It's spring approaching summer here in the eastern US. And you know what that means? That means the Highland games and bagpipe competition circuit has begun in earnest. Many pipers…
There are those who would claim Highland piping is difficult. It may be, but perfecting a crunluath a-mach is nothing compared to the art of perfecting your own self-critiquing skills.…
I seem to be drawn to little strathspeys lately. And why not? The strathspey is a uniquely Scottish idiom and who better to underscore that than the most uniquely Scottish…
Most people who are not exposed to matters of Highland bagpiping have an image of bagpipers that includes a dandily dressed man in a skirt, making sounds akin to a…
On this episode, I bring you the perky little tune "Thump the Bitches." Oh my. This tune comes down to us from the eighteenth-century English pastoral pipe tradition. The English…
Posted on | May 16, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
It’s spring approaching summer here in the eastern US. And you know what that means? That means the Highland games and bagpipe competition circuit has begun in earnest. Many pipers are eagerly pressing their kilts, spending hours of practice time, and preparing their instruments for…well, another year of the same merry-go-round of MSRs, piobaireachds, and pipe band medleys. And on it goes.
If you’ve been in this bagpipe competition game for any length of time, you can’t help but confront the absolute toil of it all. Sure, there is growth opportunity, the chance to “strut your stuff” before a judge. But then what? The sheer monotony of bagpipe competition here in the US can wear you down after a while. Bill Livingstone once likened competition to a “millstone,” and he’s right. Lots of great, interesting stuff goes in, only to be crushed into a homogeneous powder. Read more
Posted on | May 16, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
Posted on | May 15, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | 1 Comment
Wednesday at Noon (EST) is the time to tune in to the Dojo Universe show! Click the image to watch Wednesday’s live show or click here to listen to past webcasts. Here’s what’s on the docket:
Music From:
James Murray – MSR 1999 Northern Meeting
Gordon Duncan – Thunderstruck
Are bagpipe competitions dead?
No audience, No room for creativity, no goals, high cost — jeez, what’s next?
News Flash: Knowledgable Members Banned from the Dunsire Forums
{snip} “Posts or Replies in any forum (with exception to the Industry News and Your Announcements forums) by any vendor, maker, distributor or individual, etc. for the sake of self promotion of any product or service will be strictly forbidden. This also includes posts made by others in an effort to make it appear to be impartial.” So,…what you’re saying is… the forums want LESS educated conversation? Wow. Vin and Andrew will discuss.
Plus, Our new “Stodgy Quote of the Week”; Product Review: Blowing steady with a Dojo-manometer; Dojo U updates and more!
Posted on | May 10, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | 1 Comment
The new promotional video for the World Pipe Band Championships, otherwise know affectionately as “the Worlds,” has been making the rounds. It’s sweet, and elevates the event with a treatment that I know gets me excited. How about you?
Posted on | May 9, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
Posted on | May 2, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | 1 Comment
There are those who would claim Highland piping is difficult. It may be, but perfecting a crunluath a-mach is nothing compared to the art of perfecting your own self-critiquing skills. It is the hardest thing of all to become your own judge and lend an objective ear to your own playing. After running through your repertoire a number of times, it may well be impossible to get a sense of how well, or how poorly, you are doing. Time to put yourself in the judge’s seat and subject yourself to…yourself.
Ultimately, you are your own best piping judge. Our personal goals and sense of progress is what keeps us moving, not necessarily wins, or lack thereof, on games day. One trick to train yourself in the art of self-judging involves simply recording your playing and giving a listen as a member of an audience—as if you were at a major solo piping contest watching from the crowd.
This is not as silly as it sounds. Read more
Posted on | May 2, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
Posted on | April 27, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
I seem to be drawn to little strathspeys lately. And why not? The strathspey is a uniquely Scottish idiom and who better to underscore that than the most uniquely Scottish poet and bard Robert Burns. The line of the title “My Lady’s Gown There’s Gairs Upon It” is sometimes used as the title of a Burns poem and song from 1787 that also goes by the name “My Lord A-Hunting” or simply “My Lady’s Gown.” (See the full lyrics below.) “Gairs” or “gores” are triangular pieces of cloth that would have been used to create a pattern in a ladies dress. The song lyrics describe the dress and suggest, in typical Burns fashion, that there’s more than meets the eye. You can view and download the score below. Listen to the podcast for more background and a rendition of the tune of the bagpipe. Click here to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes.
“My Lady’s Gown”
by Robert Burns
Chorus
My lady’s gown, there’s gairs upon’t,
And gowden flowers sae rare upon’t;
But Jenny’s jimps and jirkinet,
My lord thinks meikle mair upon’t!
My lord a-hunting he is gane,
But hounds or hawks wi’ him are nane;
By Colin’s cottage lies his game,
If Colin’s Jenny be at hame.
My lady’s white, my lady’s red,
And kith and kin o’ Cassillis’ blude;
But her ten-pund lands o’ tocher guid
Were a’ the charms his lordship lo’ed.
Out o’er yon muir, out o’er yon moss,
Whare gor-cocks thro’ the heather pass,
There wons auld Colin’s bonie lass,
A lily in the wilderness.
Sae sweetly move her genty limbs,
Like music notes o’ lovers’ hymns!
The diamond-dew in her een sae blue,
Where laughing love sae wanton swims!
My lady’s dink, my lady’s drest,
The flower and fancy o’ the west;
But the lassie that a man lo’es best,
O, that’s the lass to mak him blest!
“My Lady’s Gown There’s Gairs Upon It.”
Small Tunes: Vintage Melodies from the Bagpipe Tradition 008 My Lady's Gown There's Gairs Upon It [ 3:43 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (281)keep looking »
The Secrets of Solo Bagpipe Competition
On the February 3, 2011 installment of Bagpipe Nation, we covered a lot of ground talking about the game of solo bagpipe competition. And solo bagpipe competition is a game. Like any game, once you know the rules you can play. Keep reading…
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The bagpiping world seems to be divided up into two groups: 1) The denizens of bagpipe internet forums who are sure manometers, i.e., tubes filled with water, will make them better pipers and talk as if manometers and pressure gauges are as commonplace in your piping gear as hemp and black tape; and 2) everyone [...] more »
