Bagpipe Comix: PIPRZ

Posted on | February 5, 2013 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments

Junk Bagpipes—Now that’s a Pipehacker!

Posted on | January 30, 2013 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments

Junk pipe indeed! It appears that the intrepid pipehacker who constructed these pvc and duct tape bagpipes knows Ohio piper Andrew Bova, who gives them a spin in the video below. Full instructions, if you dare, are up on Instructables.com. I imagine, far in the future, after the apocalypse, among the ashes of civilization, that someone will be inspired to relive the glory of human musical experience and construct a set of bagpipes just like these. Plus, the set made the big time appearing both on Neatorama and BoingBoing.

Pipehacker Now Optimized for Mobile Devices!

Posted on | January 29, 2013 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments

Reference all the bagpipe goodness Pipehacker offers wherever you may be. The site is now optimized for viewing on mobile phones and devices. This is something I’ve been wanted to tinker with this for a while. Technology has finally caught up and made it a whole lot easier. Enjoy!

HP Lovecraft on Bagpipes, Make of It What You Will

Posted on | January 28, 2013 | by Vince Janoski | 1 Comment

I have often caught myself in similar mannerisms when trying to explain bagpipes to uneducated. That drone, that endless drone…

Small Tunes Podcast: “Hodin Hiotra,” One of the Cragich, from the Campbell Canntaireachd

Posted on | January 25, 2013 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments

On this episode I present an unpublished piobaireachd interpreted directly from the Nether Lorn Canntaireachd, or Campbell Canntaireachd as it is known.

The two volumes of the Campbell Canntaireachd have been an inexhaustible resource for students of piobaireachd for nearly two hundred years. The original manuscripts still exist at the Royal Library in Edinburgh and the Piobaireachd Society has full scanned pages of both volumes at their website.

The interpretation of this tune, “Hodin Hiotra” is taken directly from the written canntaireachd. The tune is one that has never been published—until now. Exploring the canntaireachd has been quite a journey and I would recommend the task to anyone interested in piobaireachd. You can’t fully appreciate what we have today until you can appreciate what has come before. Certainly other interpretations of “Hodin Hiotra” are possible and hopefully others will be encouraged to explore this and the many other tunes that offer themselves in the Campbell manuscripts. Interested readers can feel free to post comments with your thoughts. Download the score and listen to the podcast for more background and history along with a rendition of the tune on the bagpipe. I daresay human ears have not heard it played on the bagpipe in more than 100 years.

“Hodin Hiotra”

Small Tunes: Vintage Melodies from the Bagpipe Tradition 010 Hodin Hiotra [ 11:34 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (428)

View and browse all the tunes in the Small Tunes series.

Small Tunes Online Tunebook

Posted on | January 21, 2013 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments

The “Small Tunes” series on this blog has been a feature for some time. From it’s earliest incarnation as set downloadable bagpipe scores to a podcast with some history and a performance of the tune on the Highland bagpipe, a goodly collection has arisen—and with more still to come. You can access all the posts in the Small Tunes series in a conveniently categorized tunebook format on the page here. Enjoy.

Adopt Your Piping Power Pose!

Posted on | January 17, 2013 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments

Body language can shape who you are. What kind of piper do you want to be? It might just start with how you stand and how you present yourself to your audience.

When we walk up to the judge, are you comparing your past performances as an indicator of how you will do now? Chances are, you are thinking of that last performance where you broke down, made a blunder or went off the tune. Does that make you feel afraid it might happen again? Of course it does. Your heart rate increases and the adrenaline starts pumping. You start up and it is all downhill from there.

A piper who is fumbling with their instrument with their hands sliding all over the place making weird chanter noises does not project authority or confidence. In fact, I would expect a judge to be predicting at that moment how long it will be until you break down during the performance.

What if you were told that by simply standing differently you would be able to overcome this fear and reduce the stress reaction that will get in the way of an optimal performance?

Our body can affect our brain and influence our mental state, our hormone levels, and our behavior. We don’t just think with our minds, we also think with our bodies. We’ve all heard the term “body language.” It is a valid means of expression and we read it in others all the time. Our body language projects real intention that is interpreted by others. We’ve all judged others based on the way they look, sit, move, etc. Music is also a means of expression and made as much by our heads as it is by our bodies. Our mind may influence our body but our body also affects our mind. There is  much to suggest that  our body language may have a large effect on our music making. Read more

No More Frozen Pipes: Good Bagpiping Warms It Up 2013

Posted on | January 4, 2013 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments

No more do pipers hibernate like bears in the winter months of the eastern USA. As winter wanes and spring waxes anew, there are a slew of opportunities to warm the ears with great live bagpiping, warm the fingers and start off your 2013 competition season, or warm your brain with workshops and lessons. Here is a cool sampling of events that should attract pipers at any level, enthusiast spectators, competitors, or learners.

Read more