Gary West, who won the 2006 recital Competition in April

IN THIS ISSUEMcLachlan revisited (4): Welcome to the new Pink Book (13): Chanter's tune (16):

Dublin conviviality (20): Competition results (23): Recital competition (23)

EditorialI FIND myself thinking of a March day ;in Princes Street Gardens, three or fouryears ago. It was one of thoseunexpectedly promising early springdays - just the morning before thethermometer had read about -6 degreesas I scraped scales of ice off the carwindscreen. This earlymarch lunchtime, however, people, ifnit quitebasking,

were certainlysittingguardedly in the sun, weel happit incoats and anoraks, and giving theoddglance over their shoulders to see whatmight be creeping up behindthem onthe meteorological front.

There were still scabs ofsnowclinging to the shaded,grassy slopesbelow the Castle Esplanade, butclusters of small narcissi were pokingtheir heads nervously above thegrass.Municipal gardeners were out hoeingand trimming, without survival suits.

All o f a sudden, from Princes Streetthere came drifting the strains of a

Galician gaita, blowing exuberantdance tunes that seem to have arrived,with warm southern breezes, all the

pilgrim's way from Santiago di Compostella... busker'sbagpipe as harbinger of spring.

As-the programme of Glasgow'sPiping Live! festival in Augustdemonstrates (see Page 29), pipingsans frontiers can be a broad church

indeed. And it is interesting to see theLBPS embarking on someenterprising physical and stylisticwnaderings of our own. Personally I

look forward to a good session or twoin Hughs's Bar (a fine howff towhich I am lucky enough to be

conncted by marriage), in Dublin,once Hamish Moore's excellentsuggestion ("see P20) about an

exchange scheme with Na PiobaireUilleann, the Irish pipers' society,comes to fruition. I was once invited toa wedding celebration in Na Piobaire'sheadquarters, the Pipers' Club inHenrietta Street, a lengthy, highlymusical and generously lubricated flingwhich I recall with fond if imperfectmemory ... Well, it was 20-odd yearsago.

I also like the sound of the plannedconcert combining pipers with Indianmusicians on 11 November (see P43),an eclectic parting shot from NigelRichard before he stands down as theSociety's chairman. I have prettyeclectic tastes myself - folk jazzfusion, Galician, Auvergnat, Breton,Baroque ... bring ` em on, as someonewhose name evades me said in asomewhat different and very rashcontext .

Such explorations and collisions area vital element of any vibrant musicscene, traditionally-based or otherwise.At the same time, there remains theneed, always, to nurture the motherlode; the importance, amid the spark offusion or the heady forays into othercultures, to keep touching base, towhich effect I welcome the revisedPink Book, and all the invaluable tunebooks and manuals built up over theyears by the likes of Gordon Mooney,Jock Agnew and, of course, MattSeattle with his wonderfully fortuitousdiscovery of the Dixon MS (and whoseinteresting "revisiting" of JohnMcLachlan's The Piper's Assistant canbe found on the following pages.

This Society can he proud to havebeen associated with such efforts,which have helped breath new lifeinto what had become a near-moribund tradition. As an inscriptionfound on an 1806 set of pastoral pipes(and reprinted on an early HamishMoore LP sleeve) declares: "Langmay Scots pipers Scots tunes playand Sound Up Maggie Lauder."

Jim Gilchrist0131 669 82350771 8700 696 (mobile)igilchrist(c>iednet co. uk

I have in my possession an unrestoredLowland pipe (wood parts only, inlaburnum bone horn). I was told by afine Lowland pipes player (Jones orJohnson?) at concert in Quebec that itis late 18th century. There seem tobe only five of them in the world.

I am a concertina player, and Ithink that this rare instrument hasmore place in Scotland than inBrittany. I'm happy to agree anexchange with a Jeffries concertina.

I can provide photographs, ifsomeone is interested.

Gael ROLLAND

Manoir du Mont Serin35320 Paned (Bretagne,Britany)02.99.43.07.66/06.81.96.14.89@ : rollandgael@aol.com

-esThe views expressed in Common Stock are tbo. eof the contnbutriryand not necessarily those eitherof the Editor or of the Lowland & Borders leers Society. Thc -sostents of Common Stock areprotected by copyright. None of them rt ', reproduced withent a written consent of thecopyright owner. The copyright in the al contributions heltntip sr-their authors and thecopyright in each edition of the magaziddAS a whole belongs to the Sdciety

23

The Piper's Assistant,revisited

Matt Seattleinvestigatesthe intriguingLowland contentwithin an oldHighland pipetune collection

AT THE LBPS Teaching Weekend at Melrose, earlier this year, GeorgeGreig kindly presented me with a copy of John McLachlan's The Piper'sAssistant, not to be confused with Angus MacKay's earlier book of thesame title. According to Roderick D Cannon's A Bibliography of BagpipeMusic, McLachlan's book was first published in 1854, going throughseveral editions until David Glen revised and recycled much of itscontents in Book 9 of his own collection in 1892. It was re-readingRoderick's comments in the Bibliography which prompted the presentarticle.

He writes (p. 35): "This consisted almost entirely of tunes previouslyunpublished, and on glancing through the titles one might suspect that hewas tapping a new vein of tradition, from the Scottish Lowlands, for wefind Adam Glen, Hallow Fair, Maggy Lauder, The Fyket, The Souters ofSelkirk and other tunes of that ilk. But it seems unlikely that the authorhad inherited or collected these tunes from oral tradition; more likely hetook them from readily available song and fiddle publications."

As Roderick notes, the book also includes "modem" compositions byHighland pipers (including an early appearance of The 79th's Farewell to"Giberalter"), but what of the Lowland connection? After raising theintriguing question of traditional survival, Roderick cautiously deems it"unlikely". In the 26 years since 1980, when the Bibliography was

published, a few more resources have become available which may helpus weigh the arguments on each side, so let us examine the list of tunesgiven by Roderick to see whether any new conclusions are now possible.

Adam GlenAdam Glen is given pride of place in McLachlan's book. It is the firsttune and comes with a four-verse lyric and a summary of Glen's long andremarkable life. In addition, the book's cover illustration purports to bePawky Adam Glen, presumably drawn from the artist's imagination as thesubject had died in 1715.

But what of the tune, and the claim that Adam Glen composed it? It isan old friend, one of the triple-time hornpipes included by GordonMooney in his pioneering Collection of the Choicest Scots Tunes for theLowland and Border Bagpipe. If Adam Glen was 89 in 1715, as stated,then he was born c. 1626, and we may assume that he could havecomposed the tune at any time from 1640 to his death. The tune is verywidespread in later tradition, with versions in the literature of all theBritish and Irish piping traditions under a 'long list of titles (see myprevious article on harmonic proportion). Although its finest flowering isWilliam Dixon's The New Way to Morpeth, somebody must indeed havecomposed the original version, so why not Adam Glen?

There is basically no way of proving or disproving McLachlan's claim.His version, published 139 years after the alleged composer's death, isthe earliest appearance of the tune under this title, but it appears muchearlier under many other titles, Dixon's being the earliest known versionas well as the fullest and most musically interesting. No firm proof ofauthorship then, and we should also note the fiddle versions in the wellknown publications of Bremner (Miss Murray's Reel) and Gow (Bob andJohn) which are similar to each other as well as to McLachlan'sconsiderably later version. But, although this weight of evidence in thewritten tradition gives us ample reason to err on the side of caution, wecannot completely discount the possibility of a late survival in oraltradition: given the tune's near-certain origin as a pipe tune, Adam Glen isthe only and therefore the most plausible suspect we have as itscomposer.

Hallow FairA simple pipe jig which I previously published in The Border BagpipeBook, having found it in the Gillespie fiddle manuscript (Perth, 1768).

Matt Seattle

4

Maggy Lauderachlan

The Souters of Selkirkex . J MaclachIan

Hallow Fair

76

The Fyketachlan

Adam GlenMacLachlan

89

McLachlan's version is very similar but not quite identical to Gillespie's,which in turn probably derives from the version published by NeilStewart, Edinburgh, c. 1762. There are so few known versions of the tunethat traditional survival is not as likely as with the previous one, and Iwould guess that McLachlan got it directly or indirectly from Stewart'sbook.

Maggy LauderWith Maggy Lauder (or Maggie Lawder, etc), the situation is socomplicated that any permutation of oral tradition and editorial adaptationis possible. The tune is still well known today and occasionally sung withits ribald tale of Maggie and Rob the Ranter, while there are at least 21published versions listed in various parts of Gore's Index, so McLachlanhardly needed to tap into any hidden source to find it. As a song air andfiddle tune, its compass goes outside the nine-note range, butMcLachlan's version only creaks a little. He has two different attempts atadapting the closing phrase or tag, the second of which is a stab at theattractive quaver passage, found in most fiddle versions, which goes wellbelow the pipe range. While neither attempt strictly follows the melodiccontour of fiddle or song versions they do both work as melody in theirown right, and the simpler first attempt also chimes with the harmonicdrift of the original.

