tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729234360693495532024-03-12T19:00:00.623-04:009 notes only? A bagpipe journey..dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-24629546677219582752008-10-26T11:34:00.005-04:002008-11-29T23:39:34.422-05:00Seventh Competition Richmond Third and Fourth Place<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7zLuC8-nCCTiiIiN03M9zJKwUsLO3wUKwju7L7b4zHYCfZOtK1x9Tt1SSebp85mc9yfVOqEPUYxkTC5kT8OfMcftRL-6Xs4aZu1s3A7HpjhqSDRg5TKze2NrOGf-ZDb9yWbFrkDcSf4h/s1600-h/Richs34th.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ7zLuC8-nCCTiiIiN03M9zJKwUsLO3wUKwju7L7b4zHYCfZOtK1x9Tt1SSebp85mc9yfVOqEPUYxkTC5kT8OfMcftRL-6Xs4aZu1s3A7HpjhqSDRg5TKze2NrOGf-ZDb9yWbFrkDcSf4h/s200/Richs34th.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261487226669774226" border="0" /></a>A very wet <a href="http://www.richmondceltic.com/home">Richmond Highland and Scottish Games</a>. Great Scottish weather which I experienced many times on a motorcycle many moons ago. I drove in early and found the venue with a few miles wasted after missing the intersection. I had to wait for cancellations and no shows because my application was late, I did not know the games was approaching fast, right.<br /><br />First event, <a href="http://www.davemckenzie.com/piobaireachd.htm">piobaireachd</a>. The " the Little Spree " was played well in Williamsburg, first place. I had the confidence to do well again, phrasings are where they are, the embellishments edres and otros sound with a bold Low G and equal, phrase endings have heavy emphasis before going to the next. Everything went well until the second line when I thought that I sounded flat on F, now if one has not experienced this, namely moi, the tendency is to squeeze and blow harder to make it sharp. Disaster, one should leave it alone, although my playing was not altered the bass drone shut off, I continued to play my best without it. The judge told me, too bad about the bass drone, you were playing well. Off I went after thanking the judge.<br /><br />To be cont.......dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com68tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-27128249764755975212008-10-06T21:39:00.012-04:002008-12-25T16:52:48.788-05:00Sixth Competition First Place Piobaireachd<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6e2FYZBQTVBX59HdJXgstST4e7a0cQaNC5rbNJP1slXrfYzRgRwnbqlWvIZVx020UNKxBTgZrJYXPRvviby9q1q4Q3YHMkpVvJkvjM7n9xDMS5JpsM6ndtmkrs6XZqyQERZyVRU4jmroe/s1600-h/Firstwilli08a.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254226975184617042" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6e2FYZBQTVBX59HdJXgstST4e7a0cQaNC5rbNJP1slXrfYzRgRwnbqlWvIZVx020UNKxBTgZrJYXPRvviby9q1q4Q3YHMkpVvJkvjM7n9xDMS5JpsM6ndtmkrs6XZqyQERZyVRU4jmroe/s200/Firstwilli08a.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.wsfonline.org/">Williamsburg Scottish Festival</a> was a nice surprise. The venue was very nice, the judge's tents were about 30 feet from the water where a dam is located. All in the shade, so I warmed up under a tree. My first event was the <a href="http://www.davemckenzie.com/piobaireachd.htm">piobaireachd</a> ground, I have spent time with the "The Little Spree" with my teacher and countless hours practicing the "otros" and "edres", phrasings, bar endings, line endings, not to mention the last line of the ground, which needed a mature understanding. Although it took a long time to put it together confidently, playing it with correct phrasings, pausing at the end of each bar and holding longer at the end of the lines made the tune better from last year's second place. The tune was played slower, and the judge noted it, the phrase endings did get the time it needed to announce the beginning of the next phrase. The F was emphasized, the edres and otros were a lot cleaner with the Low G<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxZrUSoLFDLHVsWfIzltvLIG9Jb3y1pbPR_njJNNWfU0twrrJmugucBBWsUePV13qYFyc3PfsDUzUbnewxq39a6OHzC4XsKJruZrb2BRYm6BZuEEweNrc0QjrY38iYrskStFdBTvZ2uVr/s1600-h/DSCN1898.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254227432626919234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 139px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxZrUSoLFDLHVsWfIzltvLIG9Jb3y1pbPR_njJNNWfU0twrrJmugucBBWsUePV13qYFyc3PfsDUzUbnewxq39a6OHzC4XsKJruZrb2BRYm6BZuEEweNrc0QjrY38iYrskStFdBTvZ2uVr/s200/DSCN1898.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />sounding big. cont......<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZLlXaH5udSc2OUdHrU0XWurpaHALoRFF7pFPTasZ-sKzUp3_4O_F6VNTr9pDs0JmTM7dM-mz5YcaJqR91uCcEv5pzgrEzTtn0M_Me_KaAdJ3ylKHorbfVqs9rcAZ_sG8w_aeehtmWii_/s1600-h/DSCN1882.