Random piping video

There are of course literally thousands of piping videos on YouTube, featuring playing of all levels.  This one came to my attention a while ago, and it features some great playing from a great piper.



Roddy MacLeod, MBE, is without question a legend among pipers.  There isn't a major prize he hasn't won, and although most of his prizewinning took place in 1990s, he's had a bit of a resurgence lately, winning the senior piobaireachd at Oban, the piobaireachd at the Glenfiddich, and the Silver Chanter in 2008, as well as being named Piper of the Year by the online magazine pipes|drums.

This video features Roddy playing the strathspey Arniston Castle and the reels The Sheepwife and The Brown-Haired Maid.  The playing is spectacular, the pipe magnificent, which is to be expected from Roddy.  For pipers who watch the video, pay attention because there are lessons to be learned from his playing.  For the non-pipers, this is what bagpipes are supposed to sound like.  There aren't many people in the world who play at this level.

As well as he plays these big competition strathspey and reels, I think Roddy's true passion is piobaireachd.  He is one of the foremost authorities on the subject, and you can tell he lives and breathes the stuff.  His website, Roddy MacLeod Piobaireachd, offers recordings and manuscript of individual tunes for sale, and is a great collection of piobaireachd recordings played by one of the best in the business.

In this video, Roddy plays the piobaireachd "A Flame of Wrath for Squinting Patrick," which is a fabulous tune.  You can see that he's really at the top of the line of piobaireachd players.

Random Piping Video

In August 2008, a new pipe band competed for the first time at the World Pipe Band Championships.  With Roddy MacLeod as pipe major, the Spirit of Scotland Pipe Band boasted a very impressive lineup of pipers with something more than a dozen gold medals won by band members. 

This morning I found a video of the band warming up before the MSR contest (maybe the Grade 1 qualifier?) at the Worlds.  It's interesting to watch, and they playing ain't bad either.

Random piping video

As I've noted before, there are a ton of piping videos on YouTube. The last post was not about one of the gems, but this one is.

Angus MacColl is one of the leading solo pipers on the competition circuit today, and is always near the prize list.  Many of the top players seem to have a specialty, and Angus' is the 2/4 march.  There aren't many who can really bring out the nuances of the "question and answer" phrasing while keeping the flow of the tune, and Angus has this down; it makes his marches really zing.  This video features Angus playing three marches, Arther Bignold of Lochrosque, Mrs. John MacColl, and The Highland Wedding.  As a note, the first two tunes were written by John MacColl, one of Angus' relatives.

Angus MacColl (unable to embed, sorry)

Random Piping Video

A search of YouTube for the word "bagpipes" turns up thousands of hits.  If you sort the results by date posted you'll find dozens of new bagpipe videos posted just within the last few hours.  There's a bunch of crap out there, but there are also some real gems.  This post is not about one of the gems. 

Below is a random piping video.  Watch it, then read below for my comments.



This guy is actually not a bad piper for a street musician.  There's many who are terrible (like this one), but this guy's technique is actually pretty good. I didn't recognize the first tune, but the second tune (starts at 0:16) is a standard 6/8 march called The Piobaireachd of Donald Dubh.  He plays it pretty quick and his expression is a little round, but his technique is solid.  What bugs me about this particular piper is his transition between tunes.  It sounds like he stops the first tune in the middle of a part and plays some birls and stuff (with a big choke) before launching into the second tune.  I hate it (hate it, hate it, hate it) when pipers just stop in the middle of a tune; if you don't know the tune, you shouldn't be playing it in public!  That's one of my primary  pet peeves about piping in public places: play passable passages between pieces (wow, that was alliterative).  If you're playing in public, you should have enough foresight to pick a tune to play after the one you're playing now, and you should be able to pick it a part or so in advance. 

So on the overall, nicely done piper fellow, just make sure you finish those tunes and work on decent transitions!

New Videos: 6/8 March and Hornpipe/Jig

Last night I recorded another video of me playing my pipes.  The lighting sucks but you get the idea. I made these videos in preparation for a competition at the New Hampshire Highland Games, September 20, 2008.  Before you say anything, I am aware of the fact that my room is a mess.

This is a 6/8 march entitled "The Dundee City Police Pipe Band."




This one is a hornpipe and jig set. The tunes are "The Man From Skye" and "Duncan the Gauger."

New video: 6/8 marches

The other day I recorded myself playing three of my favorite 6/8 marches: Cameron MacFadyen, Pipe Major Donald MacLean of Lewis, and Mrs. Lily Christie.

I had intended to record an MSR as well, and indeed played one, but due to a stupid mistake on my part I didn't actually record it.... I think I never hit the record button before I started playing, so when I actually did push it at the end I started recording instead of stopping. I got some great footage of me tuning, but none of an MSR. Ah well.

Anyway, 6/8 marches.