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 | April 24, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
Posted on | April 23, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
It’s a sign of the passage of time when the great ones embark on their journey to Tir nan Og. Donald MacPherson had his heyday long before the internet, so most of us must be content with the experience of seeing him in recital, or hearing the tunes on “A Living Legend.” Even in his later years the man was masterful. He recorded the aforementioned CD when he was in his 80s. Luckily a few videos have made it up to YouTube. They are obviously converted VHS cassettes and the quality is not the greatest, but you can get the sense of the man’s music, even at this point in 1990 when he would have been just about 70.
Posted on | April 18, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
Those of you who listened in on last year’s Bagpipe Nation podcast (still available by the way; click the “Podcast” category at right) can now satisfy for your yen over at Dojo University with the new podcast “Dojo Universe.” Cohosts Andrew Douglas, Carl Donley and yours truly will be webcasting live at 12:00 noon every Wednesday. Cool Adobe web meeting software allows video broadcast and live participation by the audience. Tune in today and get the lowdown on current piping events, quick tips, product reviews and more.
Posted on | April 16, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
Posted on | April 13, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
When you first look at their album cover for Origins, Treacherous Orchestra appears as if it is just the latest thrash metal group or DJ-dance-hall-fusion-electronica band. Never would you suspect an ensemble that pays a great deal of homage to their Celtic traditional roots and puts forth a sound that is like a Scottish country dance band with a bit too much Talisker in their tea. Or maybe too many peyote mushrooms… Anyway, despite their array of traditional instruments, there is nothing standard or typical in the elaborate arrangements by this group. Thick, layered grooves and deeply rooted Celtic rhythms and instrumentation fused with the aforementioned rock and dance club stylings mix in dramatic fashion. Each track is a jazzy ride of sound that leaves you forgetting you’re listening to, if we have to define them, a Celtic-rock group. Nothing is forced or overrendered, though. Many of these types of fusion groups are unholy combinations of hard rockers and traditionalists who just try too hard. But Treacherous Orchestra is nothing of the sort. Their music is polished and thrilling, and never do they lose the joyful drive that is at the core of traditional Celtic music. Anyone who has seen rising young musicians Ali Hutton and Ross Ainslie kicking it at Piping Live! knows what lies in store. These guys have been a fixture on the Scottish session scene for some time and on this album, as always, they take tired traditional licks and infuse them with new energy. These pipers and joined by an ample troupe of ten other musicians to create a deeply original and exciting sound. Whether it is multi-dimensional tones in the operatic thirteen-minute “Sausage” where the changes are seamless, or capturing a mood that is both frenetic and cheeky as in “Superfly,” where the repeating riffs seem neither redundant nor tired, or the more sombre and traditional “Sea of Clouds,” Treacherous Orchestra gives you a lot to hold on to and leaves you wanting more at the end of each track. Their grooves move forward with a hint of the rock bands of the past, always threatening to careen out of control but always returning you safely at the end. (Dare I say there are touches of Jethro Tull in “March of the Troutmen?”). Anyhoo, twenty bucks not spent on their CD is wasted money, I say. Hit their website and hope they give a concert near you.
Posted on | April 11, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | 4 Comments
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 tortured goat. Yes, there are a few who claim that the bagpipes will bring a tear to their eye, but it is likely a tear for the cat that is being strangled…oh, wait, that’s the piper making those sounds.…You get the idea.
Thankfully, those of us who actually, actively play Highland bagpipes and delve into the music and the instrument know what is good and what is bad. Or do we?
You would never know that actual pipers perceive themselves and their comrades any differently than the uneducated public when giving their thoughts about what they hear. All you have to do is read any “review” of piping performance from random experts or listen to folks in a beer tent after a competition. You would think that the average educated listener has no higher an opinion of a performance than does the person who thinks bagpipe music is torture on the ears.
It is the nature of piping competition, I suppose, to form critical thoughts when listening to other pipers. Let’s face it, modern bagpipe competition in North America is a reductive process that is set up to punish flaws rather than reward excellence. We, as active modern pipers, have been conditioned in this from the very beginning. We’re trained to find fault in everything we hear—from ourselves and others.
Why is this?
Posted on | April 2, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
Posted on | March 27, 2012 | by Vince Janoski | No Comments
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Chanter Reed Selection—The Match-Up
The ideal bagpipe sound starts with selecting the ideal chanter reed. Obvious? It is not always as easy as it seems. 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 »