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5254229265706443490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 144px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 182px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZLlXaH5udSc2OUdHrU0XWurpaHALoRFF7pFPTasZ-sKzUp3_4O_F6VNTr9pDs0JmTM7dM-mz5YcaJqR91uCcEv5pzgrEzTtn0M_Me_KaAdJ3ylKHorbfVqs9rcAZ_sG8w_aeehtmWii_/s200/DSCN1882.JPG" border="0" /></a>dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-2983441044531252632008-07-08T13:21:00.005-04:002008-07-08T13:38:26.268-04:00Chanter and Drone Reeds SetupI have played with the Troy chanter reed for two months. I have shaved and sanded to get it to my strength. It is slightly harder than my average reeds. I have to adjust my tape on the F to get it right since it was slightly sharp. I think on my paricular MacLellan chanter, the Troy is a perfect match, and it plays well with the Kinnairds for solo work.<br /><br />The drone reeds had to be adjusted to accumodate the harder chanter reed. It takes time to properly match them again. Once properly matched, the sound of the whole pipe is beautiful and play as one instrument.<br /><br />I have the itch to play the Apps base cane drone again. I thought it had a supherb full deep sound. I will carry the Apps cane drone and chanter reeds in the <a href="http://piper-of-dunguncreek.com/">Piper of Dunguncreek</a> in the near future. I find the drone reeds in the Dunbar needing a drone extender in my case to get to uptimum drone adjustment, which is close to the hemp line.dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-52605857725389978492008-06-10T14:36:00.006-04:002008-07-08T13:40:15.019-04:00Fifth CompetitionThe fifth competition was in <a href="http://www.highlandfest.info/">McHenry Highland Festival of Mountain Maryland</a>, a three hour trip. Left at 5:45 am with my two kids and their friend. Foggy trip in the mountains, but we made it in good time.<br /><br />I was scheduled to play at 10:15 am, so I had 45 minutes of warm up time. I gave the kids money so they can go around for 30 minutes. I warmed up at the field, the weather was nice high 80's with a little humidity. The venue was nice, the judges were set up around the barns.<br /><br />Once the judge, Vic Franks gave me the nod, I approached, gave a salute and told him my tune. My tune, "Prince Charles Welcome to Lochaber" for 2/4 March. Since my pipes were warmed up, after a minute of fine tuning, it locked in. Off I went, my choice of marching route was not the best, a small dip on the judges left side. It went well, on the fourth line, my chanter cut out for a second. I recovered and continued until I stepped on the dip on the ground, now this rattled me a little, when I faced the judge to finish the tune, the last three noted vacated my brain, played the two notes again and decided to tell the judge,"not today judge". His reply was, " that is too bad". I thought I was doing well, very disappointed.<br /><br />I thought about the things that I did. So, after an hour, I was ready to move on. I waited for my results to see what things that needs to be improved.<br /><br />A couple of items that I need to write down in a 3X5 paper.<br /><br />Warm up thoroughly<br />Disconnect the hose leading to the chanter. For very hot days, I think the cannister will deliver less moisture to the reed(maybe the cause of the cut off).<br />Plan where to march, the most level ground possible<br /><br />We went around after changing and checked out the stage. We did not have time to see Bonnie Rideout but manage to see the band before her. The kid's insisted to buy a Father's Day gift for me.<br /><br />We had a long trip back and had an hour before going to a friend's daughter's 16th birthday. I was going to play the pipes in highland attire before dinner. Long day.<br /><br />After talking with my teacher, she reminded me that the breakdown will not be the last. We talked about this a year ago, but never thought about it until it happened.dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-81161542697554973172008-05-13T00:00:00.006-04:002008-10-22T20:20:39.738-04:00Fourth Competition Southern MD First Place 2/4 MarchThe fourth competition was in <a href="http://cssm.org/index.php?festival">The Celtic Society of Southern Maryland</a> located at the Jefferson Patterson Park. Running late was one thing, but being detoured because of a fire which closed the road to the event was worrisome. I made it at 9am, the start of of the solo competition. After walking passed the registration booth once, finally made it there and found the times for 2/4 March and Piobaireachd.<br /><br />I set up my folding chair and put the pipes together for warm up and tuning. The steward for the 2/4 March found me and gave me the time. I was two competitors behind. I had plenty of time to tune, the weather was hot but the pipes were tuning very well. I found that wearing the ear plug helped me in drowning the other pipers around me so I can lock in the drones to the chanter. the Troy in the MacLellan chanter was played in the same venue in my first ever competition, it is a little over a year old.