One oddity of McLachlan's version is its opening phrase: every otherversion encountered but one begins the first complete bar on the tune'stonic (D), but McLachlan starts on the low 5th (A). The Clough familyversion also does this, but close study of the Clough manuscripts showswe cannot always be sure they wrote what they played: as with NewHighland Laddie (Kate Dalrymple), they may have simply put the upbeaton the wrong side of the bar line. Anyway, whether or not there is atenous link with Northumbrian tradition, McLachlan's departure from thenorm suggests that he may have followed an oral rather than a writtensource on this point at least.

The FyketThe Fyket is a classic pipe reel built on a variant of the Elsie Marleypattern. Note the use of the 6th of the scale (F#) as the first accentedmelody note, a strong feature of a small group of Border pipe tunesincluding All The Night I Lay With Jockey, Hey My Nanny, and GoldenLocks.

Although the earliest texts of this tune are in fiddle collections this issimply because there are many more early fiddle collections than pipe

collections (NB: the tune of this name in Gordon Mooney's collection isnot the usual Fyket). As with Maggy Lauder, there are any number ofpossible written sources (17 published versions listed by Gore plus manymanuscript sightings), but none of those I have seen exactly matchesMcLachlan's. It may be that he copied from a source I have not seen butin the meantime I am happy to give him the credit for his setting.

It is excellent. Not only does it follow the traditional harmonictemplate more faithfully than some fiddle versions (e.g. Gow's ThirdRepository) but it uses melodic variation effectively to expand the tuneinto unrepeated eight-bar strains rather than repeated four-bar ones.

Concerning the claim (also made by Gow) that the tune is "Very Old",this is indeed the case. It is a direct descendant of a tune which crops upin older sources under the generic title Scotish Gigg, Scotch Jigge etc: theversion in Pete Stewart's The Day It Daws (tune No. 47) is from amanuscript dated 1659-70. Some things are built to last.

The Souters of SelkirkThis is of course a Border tune par excellence. It is recorded in so manydifferent versions that they could easily make up a book of their own, butthis is a very rare sighting in a Highland pipe collection, and it has somevery interesting characteristics.

Almost all versions of the time begin the first complete bar on the 3rd ofthe scale, C#, but McLachlan begins on the 5th, E. The other version Ihave seen which does this (Gore lists two more) is the variation set inCharles McLean's A Collection of Favourite Scots Tunes, c. 1774.McLean's set has ten strains and includes some good material I have notseen in other versions. Although it is highly decorated in Dixonesquestyle, it is possible to see that McLachlan could have derived hisfirstthree strains from it by a process of simplification, as the respectivemelodic outlines correspond closely up to that point. The surprise inMcLachlan's version is his strain 4. The openings of bars 1 and 3 withtheir out-of-place G natural and of bar 2 with its ("open") grip are typicalreplacement strategies (bodges) for pinched high B, a note usuallyassociated with the Border pipes, but also mentioned in one old tutor forHighland pipes.

This feature, and some of the touches in Maggy Lauder and The Fyket,suggest that McLachlan did not take his tunes "from readily availablesong and fiddle publications" in the sense of copying the settings, butrather that he did inherit some of them from oral tradition, or else

10 11

reworked them himself into the versions he published, or some mixture ofthe two.

We started out by asking a simple question about written sources andoral tradition, but in practice there is no clear distinction between the two.They constantly overlap, reinforcing and informing each other, emindingus that traditional music, like life, is more complicated and interestingthan any ideas we may have about it.

AcknowledgmentsMany thanks to George Greig for providing the tune scores reproducedhere.

References:Roderick D Cannon, A Bibliography of Bagpipe Music, Edinburgh, 1980.Gordon Mooney, A Collection of the Choicest Scots Tunes etc., 2 vols,Linlithgow, 1982-3.William Dixon, manuscript, Northumberland (probably), 1733, now in AK ell Library, Perth. Edited and published as The Master Piper by MattSeattle, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, 1995, revised Peebles, 2002.Charles Gore, The Scottish Fiddle Music Index, Musselburgh, 1994.John McLachlan, The Piper 's Assistant, Edinburgh, 1854.C Ormston & J Say, The Clough Family of Newsham, Morpeth, 2000.Matt Seattle, The Border Bagpipe Book, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, 1993.Pete Stewart, The Day It Daws, Ashby Parva, 2005.

George Greig, who printed out the tunes for this article, writes:There is one good thing which comes out of this: my preferred software isPiobmaster which is great for modem Highland gracing. However it doesnot support some of the older style which has gone out of fashion, thoughit still remains in Irish music. I have written out the first nine bars ofMaggy Lauder using ABC to reproduce what McLachlan wrote, to showthe differences in style. For example, currently, a strike on D would usethe grace-note combination GDC whereas McLachlan uses EDC (see bar1). Bar nine is repeated at the start of the penultimate line. As far as I amaware, these are the only bars which differ from McLachlan's original.

Other publicationsUnder the Society's reciprocal arrangements with other piping organ-isations regarding magazine's, we recently received Vol 4, No. 35 of AnPiobaire, the journal of Na Piobairi Uilleann, the Irish pipers' society.Contact Jim Gilchrist on 0131 669 8235 or e-mail: jgilchrist@ednet.co.uk

THE ORIGINAL tutor written by Gordon Mooney has now been supplantedby More Power to Your Elbow, edited by Jock Agnew. However, itcontained some fine tunes and these were reproduced in what came to beknown as "the Pink Book". In the latter part of last year, this was due for areprint and the opportunity was taken to produce it in what has become thepreferred Society format (A5 landscape), so that it would be a companionvolume to the Session Book and the Duets Book.

Being a new addition to the LBPS committee, I naively thought it a goodidea to augment it with a few more tunes - predictably, it fell to me to dosomething about that. The logic behind my suggestion - and this is the salespitch - was that this would make it attractive to members who already had anold copy which was probably well past its sell-by date. The only constraintswere that the new tunes should be Lowland tunes in a style similar to those

More(pink)powerto yourelbowGeorge Greigintroduces the new,revised version of`The Pink Book', asthe Society's tunecollection hasbecome known George Greig

12 13

in the original book and that they should not appear in the Society's otherpublications.

That meant that Rona wouldn't let me include Fill the Stoup, because aversion appeared in More Power to Your Elbow. That, however, didn't stopme playing it at Edinburgh in the competition, just to let people hear whatthey were missing. The fact that it has an alternative title of Greig's Pipes is,of course, irrelevant.

So, no real problems about avoiding any duplications. But what aboutLowland or Border tunes? What constitutes a Lowland tune? That is not soeasy and, in the race of so much expertise in this Society, I can only admit toa pragmatic solution. I asked Pete Stewart "what constitutes a Lowland orBorder tune?" and he said "What indeed?". My approach fell far short of thescholarship which Pete or Matt Seattle display but, I think, has resulted inthe inclusion of some good tunes which I hope that people will enjoyplaying.

My starting point was to consult the excellent collections preserved byFARNE (Folk Archive North East). If you don't know this particulararchive, I can't recommend it too highly (http://www.asaplive.com/archive/browse_by_collection.asp), and in it you will find collections by WilliamVickers, Henry Atkinson and many others. I decided that if pipe tunes werein these collections, they were at least in general currency and that wouldserve my purpose - a pretty weak definition, I know, but mine own. Themajority of the tunes were found in this way.

I then went to the old collections such as those of Angus MacKay, DonaldMacDonald, John McLachlan, etc. and chose settings which were beingplayed 150-200 years ago. As an aside, while these all sound very"Highland", you will see from Matt Seattle's article on McLachlan (see Page4-12) that they were familiar with what we all accept to be Lowland tunes. Ieven wonder if they saw any such distinction. I would like to think that theyjust published what they thought were good tunes.

One of the subjects which can be guaranteed to raise the temperature inany Society meeting is whether gracing should be included or not. In thisinstance, it is included because the 49 tunes of the original tutor wereembellished and only errors have been corrected, otherwise GordonMooney's settings have been retained. In a few cases, I took it upon myself

to modify the gracing of the newly included tunes to make the style moreconsistent with that of the tutor. An obvious example is to be found inMaggie Lauder, which is fairly heavily embellished, and sometimes withembellishments which are no longer in fashion - see Matt's article for theMcLachlan version.

All that said, it is stressed in the foreword that we offer these settings asno more than a guide, and that in the LBPS world, such matters should be"at the pleasure of the performer".

The provenance of some of the other tunes was less direct. I'll deal withjust one but, in some ways it is one of my favourites, The Wood of Fyvie.And for those of you who don't know, Fyvie andits wonderful castle lie to the north of Aberdeen -you could say that "Lowland" stretches a longway but it is not "Highland". I first heard thistune on Matt Seattle's CD Out of the Flames andpicked it up by ear. It comes from theMacFarlane Manuscript written by David Young.

