During the 1970s and 1980s, David V. Kennedy was a prolific contributor to the pages of both the Piping Times and The International Piper. His article here, on the subject of cane drone reeds, has been taken from the January 1980 edition of The International Piper. Clearly, if you play […]
For anyone using this time, or even this Easter weekend to either learn or teach (using a telecommunications application, of course), this article may be useful. It was written by the famous Seumas and published in the October 1992 edition of the Piping Times. By Seumas MacNeill There are several […]
Following Tommy Pearston’s article last week, cultivated from the Piping Times archives, we reproduce another of his pieces on hygiene, this time on the subject of disinfecting our instrument. This article appeared originally in the Piping Times of June 1953 and covers some misconceptions and sound advice on disinfecting our […]
With many events falling victim to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all monitoring the guidelines from our respective governments around the world. Our chosen is just that: a hobby. Some take it more serious than others but it’s still a hobby. As The National Piping Centre advised on […]
By David V. Kennedy In the last few years, pipers have recognised that the pitch of the chanter of the Scottish piob mhor has risen to approximately B flat from A natural. Chanter makers seem to have responded to a popular demand to make higher pitched canters – mostly from […]
Pipers are often in the spotlight displaying their talent – and their expensive instruments. Our pipes are one of our most important assets so it makes sense that we look after them properly and make sure they are protected from thieves. Adequate insurance is a must. Those who are members […]
Theory Top-Up by Tim Cummings Piping Today #75, 2015. I have a hunch that you might be familiar with something called fish and chips. I’m also willing to bet that each time you’ve partaken of that meal, there was a fair bit of salt added, which no doubt enhanced the […]
By Dr. Bruce Thomson The only way of fulfilling the mission described in our headline is to literally develop a new tune from scratch. I can only show you how I set about it, not having had the privilege of looking over another composer’s shoulder. As previously, this is being […]
By Bruce Thomson The 6/4 time signature is not found frequently in pipe music, but I can quote a few examples. The most familiar is perhaps, Farewell to Nigg, by Duncan Johnstone on page 68 of the Scots Guards volume two. They are quite scarce. For example, there is only […]
Theory Top-Up by Tim Cummings Piping Today #74, 2015. In the last article in this series, we examined a scale and its associated tunes which contain fewer than the usual seven notes that make up standard Western musical scales. Specifically, we explored a ‘gapped’ scale in A — that is, […]