<br /><br />My first event was piobaireachd, "The Marquis of Argyll Salute". The tune was not ready, I had plenty of time to think about not playing it when I went in the long detour due to a fire. I had this feeling and decided to play "The Little Spree" instead of the "Marquis..", but when I was warming up my confidence was back. It was a mistake to play it, I ended up playing it safely and everything went south.<br /><br />I did not place and the judge, John Bottomly, wrote that "the tune was cautiously approached to a bold tune". Other glitches on notes not being held. Drones were excellent but the chanter was a little thin.<br /><br />After half an hour, the steward came and informed me that it was my turn. She was a student of Marsha as well. I approached the judge, Joyce McIntosh and told her my tune. After a brief warm up, off I went to play "Prince Charles Welcome to Lochaber". The drones were steady and only a crushed B doubling on the third line. The chanter was thin, second time. I was confident on the tune and everything went well in my opinion. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">First place</span> out of 13 competitors. She wrote that I was being taught well. Since they were not ready with the medals I went to see my band. I was asked by the P/M to play with at the Massed Bands, but I left my pipes in the car, so I filmed instead.<br /><br />After filming the band compete, I left for home. The band came in <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Second Place</span>.<br /><br />Things that needs to be done. New reed for the chanter since it was sounding thin. "The Little Spree" will have to come back for now. Playing steady throughout and flawless in the the embellishments will definitely elevate the scores. I will have to refocus practice and write down the priorities. Next competition is in June 7 at McHenry Maryland.<br /><br />Started a piping business, <a href="http://piper-of-dunguncreek.com/">Piper of Dunguncreek</a>. I hope to grow in piping and the business.dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-4290218365786097992008-03-26T20:46:00.013-04:002008-10-12T22:06:36.143-04:002007 Competition Results Grade lV Sr.Here are the <a href="http://results.euspba.org/reportgen/Reports/Season_Standings_2007-2000.html">Competition Results for 2007</a>, I made three of the five <a href="http://euspba.org/">EUSPBA</a> sanctioned Games in 2007 that I registered. In Grade IV Sr. 2/4 March, placed 93rd out of 213 registered competitors with a First Place in Richmond. And Grade IV Sr. Piobaireachd, 86th out of 147 competitors with a Second Place in Williamsburg. Although, only the top six are awarded points, my score sheet in Southern Maryland had an 8th place(don't know why), two places down from getting any points . This was my first competition, I did not enter the piobaireachd.<br />I will have to play the tunes in competition form the day before the games. Tunes should be played a few times and address any issues. Besides Southern Maryland Games, I did not play my pipes the day before the games and it showed in the results.<br /><br />The phrasing in piobaireachd is very important, I sing the tune while playing rather than going on auto-pilot which results in lack of expression. The same applies to the 2/4 March, once the technical issues are addressed, expression will bring the tune out. What does expression means? The notes are held in full value, some all the way to the edge of the note value. The expression used by my teacher is,"if you think you are wrong in holding the note, you are probably right". Again, she is correct, holds and cuts are extreme without sacrificing the 16th notes(cut) so the next embellished notes, doublings, grace, throws etc. are on the beat. Tempo should be even throughout. The phrase endings and beginnings should be distinguished, like reading, a period ends the sentence with a pause and moves on to start another one.<br /><br />We have decided to continue "Prince Charles Welcome to Lochaber" for the 2/4 March. The "Siege of Delhi" still has technical issues and will not be ready till the end of the year or nextyear. For piobaireachd, a new tune, "The Marquis of Argyll's Salute". I like this tune a lot, lots of difficult embellishments but very inspiring. The "The Little Spree" will be my alternate tune from last year, although, I would not mind playing it again and see if it places higher than second place.