Piper’s Hand Hack
Posted on | August 25, 2010 | 2 Comments
What would you do if, after say, 20 minutes of playing pipes, your hands went completely numb? What would you do about it? There are many, many remedies for carpal tunnel syndrome out there, but none are permanent save surgery. Call it the disease of the high-tech era, but it is a bagpiper’s curse.
I have been plagued with carpal tunnel syndrome in the form of constant and nagging numbness in both hands for quite some time. It finally became unbearable and so I opted for carpal tunnel release surgery in my left hand.
Decades of computer use coupled with as many years on bagpipes (what a drag it is gettin’ old) resulted, apparently, in inflammation of the median nerve or tissue build up in what is known as the “carpal tunnel” in the wrist. The nerve compresses in the piper’s typical stance, giving me eventual “pins and needles” within shorter and shorter timeframes. My fingers would only move from sheer will, feeling nothing, and hitting the chanter holes on blind luck. It had gotten so bad that my playing times have been cut frustratingly short, never mind making it through a full piobaireachd.…
This past June I went in and had my transverse carpal ligament cut in two. The results so far are dramatic–no numbness has returned at all–but if you’re suffering from advanced carpal tunnel syndrome and opt to have it corrected through surgery, consider a few things.…
- Plan the surgery timing accordingly. You will be out of playing commission for a good month before piping can even be a thought. Even after a month, it will take a good few weeks more before your hand is cooperating enough to play. I am two months out and the hand is still sore and crampy.
- Follow the physical therapy regimen prescribed by your surgeon. It helps. If PT is not prescribed, ask for it. Dutifully perform the prescribed exercises at home.
- Prepare to be frustrated with your playing at first when working back into your bagpipe. Consider your piping like PT, take it slow at first and gradually build up to a stiffer workout.
In the end, I was surprised how little effect the surgery had on overall finger dexterity and mobility. The lingering soreness is really in the hand muscles. I haven’t had any numbness in the hand since and it is awesome to be playing crunluaths once more. My top hand fingers are again obeying my commands for full playing sessions. Here is a video of the surgery, in case you were wondering.
Tune: “Mary, Young and Fair”
Posted on | August 19, 2010 | No Comments
There are a host of lovely melodies drifting around in the clouds of the past that come in and out of fashion. One such gem is “Mairi Bhan Og” (“Mary, Young and Fair”), one of those tunes that is part of the Scots tradition probably dating back to before one of its likely first print appearances in Capt. Simon Fraser’s 1815 collection “The Airs and Melodies Peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland and the Isles,” a collection of tunes for fiddle, piano, and harp. The tune is standard fare among Celtic harpers and fiddle players, as well as fashionable among pipers of previous decades. It is typically played as an air with a plaintive, somber quality but takes on a bit more buoyancy and color when set as a pipe march. Enjoy.
Inspiration
Posted on | August 10, 2010 | No Comments
Do you ever stop and think about what inspires you as a player and musician? I don’t know many active pipers and drummers who are not inspired in some way after watching high-level performances. The desire to expose ourselves more to that which inspires us would then mean more concerts, more attendance at premier events, and more involvement. But is this the case?
Many a bagpiper and drummer seem content with a routine of regular rehearsal (solo or band) with travel on the weekends to summer games. (And we encourage more of that!) But part of developing as a player is not just indulging in your routine. It is also participating in what the greater community has to offer. It means attending the concerts, recitals, workshops, and high-level solo competitions that may not be a “necessary” part of your active routine, but may very well be essential to your overall development as a performer, as well as essential to your personal connection with the music. Yes, everyone is busy, busy, busy. But is it too much of a strain on anyone’s schedule to attend at least two (local or regional) events during the course of the year that are not a normal part of your competitive activities? This being the week of Piping Live! in Glasgow leading to the ultimate pipe band experience at the Worlds, I’m sure there will be plenty of inspiration to go around—but that is only one, large series of events in one location of the world. Traveling to a local concert or games/contest (big or small) as a spectator to simply take in the performances and the craic brings subtle rewards, and the inspiration and excitement you feel can influence your music in a profound way.
Pipehacker Tip: Air-flow Triage
Posted on | August 9, 2010 | No Comments
Bag problems can be a particularly pesky problem to pipers. If you’ve ever had a troublesome bag, you know. It seems synthetic bags are no better when it comes to the occasional leak or hole. Whether you’re new to bagpiping or have years of experience under your belt, diagnosing hard-to-find leakage in your instrument is a perennial ritual you’ve likely gotten frustrated about, or broken things over more times than you care to count.
I won’t go into detail about all of the techniques (silly and otherwise) pipers have used to find leaks. We’re done with that. Most of them are not fail-proof. Plus, all you end up with is a wasted afternoon or soaked bagpipes.
