Things have been quiet around Pipehacker lately. Piping, family…busy busy. (More new content coming doon the road.) What is not quiet is the buzz and hubbub in Glasgow this week leading up to Saturday and Sunday’s World Pipe Band Championships. I am missing being in Scotland terribly (sniff), but I have enjoyed living vicariously through friends on Facebook. I do know where I will be tomorrow and Sunday morning, though! Here are the live links you need to watch the live video stream from Glasgow Green. The live stream has been a godsend for pipers and drummers not able to make the trip in person. Many a group will be having early morning viewing parties here in the USA. Good luck to all pipe bands. US representation is not as deep this year as in the past, but best of luck particularly to LA Scots, NY Metro, Ulster Scottish, Saffron United, and Catamount!
Saturday live stream of pipe bands from the World Pipe Band Championships. It’s still not clear yet how this is going to work or which band circles will be covered. The two heats of the Grade 1 qualifiers are simultaneous after all. I’m hoping for a smattering of grades throughout the day.
Moisture to the bagpiper is like DDT to the mosquito. A build up of too much moisture in your instrument means certain death of your reeds and nothing but trouble when trying to achieve a stable sound. The preponderance of products for pipers to address moisture problems alone is a testament to the importance of controlling it. In all of this, the humble water trap has become a ubiquitous part of the active piper’s gear—be they hide purists or synthetic advocates. The Scots, being clever enough to develop so many fine things in life (like bagpipes), perfected the craft of developing a simple, home-grown method to catch excess spit and condensation in the bag at a very early stage. John MacLellan MBE outlined a simple water trap in his 1964 book The Pipers’ Handbook consisting of 1/2-inch copper tube poked through a cork stuck into the bottom of the blowstick stock—basically a reservoir for collecting spit.
Today, there are many commercial solutions, many quite clever and complicated—and loaded with failure points—but none any more effective than the straightforward (and inexpensive), homemade, pipe-hacked tube version here. (Note: This particular version will insert into the bottom of your blowstick stock so access to the inside of your bag and/or the bottom of your stock is required.) Read More
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