<br /><br />The first competition for 2008 will be on the 26th of April at the <a href="http://www.cssm.org/">Southern Maryland Games</a>. This this will be quite exciting, many pipers competed last year. My band will be competing in the afternoon. Our new cat which was raised a kitten loves the practice chanter and the pipes. He still tries why the pc makes a sound and stays close when playing the pipes.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='404' height='336' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyg3g13daK4aNGn5ocp4lejiWJtTaZo9PHTg0pYpheTlnQst2Zhc51vdBIUS1nKU1RlDIIwNIB4n5fxmFtITA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-19042225210977909202008-01-20T18:52:00.010-05:002008-12-09T19:40:48.784-05:00Third competition in Richmond First Place 2/4 March<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvzFAtICXMhI_37kGcvzO-GQp5dfs4OlKQhRyYBZloljRFPMEvVdpWifP7yKZ1zLMHVUkhqq0Bv-XD2J9Et-lMTldsNQEUxKXPHWhrS4xspXQ1agX8pk-dJbGd-RhG3vREbQUjbGwS6JB/s1600-h/pipernwife_edited%5B0%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157722891859423042" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvzFAtICXMhI_37kGcvzO-GQp5dfs4OlKQhRyYBZloljRFPMEvVdpWifP7yKZ1zLMHVUkhqq0Bv-XD2J9Et-lMTldsNQEUxKXPHWhrS4xspXQ1agX8pk-dJbGd-RhG3vREbQUjbGwS6JB/s200/pipernwife_edited%5B0%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bdCg_jj-SW5RQyUMporXWTb2P1mF0uDrFMmIQQ1b2iXuA4j6TzadGSea9gJtEVGSlMRrEzdtO5C9as8ZKI0FKqSoeNK0jlbB-1aE4PC_l09UOC01Hjv7ZyjH0ZLshyphenhyphenxtBJJ3NdkuAKBL/s1600-h/richmondsupport1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157722728650665778" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0bdCg_jj-SW5RQyUMporXWTb2P1mF0uDrFMmIQQ1b2iXuA4j6TzadGSea9gJtEVGSlMRrEzdtO5C9as8ZKI0FKqSoeNK0jlbB-1aE4PC_l09UOC01Hjv7ZyjH0ZLshyphenhyphenxtBJJ3NdkuAKBL/s200/richmondsupport1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTozwR9ALpp71MIWcpN1n6AGxR56d2RBcFQTh1eq9SPbft44s5s8a7cBYdMiYBlkEsXRnpS2D4zkak5OfrlUZqKp1Hg-XscKVRMDYuBuhK_gU_Ge2HavSz6WsAM6ricypTi2vJt0n8_9U/s1600-h/richmondgold07%5B1%5D_edited.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157711235318181666" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTozwR9ALpp71MIWcpN1n6AGxR56d2RBcFQTh1eq9SPbft44s5s8a7cBYdMiYBlkEsXRnpS2D4zkak5OfrlUZqKp1Hg-XscKVRMDYuBuhK_gU_Ge2HavSz6WsAM6ricypTi2vJt0n8_9U/s200/richmondgold07%5B1%5D_edited.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />My third competition was in <a href="http://www.richmondceltic.com/site.asp"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Richmond Highland Games and Festival Richmond Virginia</span></a>. My wife's aunt was visiting from Oregon so we all met in Richmond at my sister-in-law's house. All the families came, there was a big chance of the rain continuing on Saturday. Pipers Hut rushed me my <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.misterantony.com/bandspec.html">Mr. Anthony Band Spec Cape</a> since the forecast was heavy rain. After Williamsburg, my decision to spend time on the 2/4 march was paying off, the missing 16th notes are now played in their full value and not rushed.<br /><br />Woke up late so we had to hurry, after registering, I had 15 minutes till my turn on the boards. I went to my band's tent to get the pipes ready and my Pipe Major who was also competing offered to help in tuning. I thanked him and off I went to warm up. I could have used his help in tuning but in the rush I decided to do it alone. Coming late is taking it's toll on my concentration, and since my pipes which needs a decent 30 minute warm up, will have to do in 10 minutes.<br /><br />Note to self, if one is not ready, do not accept an offer by the steward of stepping up when the competitor who is in front of you is not ready. My pipes did not settle at all when I played my <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">piobaireachd "The Little Spree"</span>. The rushing and pipes not ready destroyed any chance of getting a good expression on the tune. I clipped the long notes so my chances was nil.<br /><br />My number for the 2/4 march, third in line. I had 20 minutes to warm up. By now my pipes sounds solid, alas, number two was not ready, can I be ready to go(steward came, since I was the sucker the last time, seem to be the trend now, get that guy). Yep, I'm ready. After telling Chris Hamilton my tune, I turned and played Sou Gan to tune, it was in tune and immediately turned and off I went with <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">"Prince Charles Welcome to Lochaber"</span>. I felt very good after I finished playing.<br /><br />I took the kids for snacks, cold fish and chips and soda. Not the best meal but I was very hungry. I stopped by the Henderson Imports booth where Chris Apps was and bought a solo reed. Chatted with him awhile about having softer reeds and how it improved techniques and overall playing. As usual, he was a great source of info, I always leave with a better understanding of the reeds.