Here is what you do from now on: Run to the supermarket and grab yourself some kiddie foam soap in a pump container. The stuff is not liquid but puffy, shaving cream-like foam–sans water. Pump blobs of the foam over possible trouble spots and fill your bag. Escaping air from even the smallest, pinhole of a leak will generate big soap bubbles through the foam to let you know.
Once your done, just wipe away the foam. No saturated, slimy mess to deal with, no soaking your bag. All that’s left behind is a clean set of pipes and a whiff of your soapy scent of choice.
The Music Is Yours
Posted on | July 28, 2010 | No Comments
Flaming drones courtesy of Fyregear.com.
We can all admit it. The highland bagpipe has a less-then-lofty image among the listening public as compared to other instruments. While it may be true that many in the U.S. are too used to hearing bagpipes played poorly, is still doesn’t change the basic truth that, as pipers, we are also musicians.
What if the non-piping public is not entirely at fault for their impressions and we have ourselves to blame? Then the solution lies with us. Maybe we owe it to the public to present the full richness and vibrancy that we know exists in our music? It is easy to fall back on the competitive music that normally demands so much of our time. But maybe, as musicians, we owe it to ourselves to develop a broader view. Ask yourself: “Do I have a set of non-competitive, non-band material that I can perform for 8 to 10 minutes at a stretch? Do I have a list of favorite marches, reels, jigs, etc.? Do I play them?” If your answer is “no” to any of these, then it is time you begin the process of constructing personal tune sets within your playing ability that you can rattle off on demand.
Your personal music list provides you with an expression of personal taste and style in a way that playing competitive material (band or solo) does not. Building a personal repertoire of favorite tunes and sets is also both educational and rewarding. Not only will your understanding of the various types of tunes improve as a result, but so will your sight reading skills and your overall artistry on the instrument. So, how do you get there? If all you’ve got are competitive MSRs, how do you go about building a personal repertoire of music?
Think Small
Small reels, strathspeys, two-parted quick marches and jigs, they are the true core of the piper’s repertoire. And there is a gazillion of them, and some really exciting stuff too. The potential combinations of tune sets are endless, and spending time learning these types of tunes and constructing new sets is a creative exercise that will make you a better musician. And let’s face it, these tunes are easy and more fun to play!
Expand Your Library
Build a strong personal library of music collections. Get in the habit of acquiring tune books—new and old. The expense is worth it. If you buy books over time, before you know it, you will be surprised at the breadth of material that is suddenly at your fingertips. In the days before the competition boards took control of our repertoire, pipers of old played and composed small tunes to play for entertainment. These tunes found their place in the old collections such as William Ross and Glen. The tunes in these collections are the heart of our reperoire.
Study
Spend time with your books. Once you’ve amassed your library and are “thinking small,” spend study time with your collections armed with a practice chanter and a pad of sticky notes. Work through humming, singing, or playing the first few phrases of random tunes. A tune will probably “click” with you in the first few bars. If something does click, work through the whole piece and decide if it is a “keeper” or move on to another. By the end of your study session, your book or books should be flapping with dangling sticky note flags. Spend enough time doing this, and any difficulties you have with sight reading music will vanish. As your skills build, you will be able to digest and rattle off the basic melody of any tune when seeing the music for the first time. Not only that, you will become more familiar with the phrase patterns and rhythyms found in various types of tunes.
Listen
As you flag tunes, listen for similarities in the melody lines or rythym patterns. Pay attention to similarities or compatibilities in major key notes and pulses. Mark some of these tunes for possible combination and experimentation in a future set. Listen to your personal CD or tape library—traditional celtic music, straight bagpiping—and notice the tune types these bands are putting together. Do you hear a string of reels? Jigs into reels? Ask yourself: Why do these tunes sound so good together? What is exciting about them? Melody, rhythm, key? The answers will condition you to think along the same lines so that you will instinctively combine compatible tunes.
Experiment
Once you have a handful of small tunes, start playing them together in different sequences on the pipe. Experiment with different phrasings and expressions. Stick with them and work through any difficult fingering. Eventually, you will give up on tunes that are not working and adopt others that suit your personal style. Keep at it. Make the tunes your own.
Bagpipe music has a lot of character. One can spend a lifetime immersed in it and still find something new and interesting. There is a wealth of music out there to enhance your personal enjoyment of the Highland bagpipe, and your enjoyment can only make your public performances that much better for the audience. The more exposure people have to the richness of our music the more the image of the bagpipe and bagpipe players in general will benefit. The music is yours, make it so.
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Recently Written
- Piper’s Hand Hack
- Tune: “Mary, Young and Fair”
- Inspiration
- Pipehacker Tip: Air-flow Triage
- The Music Is Yours