Pete Stewart kindly went into the NationalLibrary of Scotland in Edinburgh and copied itout for me, and it is my arrangement of thisversion which appears in the new Pink Book.Subsequently, Matt provided me with a copy ofanother Young manuscript which also containsthis tune. What is interesting is that the twoversions are different and that both of them havelots of Dixon-style variations. Maybe there is a case for a furtherpublication.

All I can say is that some of us played it in the bar at Melrose and it wentvery well - more importantly, it was great fun to play along with some of theother rants.

Curiously, while the previous volume was entitled Fifty Lowland andBorder Tunes, it in fact contained only 49 tunes! This has been rectified bythe inclusion of a further 22 tunes. I do hope that you enjoy playing them. Atthe ridiculously low price of £5 per copy, or £4 for members, you can hardlygo wrong.

1514

THIS might be looked on bysome as a rather dry technicalarticle for a magazine thatusually reflects on the glories ofthe music and history of thepipes. However we all know howthe delight of a well-tuned set ofpipes compares with the miseryof an out-of-tune set, and if thefacts are complex at times, thatreflects the reality of the matter - some things cannot be reduced to soundbites! Anyway I hope that it may give those of you not alreadyknowledgeable about the subject some insight into what you should belooking for if you suspect that your pipe chanter is not sounding quite as itshould, however much time you spend tuning the drones.

The quest for the welltempered chanterNigel Richard, pipemaker and chairman of the Society,gives some insight into the niceties of making sure that achanter is in tune, andwhat to do if it isn't

When you buy a set of pipes, your chanter should be in tune. However,some of you pipers out there may have new or second-hand chanters whichyou feel are out of tune, but you can't get help because you can't contact themaker (he may have long since gone to meet his!), or whatever.

This article aims to advise pipers in this situation on what they can do,answering the following questions as simply as possible without beingoverly technical. It asks the following questions: 1) What is "in tune"? 2)How do I tell if my chanter is in tune? 3) What can I do to correct thetuning?

1) In 1862, the German scientist Hermann Helmholtz developed histheory of concord and discord and explained that all dissonances are due to

16

Nigel Richard

unpleasant beats generated by the component notes. In concords, thecombination of notes with small whole number frequency ratios does notresult in separate rough-sounding beats being generated.

In tuning bagpipes, the strong presence of the drones makes it importantthat the chanter notes sound good when heard with them. The basis fortuning bagpipe chanters is generally a system called just intonation (JI),where the notes are based on a scale where the frequency of the notes retainsthis simple mathematical relationship with the frequency of the drones (andthe tonic note of the chanter). This system contrasts with the equaltemperament (ET) system used on most instruments, where modulation is amuch more important consideration than it is in bagpipes, which generallyonly play in a few closely related keys. Those interested in further technicaldetail can consult textbooks, the web etc; I will simply set out a table whichillustrates the difference between the two systems by using the standardmethod with 1200 cents to an octave.

NoteFrequencyRatio to tonic JI pitch ET pitch JI description

A (tonic)

Cents*

1

Cents

B 9/8 204 200 Large whole toneC# 5/4 386 400 Major thirdD 4/3 498 500 FourthE 3/2 702 700 FifthF# 5/3 884 900 SixthG 7/4 969 1000 "Trumpet seventh"G 16/9 996 1000 Minor seventhA 2 1200 1200 Octave

Differences of a few cents between JI and ET are not significant. Theimportant information to come from this table is that C# and F# should bearound 15 cents flat of ET, and G should be flat of ET, but the big questionis how much? I generally pitch my high G around 10 cents flat. This mayseem an uncomfortable compromise, but much thought has gone into it.Many good pipers tape down their high G and I believe that their ear islooking towards that sweet 7/4 ratio that sings with the drones and I am sureis what the pibroch cross fingered 7th is intended to be. The skilled fiddle

17

player will adjust the pitch of his G note to match, and if it is just a duo thisgives excellent results.

However, 30 cents (3/10 of a semitone) is a big (too big for many ears)distance to tune down G when you are intending to play with any fixed pitchET instrument (guitar, piano, accordion etc). In the end of the day, the exactpitch for this note is a matter of taste (and I don't wish to imply whether youhave any or not!), has been the subject of heated debate for many years and Iam sure will continue to be so. Some great Highland bagpipe players havetheir B tuned to the "small whole tone" interval at 182 cents above the tonic(Ratio 10/9): again, it's a matter of taste. In my view it is less practical whenplaying with other instruments, and does not sound any more harmoniousthan the 9/8 interval which you might expect.

2) How do I tell if my chanter is in tune? A few people have perfect pitchand can tell if the A on your chanter (high A forsmallpipes) is 440Hz or not. Most people have toresort to a tuner. Once the pitch of the tonic issettled, people with a good ear will have a clearimpression of how in tune the other notes of thechanter are. I recommend that you try to train yourear to recognise "in tune-ness", but also use a tunerto check and in fact help educate your ear as to thesound you are looking for.

When using a tuner, start by blocking off thedrones and checking high A to low A. If high A istoo sharp, and also the whole top hand a bit sharp(although probably progressively less so as you go down the scale), thenmove the reed out a little; if it is just the A then tape it down as necessary.

Carry on and check the whole chanter. If the whole chanter issignificantly sharp or flat, you may need a new reed, or possibly a newchanter. If the tuning is out on various notes in the scale and the top is intune with the bottom then its decision time, but first double-check the soundof the chanter with one or more drones playing at the same time.

3) What can I do to correct the tuning? Well, assuming that you can ' tcontact the maker of the chanter, and don't wish to use the services ofanother, then you have to take some steps to tune it yourself. Firstly try to

make sure that the reed is not at fault. A reed can be faulty on particularnotes: a flat F#, for example, can often be due to a weak reed rather than abadly positioned tone hole.

If the tone of the reed is good but some notes are out of tune, youprobably have to tackle the chanter. Undercutting a tone hole at the upperside raises the pitch, taping down the tone hole lowers it. These techniqueshave limitations, if you tape up the hole for a significant per cent of its size,you can restrict the tone and volume of the note. If for, example, the distancebetween two holes is 20mm, the difference in pitch is a tone (200 cents), anda note is 30 cents flat, simple calculation would suggest that the hole needsto move upwards by 3 mm, that's a lot to achieve with undercutting.

If any/some notes are more than 30 cents out you should consider a newchanter; the only other alternative is to fill in the hole and drill it againhigher up. On smallpipes this works fairly well, although it should beremembered that as you sharpen or flatten each note you also change thepitch of the note above it to some extent. Unfortunately, on Border pipes theinterrelating effect of the size and position of tone holes can make alteringthem a minefield for the unwary.

It is unusual to come upon an out of tune new chanter on the marketnowadays. There are a number of reputable makers, and the standards forbellows pipes have gone up over the years. I cannot emphasise stronglyenough that the first port of call should be the maker. Many factors, such ashumidity and temperature, can affect the performance of a set of pipes, so Ido not advocate casual, amateur, random carving of holes as a generalapproach.

However at the same time I am not a maker who believes that the wholething should be a craft makers' guild mystery. If you have a chanter oflimited value that you feel you can improve, then I hope this article ishelpful to you.

*Note.. The Cent ("Ellis's logarithmic cent') is a way of measuring relative pitch.Because the frequency difference between two notes varies, depending on which notesthey are, it was necessary to have a measure whereby the sum of the component intervalsequals the compound interval. This was achieved by taking the logarithm of the frequencyratio, and resulted (without going further into the maths) in a scale where an octave wasdivided into 1,200 cents and each semitone was 100 cents.

1918

The rugby may not have been particularly inspiring,but Hamish Moore's visit to Dublin's LandsdowneRoad - and the subsequent musical conviviality -prompted this suggestion that we should organiseexchange visits with the Irish pipers' society

Dublinherewecome

IT WAS the rugby weekend in Dublin in February, when Scotland took onIreland and a bunch of us headed down to Prestwick on the train to catch theDublin flight. I had been in touch with my good friend Fintan Vallely(flautist, piper and founder member of the Armagh Piper's Club), askingwhere the best musical crack would be in Dublin on a Friday evening.

Hughes' Bar was the answer and after several attempts to find it, aDubliner gave us a few rough directions (90 per cent of the folk in Dublinseemed to be from Eastern Europe and had never heard of Hughes').Eventually after a roundabout walk to the Four Courts via the wrong side ofthe Liffey, we were treated to a wonderful evening of traditional music and afew pints of the stout. There were two sessions going on simultaneously, apiping one in the snug, while in the main part of the bar there were delightfultunes on concertina and flute with Harry Bradley on guitar. Fintan, after hearrived, added another flute and us seven Scots thought we had died andgone to heaven.

The Guinness was sublime and the tunes just swung along at a beautifulpace and rhythm. No rushing and no speed - there was no need for it as no-one was going anywhere. We were in for a great evening. A couple of us

joined the musicians for a few tunes and I got chatting to Harry, who is anactive member of Na Piobairi Uilleann - the Irish pipers' society - andsuddenly inspiration struck. The image of an exchange weekend with theLBPS appeared before of my very eyes. The whole thing looked somethinglike this ...