<br /><br />I returned to the main booth to check my results, my P/M was there to check his results as well. I was surprised to find my <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">2/4 march awarded first place</span>. That felt good, it took a while to get the glitches out. My P/M won four medals, excellent. I went back to the tent and talked to my teacher and band members, as the rookie, it will be a while before before I compete with them. We had to leave for Williamsburg so I wished them luck and bid them farewell.<br /><br />Lesson learned, I will have to be diligent in giving myself time to get to the games early so I can get myself and the pipes settled. The tunes needs to be played the day before the competition. Pipes needs to be inspected night before every competition for any loose drone reeds, loose joints etc. The pipes have to settle to lock in and warming up prior to competing is essential.dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-35361619831033399512008-01-20T00:51:00.003-05:002008-12-09T19:40:49.121-05:00Second competition in Williamsburg Second Place Piobaireachd<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOd4Bnnk2a1FKJJZLaC7Q0I6NC88J2xwNVbMP0ycIDv2IHHHk7fafkbsKvK-udlsawLUJS9ndWDhAgyCxduX-ua4S-YEdNh_bnhgniXylwEkc_2LaTuSsdtKtRiQ6UsA9ElPJOYmw03jX/s1600-h/zanddadwill.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOd4Bnnk2a1FKJJZLaC7Q0I6NC88J2xwNVbMP0ycIDv2IHHHk7fafkbsKvK-udlsawLUJS9ndWDhAgyCxduX-ua4S-YEdNh_bnhgniXylwEkc_2LaTuSsdtKtRiQ6UsA9ElPJOYmw03jX/s200/zanddadwill.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157710359144853266" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-lztiHw-RkdhTe4ZiPhKw1RwqV2yYdB_BLJsU3iTdWvVi6czBvmK3PrF7i4C4kcaQRVkEBO1iWVaLALw0ZPnB-ksAKq-Js2pAQY9w4o9sTnDRAuWgSGUOeO818qGXCXDL3jWebixpkeg/s1600-h/silvermedpiob_edited.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-lztiHw-RkdhTe4ZiPhKw1RwqV2yYdB_BLJsU3iTdWvVi6czBvmK3PrF7i4C4kcaQRVkEBO1iWVaLALw0ZPnB-ksAKq-Js2pAQY9w4o9sTnDRAuWgSGUOeO818qGXCXDL3jWebixpkeg/s200/silvermedpiob_edited.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5157433011631714050" border="0" /></a><br />My second competition was in Williamsburg Va. on September 9, 2007. I came down Friday to my mother-in-law's house which was not very far from the event. My son accompanied me and was promised a good shopping spree at the games after the event.<br /><br />The weather the next day was perfect, slightly warm in the sun and cool in the shade. We arrived almost an hour early, checked in and went to find the tent for my first event, 2/4 march. I was having issues with rushing the 16th notes before the d-throws coming into the games. So my game plan was to play it safely and make each note standout. I talked briefly with one competitor who did not have his band mate to tune him, he did not asked so I did not volunteer. We chatted until I had to do my routine warm up, wished him luck and off I went. The result was disastrous, not only did it slow down the tempo, it killed my expression on the phrases. The judge wrote that it was too slow for his taste but it had potential. I felt as if I was playing in slow motion, I also had to adjust my march since I started to far to right of the judge.<br /><br />It was another 30 minutes before going to the <a href="http://www.davemckenzie.com/piobaireachd.htm">piobaireachd</a> tent. I played my pipes every 5 minutes and tuned constantly. When it was time, I made sure Sandy Jones knew that I was playing "The little Spree" this time, did not tell him my tune in Maryland. I thought my drones sounded perfect, but since I was given time to tune, I touched the middle tenor and it seemed like it was slightly off. Now the pressure is on, keep tuning or start since it was close to being tuned. Chose the latter and proceeded, I went through with my teacher about the long notes and holding the end notes. I also played Donald Macleod all week just to make sure. It seemed that the middle drone was slightly off and it bothered me for a second and just ignored it as I marched. I kept my blowing steady and played the tune very relaxed. After playing, thanked Sandy and off I went with my son to go shopping. The weapons tent with swords and daggers was a hit.<br /><br />After going around shopping, we went back to the main tent and check on my results, did not place in 2/4 march and piobaireachd was not finished, so off we went for the next spree. We came back to check on the piob result and since my 2/4 march was poorly executed, my goal is to get my piob paper and go to the movies after lunch. My son found the paper, and told me that I came in second place. Unbelievable, great comments from Sandy Jones, wrote on 3 and 4 that the note on the grips was held a little too long but overall it was played very well. I called my teacher and wife to announce the good news and off we went for lunch and the movie.