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Old Judging Tips Still Fresh

Pipers are some of the most competitive-minded people on the planet.  Gather a few pipers, throw a shoe box up for grabs (a functional, if not stylish, trophy), find a judge and, voila, you’ve got the makings of a grand solo piping event.

Continue reading Old Judging Tips Still Fresh…

Plato Knew Music

I came across this quote recently; it comes from Book III of Benjamin Jowett’s translation of Plato’s Republic.  It speaks to the fraternity of musicians, and, of course, the fraternity of pipers.  It makes a person feel good about a lifetime study of music.  Like a perfectly tuned low A against a vintage set of sonorous MacDougalls: it resonates: 
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A New Jig: “Well Away” (Score & Sound File)

I knew I’d been away too long from these pages when it took me 20 minutes to track down the once-memorized dunaber login and password. Thanks to the notes on my trusty Blackberry: found. Continue reading A New Jig: “Well Away” (Score & Sound File)…

Italy Redux: Italian Pipes (& Fellini)

I found my recent encounter with the pipes of Italy hugely interesting. Until recently the piping shepherd figure that I’d seen in a lot of Christmas nativity displays was about the beginning and end of my zampogna knowledge.
Continue reading Italy Redux: Italian Pipes (& Fellini)…