There would be an annual exchange weekend,with alternating visits of NPU to Scotland andLBPS to Ireland. The formula would be simple:so far as Scotland is concerned, a good-goingFriday night session; and on the Saturday,workshops and talks relating to common pipingculture such as reeds and/or cane, pastoral pipes,their relationship with Scotland and theirevolution into union pipes, common repertoire(but different names), playing styles, archivematerial, the histories of the piping revivals ofboth countries, "mini performances" of playingand dancing ... and a big dinner.

There would also be an evening concertfeaturing pipers from both Scottish and Irishtraditions.On the Sunday there could be a visit tosome site of historic importance - in Scotland,for instance - Rosslyn Chapel, then lunchfollowed by a farewell session.

Since returning home, I have been back intouch with Harry, who put the proposal to NaPiobairi Uilleann, who are mightily interestedand were due to discuss it at their next meeting. Ihave been in touch with Rona MacDonald aboutboth these ideas and she has been very positive inher reaction, and I'll keep the LBPS posted on developments as they unfurl.

And the rugby? Well, it was pretty dour, not a great game at all, andScotland lost, although that didn't seem to matter too much after our recentsuccesses. It was a privilege, however, to be standing on the LansdowneRoad terracing for the last time ever before the stadium is taken down, to bereplaced with a larger stadium in west Dublin.

Fintan Vallely playing on Minnesota Public Radio in 2004 Hamish Moore

Harry put theidea to NaPiobairiUilleann, whowere mightilyinterested andwere due todiscuss it attheir nextmeeting

20 21

It didn't stop raining the whole game and we got a flipping soaking, but itmattered not a weasel as we had another wonderful session to look forwardto in Hughes' .

(Note from the Ed: I have to declare a family interest here. Hughes' is ownedby in-laws of mine and is indeed a great place for traditional Irish music. It's at19 Chancery Street, on the north side of the Liffey, just behind the Four Courts.Good crack guaranteed)

The Unwanted Piper by Jock Agnew

The other day I chanced to meetA piper busking in the street,I stopped to listen with some careThinking that I knew the air,But it was a doubtful treat;The fellow couldn't keep a beat,And his fingering was not(In my opinion) worth a lot,I couldn't help but wish that heWould stop and play a nice CD!

The piper at our local feteHas played well past his sell-bydate,And though he plays withpracticed poiseHe makes a truly dreadful noise,His eats, it seems, are quite immuneTo bagpipes that are out of tune.The drones are sharp, the chanterflat,

I felt the urge to tell him, thatWere he to play at other showsHe ought to stick to dominoes! *

Then there are those LowlandfellowsPlaying bagpipes blown bybellows.One, I know, who will insist onPumping like a de-ranged piston,Causing hideous polytonesTo issue from his startled drones!While every tortured chanter reedExpires with quite indecentspeed.What's more he doesn' t seem tocareIf bagpipe-makers tear their hairOr audiences swoon with shock

Or critics write to CommonStock ...

The competition winners at the new venue of Bruntsfield Primary School

Competition moves intoa different classJim Gilchrist attended the Society's 23rd annualLBPS competition on Saturday, 8 April, in its newEdinburgh venueA SPACIOUS, high-windowed classroom in Edinburgh's Bruntsfield Primary Schoolprovided an airy new venue for the Society's annual competition, staged once againunder the umbrella of Edinburgh's "Ceilidh Culture" festival. To my ears, the pipingcame over loud and clear, but it was frequently difficult or impossible to make out thecompetitors' names as they were announced, not to mention many of the tune titlesintroduced by them, suggesting the need for the competition officials in particular toannounce things more clearly.

Having been an LBPS member for long enough to be able to remember the earliestof these competitions, but not having attended one for a few years, it was gratifyingto note the healthy numbers of entries to all classes (except the novice) and the oftenhigh playing standard.

As usual, competitors tended to fall into two clear categories: the majority whoplayed basically Highland piping style (and as often as not Highland pipe . tunes,

* A thought I stole, I must confess, from music critic G.B.S.

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traditional or contemporary) on bellowspipes, and those who favoured Lowlandand Border repertoire, very occasionallyusing a covered fingering style. There weresome cracking sets of jigs, reels andhornpipes, from the Highland piperepertoire, although it was also nice to beara fine "resurrected" Border tune like TheNew Way to Bowden being given brisktreatment. The winners are listed below, buta few things caught my fancy.

In the "Pipe and Song" class, It wasgood to hear Robert Tannahill's fine songAre Ye Sleepin' Maggie, sung here by JudyBarker while accompanying herself onsmallpipes and at times harmonising nicely(she took first place), and I also enjoyedTasmanian John Bushby's entry, whichtook second place, singing Calum and Rory Macdonald's Cearcal A Chuain ("TheOcean's Cycle") - a song, much favoured these days by Gaelic choirs, rather thanLowland pipers. I also took a certain nepotistic interest in George Greig's (unplaced)entry in the "New Composition", a sprightly 2/4 pipe march he had written towelcome my brother, the Reverend Ewen Gilchrist, to his new parish in Cults,Aberdeenshire.

Unperturbed by a sudden rain storm that rattled the windows, Jock Agnew camesecond in the "Seasoned Pipers" class, but his mind-bogglingly eccentric performancebrought the house down, and prompted the question as to whether there should be aclass for playing two sets of small pipes at once every year, or would it pose a healthhazard? "Looks like a bladder transplant," muttered one bemused onlooker as the boldJock, armed with one bellows but with a pipe bag tucked under each arm and achanter in each hand, elbowed out Kenmure's Up and Awa' as it had almost certainlynever been played before. No marks for finesse, but certainly the Harry HoudiniContortionists Prize for sheer ingenuity. Rumour has it that next year he plans to do itwhile singin', dancin' and wrastlin' a boa constrictor...

The "Open Solo for Smallpipes" showed a broad (if perhaps difficult for thejudges) range of approach, from some interesting Highland strathspeys to the intricatevariations (on a very quiet chanter) from the Dixon MS played by Pete Stewart.

Following the prize-giving, Nigel Richard, the Society's chairman, presented asilver quaich to the outgoing treasurer, Nigel Bridges, in token of his valuable work.

2006 competition results :

Intermediate - The Julian Goodacre Trophy (5 entries , judge: JulianGoodacre) 1. Steven Blake - Marlyn Bennett, Immigrant Crossing, Traditional Jigs2. Tom Dingwall - The Maggie, Angus John's Fancy, Moonshine 3. John Bushby -The New Way to Bowden

Pipe and song - The Jimmy WilsonMemorial Cup (2 entries, judge:Julian Goodacre) I. Judy Barker - AreYe Sleepin' Maggie 2. John Bushby -The Ocean's Cycle

New composition - The LondonTrophy (8 entries, judge: HamishMoore) 1. Matt Seattle - Julie andAnn's Wedding Waltz 2. Steven Blake -Louise Blake 3. Pete Stewart - 23rd ofJanuary

Duet for pipes and other instrument -Dunfermline Tassies (5 entries,judge: Nigel Richard) 1. Lee Mooreand Steve Reid - Granny Duncan,Colin's Favourite, Duncan Johnstone 2.

Jean-Luc Lefaurier and Nigel Richard -Farewell to Nigg, Thunderhead 3. Johnand Caroline Bushby - CatherineMcKay of Tarbat Ness, The Dewars ofTroon

Seasoned pipers - The Nigel RichardPresentation double: the two Nigels

Trophy (5 entries, judge: NigelRichard) 1. Alex Barry - Song for the Small Pipe, Aspen Bank, Sleepy Maggie 2. JockAgnew - Morag of Dunvegan, Kenmure 's Up and Awa"3. David Hannay - Sorbie Tower, Kirkdale House

Novice - The Heriot and Allan Quaich (1 entry, judge: Julian Goodacre) 1. ChrisCooke - Kerry's Welcome to the Dene

Open solo for Scottish small pipes - Colin Ross Trophy (7 entries,judge: Gary West) 1. Lee Moore - Montgomery's Maggot, Donald Willie and hisDog, The Duck 2. Ewan Whitmore - Snug in the Blanket, Green Ivy, Donegal Lass,Bouncing of the Clouds 3. George Greig - Macleod's, Change House, MissDrummond of Perth, Rothiemurchus Rant, Fill the Stoup

Duet for pipes - Mains Castle Medals (5 entries , judge: Gary West) 1. HamishMoore and Dave Finlay - Father John MacMillan of Barra, Irene Meldru's Farewellto Bonaccord 2. Sean Jones and Clive Matthews - Sun Spotting 3. Tom Dingwall andJeannie Campbell - Rowan Tree, Bloody Fields of Flanders, Steam Boat, Scarce o'Tatties