<br />Lesson learned, play the tempo that was natural in practice and just go for it. Playing safe did not help the tune at all.dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-80273376618305515082007-11-26T18:13:00.007-05:002008-12-09T19:40:49.589-05:00First Competition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BQIBuo6hmc6mkG9FUuSrVf88eb0ArIr1idQbfENNKx7pcUeFFC-uatG745iwoMltF99wM3hV5JgbDDpdEWD7FagJI12cIiDqW5KegHiD6mz2mvy3euyQjHkI-_xMjXPGUd9XxVReSuPf/s1600-h/pipermarch072.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3BQIBuo6hmc6mkG9FUuSrVf88eb0ArIr1idQbfENNKx7pcUeFFC-uatG745iwoMltF99wM3hV5JgbDDpdEWD7FagJI12cIiDqW5KegHiD6mz2mvy3euyQjHkI-_xMjXPGUd9XxVReSuPf/s200/pipermarch072.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179245262122852386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-dO0EnYzRgU5fmDoNjMfKPrmISq8mc81bLKsWdYKaoEThfu1Ow73LvE3XJfnbOV8J35DIwMaKNh7QpE5vzboh406DAv3SmZEaf5yXi2Oa1qCV0wRPpRv_FTKEhyphenhyphen3pzLsKONl6exhSeg3/s1600-h/piperteacher.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-dO0EnYzRgU5fmDoNjMfKPrmISq8mc81bLKsWdYKaoEThfu1Ow73LvE3XJfnbOV8J35DIwMaKNh7QpE5vzboh406DAv3SmZEaf5yXi2Oa1qCV0wRPpRv_FTKEhyphenhyphen3pzLsKONl6exhSeg3/s200/piperteacher.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137313951674844306" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJ6fFFm8D2G8dc80Jae8P06C4D6BIBD1FiBpMJM7zp6TuCYB_H6gguC1nBl-0N_0tl4kHjwfLbcXCa9aTJqdy9k6qttTk9vv3Yfze3m1HnqwvyUnai5qwUJIdvvDhKb5pqiiac_FWaPBZ/s1600-h/piperteam.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOJ6fFFm8D2G8dc80Jae8P06C4D6BIBD1FiBpMJM7zp6TuCYB_H6gguC1nBl-0N_0tl4kHjwfLbcXCa9aTJqdy9k6qttTk9vv3Yfze3m1HnqwvyUnai5qwUJIdvvDhKb5pqiiac_FWaPBZ/s200/piperteam.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5137313346084455538" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> My first competition was in the <a href="http://www.cssm.org/festival/">Celtic Festival of Southern Maryland on April 28, 2007</a>. After 13 months of weekly lessons and endless hours of daily practice, my teacher decided that I should start competing. Much of the practice and lessons were spent on preparing for the competition. Due to my lack of planning, I only registered in the 2/4 March and not in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Piobaireachd</span>. We fine tuned the tuned, “Prince Charles Welcome to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Lochaber</span>”, with some glitches in the hold and cut, especially the sixteenth notes after the dotted note not existing. I was playing the notes inconsistently, but the rest was in competition form.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> I arrived with my kids about thirty minutes before 9am, Marsha Bell my teacher met me as I arrived, a little worried about my time management. She was there since the band was competing and to help me tune. We immediately went to find a spot at the middle of the field among over a many pipers to warm up. I played "Sou Gan" to get my chanter and drones to settle. Played off and on for thirty minutes until the steward motioned me to come over since the piper before me had just finished. Now, the correct way to approach the judge is to wait some distance from the tent and walk towards it when he acknowledges you. Since I was ready to go, I immediately passed the tent and struck-in, looked at the steward since the judge was still writing(<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">big hint</span>), then preceded to play my tune. I managed to correct some of my missing notes after I caught one piper emphasizing the beats on her steps.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> After playing, I thanked the judge, Sandy Jones, and with a load off my shoulder, approached my family, friends and my teacher. Everyone was happy with my playing, I was glad of not tripping and falling on my face, I survived my first competition. Marsha though it was a decent performance with some improved areas in the tune.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> I went with my family to go see the rest of the festival and say hi to the band as well. I came back to see my sheet, it had an<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);">8</span></span><sup style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">th</span></sup><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 51);"> place</span> </span>on it with good remarks except, in bold letters, <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">“You must always tell the judge the tune you are playing”</span>, some minor glitch on the third and forth line. Only the top six are rated, my eight came in a surprise. Overall, it was a decent score sheet with 8's out of 10 for the first time competing. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> So the fun begins, competition brings everything in perspective after all the hard work with lessons and practices. My next competition will be in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Williamsburg</span> since the rest fell on my work days. I had to leave early before my band's competition. They came in third place overall. Well done!<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwrxZ7Mh9vV1SUdoMxtACKuohUTT0q_HPljO7mpe4pn6zTcbL8vX9eOauUFCVZdJurn5CzM8aLSP7LI5xN6ow' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172923436069349553.post-52820530088684714262007-05-21T23:17:00.015-04:002008-12-09T19:40:50.441-05:00How it started<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ikG0vVVe7RFe22ae4CEgH0vz_6y5E4_1ljoQLEfqPepUeZe4zWL9ZtRuoX_2o81dC-22oCSCo4atV3q2HJhgbYhKXQd8VBwlp_rYnBqyKW92HpWvgMfoF4sUKbhbnL1QzU_8d4XIt6B-/s1600-h/Kilt1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ikG0vVVe7RFe22ae4CEgH0vz_6y5E4_1ljoQLEfqPepUeZe4zWL9ZtRuoX_2o81dC-22oCSCo4atV3q2HJhgbYhKXQd8VBwlp_rYnBqyKW92HpWvgMfoF4sUKbhbnL1QzU_8d4XIt6B-/s200/Kilt1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179470125135634498" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqXCDi3Le-CqbN3koMn-tFv6pgNK-YrdQby7H1CEdRYF7R6FVNx9REoK-5yeh4vNU7G5M89kDFOJXgYFL0ly-5eeYzk5uBXHJ54NHIT98XueY5emuZq7luPnJTASw2qwrG0xbhsGGbqmo/s1600-h/DSC00677.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyqXCDi3Le-CqbN3koMn-tFv6pgNK-YrdQby7H1CEdRYF7R6FVNx9REoK-5yeh4vNU7G5M89kDFOJXgYFL0ly-5eeYzk5uBXHJ54NHIT98XueY5emuZq7luPnJTASw2qwrG0xbhsGGbqmo/s200/DSC00677.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179262390452428850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZe5YUGL_bXsvBjEGzmLb7Cl6e18dpVapJvXp571JWqfodPVX0bV51IwsMY4aR7gm0THkV3Q5HNF1eqUi1QEHidpNyopbnIAY839jczRnMj6gFUxzR6RbvegyIefm5fJBWTs1a1061zz2d/s1600-h/Goose052.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZe5YUGL_bXsvBjEGzmLb7Cl6e18dpVapJvXp571JWqfodPVX0bV51IwsMY4aR7gm0THkV3Q5HNF1eqUi1QEHidpNyopbnIAY839jczRnMj6gFUxzR6RbvegyIefm5fJBWTs1a1061zz2d/s200/Goose052.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170598118033012418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92vvcjmKnTgTSB2n17ZcjRBVUrktWURhAD7Fw4mrlz15F76Wm3FWNtBMV-ehJN2RdTmC9bb3At-KicjafJ6JIYVDi7CgBUYEenm5xJn1QDFuZLq1C9e6qp8cFme0wwkouXDzeYzxLiPlA/s1600-h/merrypiper.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj92vvcjmKnTgTSB2n17ZcjRBVUrktWURhAD7Fw4mrlz15F76Wm3FWNtBMV-ehJN2RdTmC9bb3At-KicjafJ6JIYVDi7CgBUYEenm5xJn1QDFuZLq1C9e6qp8cFme0wwkouXDzeYzxLiPlA/s200/merrypiper.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170598122327979730" border="0" /></a><br />My bagpipe journey from obscurity to mediocrity. I started my search in September of 2005, after watching my brother play the Irish uilleann pipes in the summer. For an unknown reason, during my search, a practice chanter caught my eye and decided to purchase a <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" href="http://hotpipes.com/practice.html">J. Dunbar Millenium 2000 Extra Long practice chanter and John Cairns Tutorials Volume 1-3 with CD</a>. After three months of self study, I was ready for the big time, the GHB, or Great Highland Bagpipe.<br /><br />After extensive research, I came up with the Dunbar P2 brass ferules poly (delrin plastic) as my first set of pipes. Why "poly"? Simple, low maintenance as compared to African blackwood and is not affected by rapid changes in heat and cold. Musical accuracy is the same as wood and bored to the same dimensions. I went and drove an hour to get my pipe the first week of December of 2005. I got it assembled, filled the bag, and tried to make the chanter play. Suddenly, I'm out of air, mostly important air that sustains life, self preservation has taken over and the search for a chair or something soft to cushion the fall was more important than sounding one or two notes from the chanter. Thus, the journey has began.<br /><br />After a phone call from the seller on where I should start my lesson, he referred me to his student who has been playing for 15 years. I immediately e-mailed her and received a phone call the next day. With a little trepidation, I accepted the offer to start the next day, I said, "maybe three lessons instead of the four times a month", she said, that was acceptable, but, four times would be better.