By Capt. John A. MacLellan MBE All piobaireachd available to pipers today, the exception of reprints, are abbreviated. Strangely, this innovation can be traced to Angus MacKay (just other example of his brilliant musical mind). His manuscript, as far as the piobaireachd volumes are concerned, is largely abbreviated. The piobaireachd […]
By Capt. John A. MacLellan MBE The next phrase patterns to be discussed are those which incorporate the TERTIARY grouping. This title just signifies a third classification. The main characteristic is, that each of the three lines are of equal length, (remember both “Primary” and ‘’Secondary” had a metre of […]
The Lorient Interceltique Festival, the world’s largest gathering of Celtic music, has reportedly been cancelled for 2020. The cancellation is expected to be confirmed tomorrow at an organisers’ meeting in the Brittany town. As recently as mid-April (16th), organisers said they were hopeful of running this year’s festival – its […]
By Roger Gould-King Figure 2 shows a typical chanter reed design suitable for most chanters and the average piper’s blowing habits. This design follows the principle that all dimensions of the blades are based on a simple ‘rule of 3’. For example, the staple is 4mm in diameter, which multiplied […]
By Roger Gould-King Today, there is a phenomenal increase in the number of pipers. Whether this is because of the increasing popularity of the instrument or whether it is a natural incremental function of the population explosion is not clear. What is clear is that along with the global expansion […]
April 27, Glasgow, Scotland – The National Piping Centre won the Intimate Wedding Venue category at the 2020 Scottish Hotel Awards, which took place virtually last night. The historic venue, in McPhater Street, is a unique wedding setting in the city centre. It also has a four-star hotel (with an […]
The online junior piping and drumming competition organised by Fife-based pipe band, Burntisland & District, has been voted a success by competitors, judges and organisers. A total of 202 entries were received in the piping (128 on pipes and 74 on chanter) from competitors in seven countries: the United Kingdom, […]
A short tutorial on how to make your C doublings crisp and distinct. This is by Captain John MacLellan and taken from The International Piper of October 1978. By Captain John A. MacLellan MBE Having listened to umpteen performances of ceòl beag during the competition season, it has become very […]
David V. Kennedy from Sacramento in California had this article published in the February 1980 edition of The International Piper. Clearly, pipe bands have come a long way since 1981 and the medleys heard today are beyond those of heard in David’s day but his central theme is something that […]