Open solo for lowland/border pipes - Hamish Moore Cup (5 entries,judge: Hamish Moore) 1. Christian Tewordt - Brasle d'Ecosse, Miss Shepherd, LordRamsay, Drummond Castle, The Seagull 2. (joint placing) Jean-Luc Lefaurier - CullenBay, Oviedo, Moonshine 2. (joint placing) Malcolm McInnes - John McDonald ofGlencoe, Donald Maclean's Farewell to Oban

At the double: Jock Agnew

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The Recital competitors: from left, Ali Hutton, Simon McKerrell, Stuart Cassells, GaryWest, Allan MacDonald, Carol Ann MacKay

St Cecilia's tournamentJock Agnew reports on the rewarding eveningprovided by the society's Recital Competition,held in Edinburgh's oldest concert hallTHE LAST time, and the first (2003), we had an Invitation Recital Competition, Iwrote briefly of the event (Common Stock Vol 18 No.1). Now, in 2006, it falls to meagain to describe its successor. So what has changed? Well, not the winner. GaryWest once more walked away with a cheque for £150. Allan MacDonald came second- he also was there on the last occasion - and Ali Hutton was third, these two pickingup cheques for £100 and £50 respectively. But for the audience the evening was notreally about prize money nor about winners and non-winners (there were no losers). Itwas a celebration of the pipes, a demonstration of the music, and an example of theskills of some of the top players of Border pipes and Scottish small pipes.

What was new then? Well four of the players had not been in the 2003competition: Stuart Cassells, Ali Hutton, Carol-Anne Mackay and Simon McKerrell.New, also, was the venue - St Cecelia's Hall, Edinburgh's first ever concert hall,which, although in an adjacent street, was a far cry from St Anne's Hall that hostedthe previous event.

Let me introduce the players: Stuart Cassells from Falkirk. A champion juniorsoloist, he was the first graduate in piping from the RSAMD's Scottish music degree,

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and was 2005 Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year. As well asplaying on The Darkness's latest album, he featured on the current film soundtrackand fronts a shamelessly soft-metal band, The Red Hot Chilli Pipers.

Ali Hutton, from Methven in Perthshire, studied Scottish Music at the RSAMDand also plays guitar, whistle, bouzouki and bodhran. Ali has a considerable amountof experience, playing pipes/whistles for Deaf Shepherd, Cantrip, the Gordon DuncanBand and the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra, as well as playing bodhran with Glasgow-Irish instrumental trad band Beneche.

One of the three piping Macdonald brothers of Glenuig, Allan MacDonald wasraised in the isolated Gaelic-speaking community. He pursued a competitive careerwhich included winning the Inverness Clasp on two occasions, but soon becameambivalent towards the competitive discipline of piping and was at the forefront ofefforts to introduce alternative styles of playing light music in the 1970s and 80s. Inthe "classical" genre of ceol mor, he set out to explore the extent to which modernstyles of piobaireachd playing differ from those of the early 18 th century. This he didby re-uniting piobaireachd with Gaelic language rhythms in song, thereby placing thetunes in their original socio- linguistic context.

Carol-Anne Mackay has notched up many years of performing and competitivepiping. After graduating in 1999 with a degree in Scottish music from the RoyalScottish Academy of Music and Drama, Carol-Anne spent a year studying Gaelic atSabhal Mor Ostaig, the Gaelic College in Skye, then became a piping tutor in theWester Ross schools.

Simon McKerrell plays the Highland, uilleann and Border bagpipes and is inregular demand as a session musician and recitalist. He was recently appointed ashead of piping studies at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow and continues todevelop the BA (Scottish Music - Piping) degree. His album credits include twoalbums with the group Back of the Moon, Jim Malcolm's Home and Tam O 'Shanterrecordings and Blair Douglas's latest solo album, Angels from the Ashes.

From Pitlochry, Perthshire, Gary West learned his piping with the much acclaimedVale of Atholl pipe band, which won both the Scottish and European Championships.In the late 1980s, Gary began to play a prominent role in the folk music scene, joiningCeolbeg in 1988, and becoming a founder member of the Scottish "supergroup" ClanAlba in 1991, playing alongside such luminaries as Dick Gaughan and Brian McNeil.He also presents Radio Scotland's Pipeline programme

So, back to the evening's entertainment. The setting was impressive, with chairslaid out in rows down the oval shaped hall and around the walls. And every one ofthose seats was occupied The semi-circular stage was laid out Mastermind-style, withthe "victim's" chair taking central position. Microphones were clustered around it - inthat moderately sized hall? Ah yes, those were for the BBC, who recorded andsubsequently broadcast the event.

I am not a fan of microphones. Their trailing wires and picket-fence-like stands addnothing to any atmosphere created by the artists. Still less did I like the squares of oldcardboard used, I presume, to insulate those stands from the polished wood floor. A

27

Jar lath Henderson and Ross Ainslie, billedfor this year's Piping Live!

further slab of cardboard, covered by a rug, was positioned in front of the chair todeaden (again my presumption) the tapping of the piper's toe (now there's a goodname for a tune!). We watched in fascination as some of the competitors tried tocontrol that rug and its urge to move skittishly around.

But where were the judges? Well, we had a hall full of them. Each member of theaudience was provided with a pencil to mark the tear-off slip on the programme withfirst, second and third place against the competitors' names. As one competitoringenuously declared "It is a daunting prospect sitting here in front of 250 judges!"

Each piper was permitted 15 minutes in which to introduce and play music of hisor her own choice. This is in contrast to the last RecitalCompetition, when the pipers were required to includea certain amount of Border music in each set. Theirstop time was marked by a yellow lamp that flashedwhen the 15 minutes was nearly up. And this year,again in contrast to 2003, there were no over-runs - sono penalty points. As Julian Goodacre, past chairman ofthe LBPS and compere for the evening, pointed out, atleast two of the players hadn't even been born when theLBPS was started. And one of them had studied pipingunder one of the other competitors. Incestuous business, piping!

As one would expect with players of this quality, it was a professional and inspiredperformance. Each piper introduced his or her set in a chatty, informal style. Dress ofcourse, was informal. One competitor commented that with Highland pipingcompetitions, the kilt is de rigueur, which leaves the competitor with one less thing toHenderson. So the rig was, in a sort of sop to the Lowland influence of the evening,largely jeans and open-neck shirts.

It was good to see Carol-Anne Mackay and Stewart Cassells bring on both orderand small pipes, choosing to use whichever suited a particular set of tunes. Borderpipes were favoured by All and Simon, while Allan and Gary played small pipes.Allan entertained us with Barbara Allen sung to the pipes (in a foreign language, hepointed out, having been brought up with the Gaelic), and Gary West ... hadn't Iheard some of his set previously? Ah yes, at the Invitation Recital Competition hewon in 2003. Why change a winning formula!

As the first player, Carol-Anne Mackay probably had the most difficult spot,having to set the scene, as it were. I enjoyed not only her piping, but also the relaxedinformal wayin which she bonded with the audience and smoothed the way for theother competitors.

The LBPS must be very encouraged by the success of this Recital Competition. Itattracted a big audience, and the pipers themselves put on an amazing performancethat can only help add to the growing popularity of Border pipes and Scottish smallpipes.

Everyone attending the evening had a lot for which to thank the organisers, andNigel Bridges was, I know, in the forefront of those busy behind the scenes.

Return tothe deargreenpipingplaceNigel Richard reportson last year's LBPSinvolvement inGlasgow's very successful Piping Live! festival, andpreviews arrangements for this August's eventTHE LBPS hosted a couple of nights of piping at the Festival Club at theNational Piping Centre in Glasgow during last year's Piping Live! Event.This was a new venture for us and took place during the week before theWorld Pipe Band Championships.

After discussion about the format with Roddy MacLeod, principal ofthe National Piping Centre in Glasgow and director of Piping Live!, Imade a lot of phone calls to invariably absent pipers, some taking weeksto reply to messages (grumble!), but finally managed to put together line-ups for Wed and Thurs PC club nights. I set out to choose on the basis ofability and variety (ie. a mixture of Border and small pipes and styles,plus some singing, accompaniment, etc).

In the event, availability became the key factor; for example RoryCampbell and Hamish Moore were both unavailable, others said theymight manage a tune but not to rely on them.

The evenings were a great success and the auditorium was full bothnights after an influx of pipers and followers joined following the mainconcerts in Glasgow Concert Hall. Rather than list all the players I willrecord some highlights. Alan Macdonald, Gary West, Fraser Fifield, andSimon McKerrel all gave the sort of outstanding professionalperformances that we have come to expect of them. Finn Moore gave a

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excellent display of tight unison playing with Sarah Hoy on Fiddle. Theladies were also well represented on pipes, with great sets from AnnieGrace with Anna Murray, and Mairead Green accompanied by thestunning guitar of Anna Massie. Our own Stuart Letford represented theLBPS Committee with a fine set on small and Border pipes. The last 40minutes on Thursday saw Fred Morrison and Jarlath Henderson with AliHutton on guitar start a set, soon joined by Alan Macdonald on whistle,Kathryn Nicol on fiddle andmyself on cittern, to finish of thenight in a fittingly wild anduntamed manner. It was aprivilege to be part of that.