<br /><br />My first lesson was an eye opener. The self teaching was excellent, to my ear, I actually learned some horrible techniques which has to be undone. The bright side, I can blow the chanter, better than the person who has not experienced the higher pressure to sound the practice chanter. I brought a micro recorder from the checklist. Now, learning to blow steady, keep time and breathing is a tall order. I would prefer just breathing, but, my new teacher was firm in doing this three things, and not the order I preferred. Although it is intimidating to be placed in a position where I thought my knowledge was sufficient. There is a great respect for a teacher who prefers perfection rather than accepting a minimum of effort. Reminds me of my drill sergeant in the Air Force, his way or his way. One learns later that there is a method to his madness, and I salute him for his guidance and giving me the discipline needed to be in the military. After taking home the assignment notebook and ordering the new book for the lessons to come, I accepted the challenge and was very excited to have finally something to help me move forward in this new endeavor.<br /><br />The next lessons were fun, challenging and aggravating. Proper finger movements and understanding musical theory or both sometimes did not register. This was going to be a very long journey. I decided to sit back and enjoy the slow ride, short term and long term goals written down to help inspire and guide. Some techniques were learned easily and some took time, lots of it, sometimes in frustration, we had to learn something else and postpone the agony till another day. I have learned that playing slowly will make you faster later. Really!!!???? I like the phrase, “ Speed Kills”, I am reminded often, after all, none are really impressed except me, well, our cat was, he was just as fast running away from the nonsense coming out of the practice chanter.<br /><br />Here is the tricky part, I have this bagpipe that I can't play, nor I'm allowed to play. What should one do? I know, cork the chanter stock and play the drones, tune the inside tenor to the outside and base to the outside tenor. Do this over and over till they all sound decent and you got yourself half a bagpipe. When your friends comes over, strike-in, get rid of the wawa sound, keep a steady sound, and draw some ohs and ahs. Looking at <a style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);" href="http://www.piping.on.ca/browseproducts.asp?catID=124">Jim McGillivray's "Pipes Up" and Pipes Ready"</a> for hours everyday for weeks really helped on how the pipes worked, Now, since I'm not allowed to play the chanter, how about corking the drones and play the chanter. It is very important to not have anyone close to hear the awful sound, the purpose here is not to challenge the high authority(teacher), but to start getting used to blow-squeeze-blow technique, right, I just could not wait to play the chanter. Even though the reed is soft, it is not easy to blow at all, but I made some sounds, it scared the cat, it does work. Now a chair or a bed close by is always a necessity, remember the lack of oxygen in the brain.<br /><br />So, after one month, I came home with a goose. It has a practice chanter, blowpipe and a synthetic bag. This is where the blow-squeeze-blow technique is learned. It is also sensitive to pressure, over or under blowing will change the pitch. Now, after learning the first tune, it was such a joy to play it in the <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);" href="http://www.kinnairdbagpipes.com/Bagpipe-Maintenance-46755/Practice-Goose.html">"goose"</a>. Since the pipers memorize the tunes, the "goosers", namely me, will have to do the same. I memorized two tunes and was able to play it in the goose. After my forth tune and three months taking the lessons, it was taken away and finally my pipes was place in service with no drones, just the chanter.<br /><br />After three months, we started with the outside drone only but moved on to two and all three within a month. It was a challenge to play the pipes for thirty minutes during the lesson. One does not show the teacher weakness(grasshopper). I built and used the manometer from <a href="http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/manometer.shtml">Andrew Lenz's</a> site every day. If I could no longer blow with three drones, a cork goes in to the next, untill the chanter stock is corked and the lips could no longer seal. I also played just the drones and keep the level to within two inches and then work my way to one inch.<br /><br />The best time to fiddle with the bagpipes is at night when no one is around. I took everything apart, rehemped, went to the internet and got a lot of info on adjusting the drone reeds. I also attended a workshop and learned chanter and drone reed manipulation. Here is <a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);" href="http://www.bagpipesbywinter.com/pdf/tips_reedclinic.pdf">Ken Eller's</a> chanter reed information. It took a while to balance the reeds and learned a lot on the way.dunguncreekpiperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11872910736180901804noreply@blogger.com5