In many ways this is an idealthing for LBPS to be doing,especially with a committeealready busy with other events,because it doesn't involve us inany significant administration -staffing regarding tickets,publicity, bar and PA is all handled by the Piping Centre. The cost ofemploying those pipers who are not already playing elsewhere in theFestival essentially comes out of the proceeds, so we are not fmanciallyexposed. Martin Lowe and Niall Anderson helped on the night andtogether we banged the LBPS drum from time to time and distributedleaflets, so we do manage to promote good bellows piping and givepublicity to the society.

The one thing we did learn last year was that we had invited too manypipers for the available time, and in their enthusiasm, they invariablyplayed over time. We are doing two nights again this year, Monday, the7"' and Wednesday the 9th of August. Do come along if you can, andshare in a night of good fun and great piping.

Piping Live! (7-13 August) is Glasgow count-down to the World PipeChampionships on Glasgow. Appearing at various venues throughout thecity centre, the guest list varies from "cutting edge" musicians and theirbands such as Finlay MacDonald, Fred Morrison and the powerful Scots-irish-Cape-Breton outfit Daimh, to established competition Highlandpipers such as the formidable William McCallum; from top pipe bandssuch as Shotts and Dykehead and Brittany's Bagad Cap Cava] to otherinternational visitors such as the Asturian folk group Tejedor. For furtherdetails, see www.pipingfestival.co.uk

Another day'sdawningPete Stewart (right) comesup with some more earlyScots dance tunesSINCE publishing The Day it Daws - The Lowland Scots Bagpipe and itsMusic 1400-1715, I have managed to acquire a photocopy of the WilliamBallet lute manuscript, which is now in the Library of Trinity College,Dublin. Although I included Ballet's version of Turkeylone and TheShaking of the Sheetes in the original publication, I had not until nowseen the full manuscript. Here is a selection of tunes from it which wouldhave been included had I known of them at the time.

There are in fact two manuscripts, bound' together, and they containmusic and lessons for both lyra viol and lute. The contents include manypopular songs of the era as well several dance tunes that appear later inPlayford, together with the usual selection of pavanes, galliards andcourantes, and standards for lute manuscripts of the time such as Rogero,Qui Passa and Fortune my Foe.

The tunes here are those for which there are contemporary Scotsliterary references to pipers playing them. They are taken from the lutepages and probably date from around 1595. 2

This is a much reduced version of the tune entitled Scots Hunts Up inthe Mynshall manuscript from around the same time. Bar 9 is my

MSS 40811 and 408/2, D.1.21/1 & 2112. I have been unable to learn anything of theprovenance of this manuscript, nor of William Ballet himself, though it is generallyassumed that he was Irish.2 The manuscript also includes two settings of Shepherds Hey and one of StaynesMorris as well as two settings of Peg a Ramsay and one of Cate of Bardie [a relationof Katie Bairdie? - Ed].

Alan MacDonald

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interpretation of the uneven rhythm of the manuscript; the Mynshallmanuscript has a similar problem with this phrase. I have yet to find anyother version of this tune, or anything about its "Scots" provenance. Itcertainly has nothing in common, apart from its double-tonic modality,with the tune commonly referred to in lute manuscripts of the era as TheScots Jig.

This is clearly the same melody as that from the Cambridgemanuscript, though the central bars are different, and a reflection of other,later version.

This is a version of the Hunts Up tune quite unlike any other 1 haveseen. The ground is more or less recognisable but the melodicinterpretation is distinctive. In view of this I felt it best to leave it`unadapted', apart from a key change. There are similarities with theextensive setting by William Byrd. In fact, the contents list of the Balletmanuscript has many titles in common with Byrd's work, with which it ismore or less contemporary.

Yet another version of this archetypal tune; it would form a usefulconnection between the standard version and that entitled The FourthMeasure of the Buffens from the Skene manuscript.

Extracts from an extended setting of The Horne Pipe. It contains bothmelodic and rhythmic similarities with the Hornpipe d'Angleterre

published in France in 1553 and with Byrd's Hornpipe. The term"hornpipe" does not appear in association with Scotland until the mid-17 t

century (Playford's Scotch Hornpipe, ie The Soutars of Selkirk;Lankashire Hornpipe in the Guthrie manuscript, c. 1675-80), although theinstrument is referred to in The Complaynt of Scotland (1549), where it iscalled a "corn pipe". Given the strong associations between the danceand "the North Land" from the mid-16 th century onwards, it seemsunlikely that it was unknown north of the border.

The literary sources make it clear that tunes with these titles (thehornpipe excepted) were known in Scotland in the mid-16th century, andare referred to as being played by pipers. These tunes have not survivedinto today's repertoire, although the ground of Buffoons underlies manytunes which are still popular. The Ballet manuscript does, however,include two tunes, Cate of Bardie and Peg a Ramsay, which appear in the`bagpipe tuning' section of the English "Manchester" manuscript for lyraviol and which have become Scottish standards. William Ballet'sversions of these tunes are not pipe settings, nor are they amongst thefinest. I have included them here for their value as being the oldestsurviving settings I know of.

Pete Stewart adds: Not long after The Day Daws was published, Ireceived an e-mail from Keith Sanger with the following information. It'sthe sort of thing I hoped my book would provoke:

"As far as the practice of pipers accompanying the shearing is concerned,there is an earlier reference than the one you used, and in Scotland toboot. To ane pyper to play to the scheraris in harvest, £4. It comes fromthe Douglas of Lochleven accounts for 1574 (Lochleven in Fife, that is)and is quoted in Margaret Sanderson's Scottish rural Society in the 16th

century, page 21.

3 For the Manchester manuscript tunes see my `Robin with the Bagpipe-The EnglishBagpipe and its Music' (2001)

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A cheerful crowd at the North Cumbria Pipers' teaching day

Bridging the Cumbrian gapRichard Evans and others report. on the muchenjoyed bellows pipes teaching day held at PenrithTHE NORTH Cumbria Pipers' Bellows Pipes Teaching Day was held onSaturday, 29 October at Penrith Methodist Church - the second time wehave used this venue, which is ideal for the purpose, offering rooms ofvarious sizes.

This was our fourth Piping Day, and as ever the aim was to bringtogether players of Northumbrian Pipes, Scottish smallpipes, and Borderpipes. The playing tutors were Richard Evans and Philip Gruar (North-umbrian pipes), Matt Seattle (Border pipes) and Donald Lindsay (Scottishsmallpipes). In addition, John Hazelhurst offered a workshop entitled"Dance Music of the Lake District", Anita Evans kept the reedmakershappy, and we found time to squeeze in a talk by Julian Goodacre - afascinating look at some of the early evidence for bagpipes, entitled"Pipes of Stone: Sounds of Life", illustrated with images, recorded musicand tunes on a wide range of pipes.

We had about 25 players as well as a number of observers, and theatmosphere throughout the day was full of enthusiasm and good crack.

The daytime events finished with a short concert given by Philip andElizabeth, Matt, Donald and Julian. In the evening we had a ceilidh, with

music by the Reunion Band, and floor spots from various pipers. This toowas a great success, allowing a good number of "non-pipey" people tohear the pipes live for the first time. Thanks to the Lowland and BorderPipers' Society and the Bagpipe Society for offering financial support forthe event.

I've asked two players for their impressions:

Eric Twigger, Scottish small pipes:

I write as a first attender at this event, but it will certainly not be my last.My first preconception was a misconception. Thinking of a MethodistChurch, I had visions of a large single room, somewhat austere but withgood acoustics. Only part of that was right: the good acoustics. The venuewas large and spacious, with a kitchen, a sports hall, a large meetingroom and a number of smaller modern tuition rooms.

For the morning and part of the afternoon, we also split into ourrespective pipe "loyalty groups". I can only speak for the Scottish smallpipe group, but later, seeing the other tutors perform, and speaking toother students I am certain that the same high standards prevailedthroughout. Our group of about eight had a most excellent day, learningthe black art of gracing from an undoubted master, Donald Lindsay, andalso some tunes, for which, though we had the "dots" before us, some,like me, were anxious to make the transition to absorbing music withoutit being written down.

For those addicted to written music, (like me) you will understandhow galling it is to play in sessions with those who really know the tunes.Somehow, however fast you can sight read, there is an inevitableslowness about playing while reading music. Donald's tips on learning byear were invaluable.

Mid-afternoon found us reassembled for Julian's absorbing andhumorous illustrated talk on the historical background to his wondrouspipe making (one of his slides in particular being so close to a headlessanimal as to raise a cry from the vegetarians). His playing of Englishgreat pipes, Leicestershire small pipes, and double-chanter pipes of allsorts added greatly to his talk. I have owned a set of his Leicester smallpipes, but have always played them with "whistle" fingering - somethingof which Julian's brother, John, thoroughly disapproved, while Julian'sclose fingering technique produced an entirely different and superiorsound. Back to the drawing board for me!

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An excellent mini-concert followed, given by John Hazlehurst onconcertina, Philip Gruar on Northumbrian pipes and recorder andElizabeth Gruar on bass viol, plus pipers Donal, Julian and Matt Seattle.It was interesting, varied and extremely musical, but the sight of Juliantwirling round and round whilst playing English great pipes, is a sight(and sound) to behold.

By then time had caught up and the day was over. Superbly organised,it was most excellent in every way.

Maureen Davison, Border pipes:

We began the first Border pipes workshop of the day in a way quiteunlike any other class I've ever attended. Matt urged us to spend a fewminutes in quiet contemplation, to try to tap into the history and energy ofthe tradition. He then challenged us to name as many 3/2 hornpipes as wecould remember, this being his theme for the day and something thatresulted from his pre-course invitation to participants, for feedback as towhat we'd like to do. It was an excellent initiative.

Of course we covered the obvious tunes of this genre, like BerwickBilly, aka Berwick Bully or Go to Berwick Johnny or - my particularfavourite - All the Night I Lay with Jockey. I'd read somewhere that"Jockey" meant gin but Matt had found a Reavely version, much lessambiguous; All the Night I Lay with Jockey in my Arms. On the subjectof titles, Matt also gave us Clarty Bitch the Maiden, which appears in theVickers and Crawhall manuscripts and one I won't personally forget! Wealso did Welcome Home My Dearie, from the John Rook Cumbrian MSof 1840, a superior version of Lang Stay 'd Away in the Minstrelsy.

We were encouraged to compare and contrast different versions oftunes and their variations, mix and match according to our personal tasteand, hey, to add our own. If something is so good, why not have more ofit? It was great fun and thought-provoking stuff, with Matt's wish thatwe get to the essence and workings of the tunes, not just play by numbers.There was lively discussion, massed playing and individual musicalillustration from tutor and classmates - a very pro-active experience.

We all learned new facts about the Border repertoire, thanks to Matt'sscholarship, but he also told us about the perils of editorship, stressing theeditor's obligation to inform of any alterations they make to the tunes. Healso now recognises specific musical spelling mistakes which he didn'twhen he edited the Vickers' Great North Tune Book.

Matt's workshops were invaluable and participants, who included oneall the way from Canada, took away some juicy morsels to digest. A bigthanks to Matt for his sterling efforts and to the hard work of the NorthCumbria Group, hosting such a unique bellowspipes' event. I'm bookingnow for 2006!

For further details contact Richard and Anita Evans, Fairhaven,Lingfoot, Southwaite, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA4 OEP. Tel: 016974 73799Website: www. evansweb. co. uk

The Day it Daws: The Lowland Bagpipeand its Music, 1400 to 1715 by PeteStewart (White House Tune Books, No 7)

Review by Iain Macinnes

WITH HIS latest publication, Pete Stewart hasset a new benchmark for research into theLowland bagpipe. The collection bringstogether 110 tunes (some in multiple settings)with a lucid and well-informed account oflowland piping, and an exploration of the context in which pipers madetheir music during the heyday of the instrument.

Using Robert Sempill's famous poem The Life and Death of the Piperof Kilbarchan as the starting-point for his discussion, Stewart examines avibrant repertoire, ranging from dance music and work songs, to tunesrooted in border custom and tradition, such as the civic ceremony ofriding the marches. Along the way we're introduced to French brawls,Spanish pavans, and morrismen entertaining Charles I at the gates ofPerth. This is a pan-European perspective, and it is one which helps castlight on the often shadowy and fragmented piping repertoire of the 15thand 16th centuries.

Robert Sempill's poem mentions five tunes played by Habbie Simson,the Piper of Kilbarchan. Of these, Stewart is able to identify three (TheHunt is Up, The Day it Daws and Trixie), and to furnish musical settingsbased on original sources, adaptations from lute and fiddle collections,and modem composite settings which he has made himself. The approach

Book review

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is scholarly, displaying an impressive knowledge of early music sources.With The Hunt is Up, for instance, he prints seven different versions ofthe tune, gleaned from sources ranging from the Mynshall manuscript ofthe 1590s to Jane Pickering's lute book of 1616. Elsewhere, he makesfull use of well known published collections such as John Playford'sEnglish Dancing Master and James Oswald's Caledonian PocketCompanion. In many instances his own settings are the most accessible,possibly because he has created them with the Lowland piper in mind(his setting of the The Day it Daws is a case in point).

The powerful links between pipe music and dance are made clear in hisexamination of two wonderful early sources, the 15th-century poemColkelbie Sow, which identifies a number of popular dances of the period,and the 16 th century political tract The Complaynt of Scotland (publishedin 1550), which contains a much-quoted and unexpected list ofcontemporary folk instruments, and the dances which they would havebeen expected to accompany. Reed pipes and bagpipes are well to thefore in this instrumental melange, and Stewart has gone to great pains tomake sense of the steps and dances, gently leading us through the basicsof the hey, the trace, the brawl and the buffon, and providing music tomatch. This is no mere academic exercise: the point is an important one -that the repertoire (and indeed instruments) of these early Scottish pipersowed a great deal to influences from beyond our borders.

By the 16 th century, tune types such as "The Scotch Jygge" had madeinroads both in Scotland and in Elizabethan England, and Stewart is ableto trace the thread of continuity between these early tunes (in 4/4 time)and the "Scots Measures" which came a century later. With tunes such asO Gin Ye Were Dead, Gudeman, pipers who have grown up in theHighland tradition will feel on reasonably comfortable ground, for theseare the tunes and tonalities which make up the core of the modem reel,quickstep and march repertoires.

Elsewhere Stewart explores music for the thrice-yearly militarymusters, the "wappinschaws"; he includes a fascinating selection of earlymorris tunes, both English and Scots; and he introduces us to some of theold tunes associated with the trade guilds, such as the sparse and elegantThrie Sheips Skinns, which was supposedly played on the bells of StGiles on the day on which leather workers had their annual procession.

Music for wooing and marriage also takes a prominent place,encapsulated in the mildly ribald song Hey Jenny Come Down to Jock,and its multiple variants, and if one thing has changing little in the

intervening centuries, it is the piper's pride of place at the bridalceremony. Stewart makes the point that most Border music is thoroughlyenmeshed in the song and dance traditions, and bears few signs of the sortof lairdly patronage which has been such a feature of Highland piping.Border tune titles can be, frankly, couthy and vulgar ("scatologicalbaroque" as he puts it), which, at the very least, exercised the minds ofthe 19th century collectors as they sought to clean up the musical legacyof their forebears.

In all, this collection works well at two levels: firstly, as astraightforward good read which touches on most of the key issuesconcerning Lowland piping and its musical heritage; and, secondly, as areference work which, through detailed indexes and appendices, leads thereader to the key early source works. The book would have benefitedfrom better picture captions and clearer cross-referencing between themain text and the music examples, but on the whole the layout is veryattractive, and the music is easy to read.

If Stewart has the time and energy, I would urge him to get some ofthis music recorded; for it is only then, I suspect, that many of us willreally get a feel for the tunes, particularly those that derive fromcontinental dance forms such as the pavan and "base dans".

The book also touches on the likely nature of the early instrumentswhich, on the basis of the few surviving carvings and illustrations, wouldappear to have fitted the general European model of a mouth-blownbagpipe with a short, conical chanter and a single long drone (not unlikethe modem gaita of Northern Spain). Stewart cites the 1778 edition ofthe Encyclopedia Britannica which describes a bellows-blown ScotsLowland Pipe with a nine note scale from C sharp to high D (in thehigher octave), which, like the Highland bagpipe, is "a very loudinstrument". This description is made with such clarity and confidencethat it seems churlish to argue with it, but as far as I am aware there areno surviving chanters in Scotland designed to play at such a high pitch,and the evidence of manuscript sources (such as George Skene's of theearly 1700s) would seem to point to tunes written in more conventionalbagpipe keys such as A and G. The author of the EncyclopediaBritannica entry, though, appears to be describing an instrument whichwas still in use at the time, so perhaps there is evidence on pitches andtunings still to be unearthed.

Pete Stewart's book is a revelation, and it comes thoroughlyrecommended.

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The Alexander techniqueCarol MacCallum Stroppier (below) suggests improvingand enriching performance through physical change

WHEN Frederick M Alexander came toLondon from Tasmania to begin teaching theTechnique in 1904, he had big dreams. Ithink he would have imagined the Techniquespreading as far as it has. He was a veryunusual person, and this is a very unusualTechnique, standing alone in both theholistic and the scientific medical worlds. Research continues to validatethe principles upon which the Technique is based and we are learning stillmore about the depth of the changes it can bring about.

Alexander discovered for himself how the "antigravity" mechanism ofthe body works and can then be successfully used; thus freeing theindividual from a life of habitual behaviour and enabling him to changeand live consciously, making choices about every aspect of life:emotional, intellectual and physical. He evolved a Technique for teaching"total body co-ordination".

I realise these statements sound like quite a mouthful, but if you arewilling to read further, I will explain why The Alexander Technique is sovaluable for everyone, smallpipers in particular. Most of us are unawarethat it is possible to affect large changes in our own bodies. I am nottalking about going to the gym and using tightened muscles to lift weightsand increase muscle size, nor am I talking about using yoga to stretch andlengthen muscles. What I am suggesting is the use of Alexandrian"nondoing" rather than the "doing" we force upon our bodies.

By using elegantly simple principles, the body is re-educated andreleases itself physically to return to the form and use for which it wasdesigned. Remember that the brain and thought are part of the physicalbody. Our design is made to function as a whole. Structurally, if the head,neck, back relationship is working well, the head can lead and everythingelse follows - spine and limbs.

We are vertebrates. As such, we need to pay particular attention to therelationship of the head, neck, back - what Alexander called the Primary

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Control - in ourselves. This relationship is ever-changing and adaptable,but to put it under nearly continuous strain is not wise. The habitualpatterns people use to put their head, neck, back relationship out ofalignment are infinite. The number of proper alignments in which thatrelationship can be well used are equally infinite. There is no such thingas "perfect posture".

The antigravity mechanism referred to earlier is set in motion when wecombine the Primary Control, Direction (a physiological change),sometimes called the "Up", and Inhibition (not to be confused withJungian supression)/ Stopping. Inhibition/Stopping is a natural functionin animals which seems to have been nearly lost in humans. Many of usfind it tremendously difficult when asked to stop, full stop, for any periodof more than a minute or two. This Stopping actually allows us space tomake decisions about what we will do or not do as well as to makeobservations - objectively. That is the point: to make conscious choicesonce the unconscious habit is observed.

Our habits of response, whether they are intellectual, physical oremotional, or some combination of all those, are so ingrained and a partof us as to be unconscious. You cannot change something of which youare not conscious; thus the importance of Inhibition, which Alexanderconsidered to be the cornerstone of his Technique.

When these three principles - Primary Control, Direction andInhibition/Stopping - are working together, we can have freedom andease of movement. For smallpipers that means:

Moving the arms on the bellows and bag without first contracting theneck/arm/shoulder muscles and then trying to use them, frequentlycausing pain and damage.

Breathing regularly with expansion, instead of holding the breathwhile movement occurs and/or breathing only at long intervals.

Leaving the head/neck alone to be still enough to co-ordinate themovements of the whole body (and the music) instead of bobbing aroundand/or jutting out like a ball on the end of a bat.

Letting the fingers move easily on their own instead of gripping thechanter like a vice and creating conditions for tendonitis, carpal tunnelproblems and other RSI ills which could apply to the above issues as well.

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The list of physical issues could go on and also includes emotionaland intellectual issues, ie, lack of self confidence, repetitive and negativehead chatter, self concept, physical presentation, musical presentation,and the performance itself which is the outcome of the rehearsal. Youcan see why musicians and actors have been making use of the Techniqueto great advantage for over 100 years.

Some of the benefits that may be expected from learning the AlexanderTechnique: performance anxiety reduction, ease of breathing, enhancedstage presence, physical ease while playing. It also helps prevent injury,changes harmful physical habits, integrates and maintains chiropracticand osteopathic work and helps pain management

The Alexander Technique is a preventative. It is a skill that is learnedby the individual and can be refined through use and practice. Someinformation may be passed on efficiently in small groups, but the realwork is done in one-to-one lessons with a qualified, skilled teacher using"Nondoing hands", observation, body mapping, anatomy, indirectprocedures and active, dynamic personal knowledge. This is expressedbest by Patrick MacDonald, a member of the original training course withAlexander, in his book The Alexander Technique: As I See It: "While itis theoretically possible to learn the Alexander Technique without the aidof a skilled teacher - after all, Alexander did it, so why not others - theodds against anyone doing themselves any good in this way areastronomical."

You would seek a teacher when learning to play an instrument to anydegree of proficiency. The same applies in learning the AlexanderTechnique. You are learning to play an instrument: your self! Iencourage all pipers to learn how to put more ease and freedom into yourlife and your playing. It will change your life.

The Technique applies to everything and everything applies to theTechnique.

Recently, I opened a new book, Human Givens, by Joe Griffin andIvan Tyrell, and my eyes fell upon this: "An important human given, theneed for meaning, is driving us to write this book. This ancient naturalhuman desire, the quest to understand, originally grew out of primitivecreatures' evolving ability to move independently. Indeed, movement isfundamental to the very existence of brains, which developed primarily tocontrol movement, to predict the outcome of movement and rememberthe result of past movements ... So important is it that the primary motor

cortex and the premotor cortex are both located in the frontal lobe, whichis one of the most advanced parts of the brain and determines not onlywhere we direct our attention but also the relationship between short-termworking memory and long-term memory."

Carol Strozier is offering an introductory workshop in the AlexanderTechnique during the Piping Live! Festival, August 7-13. Call theNational Piping Centre, 0141 353 0220

There will also be a six session introductory course in the basics of theAlexander Technique during September, October and November. These45-60 minute sessions will involve small group work and an individuallesson for six pipers. For details of this and further Alexander Techniquecourses, contact Carol Strozier, 0141 954 8074, or e-mail:info@halepipes.co.uk before Sept. 9, 2006.

Carol MacCallum Strozier quakes this summer as a teacher oftheAlexander Technique at the Cumbria Alexander Training Centre inKendal, Cumbria. Before she moved to Scotland in 2001 to study at theRoyal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Scottish Music course, sheperformed and taught in Michigan, Maryland and New York.

Collogue, Edinburgh, 11 NovemberNIGEL Richard is standing down as chairman this November, but as aparting shot he is organising an unusual LBPS concert as part of theSociety's annual Collogue in Edinburgh. The event will link Scottishpiping with Indian classical music and will feature pipers AllanMacDonald, Fraser Fifield and Simon McKerrell, along with Indianmusicians playing sitar, violin, tabla and shenai. The concert will be heldin the evening at the St Bride's Centre, Dairy Road, and promises to be anunusual and entertaining event, so put the date in your diaries. Otherevents will take place during the day, and the AGM will be held atmidday. Further details will appear in the Newsletter nearer the time.

Summer SchoolAs published earlier, the LBPS Summer School is once again at Craigie,Ayr, from 30 July to 4 August. Board and lodging is modestly priced at£180 for five nights, with tuition costing around £140. For further latedetails contact David Hannay on 01557 840229, or e-mail him atdrhannav@ukonline.co.uk

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Meetings and EventsLBPS Summer School: Sunday, 30 July to Friday, 4 August, 2006,in conjunction with Common Ground Scotland, at Craigie College,Ayr. Tutors to be confirmed. Contact David Hannay 01557 840229. WebsiteALP (Adult Learning Project): Boroughmuir High School,Edinburgh, on Wednesday nights. Smallpipe tutor Lee Moore. Visitthe ALP websitewww.alpscotsmusic.orgor phone 0131 555 7668Pipers' Gathering: 11-14 August, 2006, at Killington, Nr Rutland,VT, USA. Instructors include lain MacDonald on Scottishsmallpipes, Matt Seattle and Hamish Moore on Border pipes,Richard and Anita Evans on Northumbrian pipes and JulianGoodacre on English pipes. See website www.pipersgathering.orgfor further details, or contactWgoritv@attanticbb.netGlens of Angus Smallpipe & Fiddle Course: 15-17 September,2006, at Angus House, Edzell, Angus. Piping tutors, Mike Katz(Battlefield Band) and lain Kinnear, £180. Contact lain on 01356648865

SESSIONS:Glasgow: Friday night sessions in Laurie's Bar/Acoustic MusicCentre, King Street, kicking off about 7.30pm. Musicians amped,with Graham Irvine leading on button box. All welcome. ContactMalcolm Maclnnes: 0141 429 4755.North-east England: 1g and 3rd Thursday of month, the Swan,Greenside. Contact Steve Barwick 0191 286 3545.North-west England: 2nd Friday in the month at the DACECentre, Carlisle. Contact Richard or Anita Evans: 016974 73799London: 3rd Thursday of month, except July. London ScottishRegimental HQ, 95 Horseferry Rd. Contact Jock Agnew 01621855447.

LBPS Publications for saleMore Power to your Elbow. Manual/tutor with CD-ROM. £25 (£20 mbrs)

Suggested Session Tunes £8 (£6 members)Suggested Duets and Harmonies £14 (£9 members inc P&P) NEW

A Collection of Pipe Tunes (Peacock etc) £7 (£5 members)50 Lowland and Border Tunes £5.00

From Niall Anderson or Jock Agnew. Trade prices available on request.

LBPS WEB SITE www.lbps.net