The Rusty Piper

Invisible Car by Sarah Watson (from SuperForest.org)

Matt — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:52:50 +0000

Just came across this and smiled, so I thought I’d share… read all about it at Sarah Watson’s Invisible Car! at SuperForest.org…

Videos Added…

Matt — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:42:35 +0000

I’ve added a video widget to the side bar and will periodically add my favorites or any interesting ones I find. If anyone has any that they would like to suggest, just drop me a line or comment on this post.

Matt

Tuning a Bagpipe – Basic Principles and Random Advice…

Matt — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:27:56 +0000

A great article outlining the basic priciples of tuning a set of bagpipes… click here.

(EDIT) – Another… here. This one’s from the Winter 1998 issue of New Zealand Pipeband by Ewan MacPherson and is a little more in depth with regard to working out frequency ratios.

Object Embedding & Fonts in Bagpipe Player (v1.02)

Matt — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:23:02 +0000

I’ve been using Bagpipe Player (by Doug Wickstrom) for the last year or so to update and format the band’s repertoire. Initially I tried to format the tunes using the notation software itself, but found it better to export the tune as an object into MS Word or Powerpoint and worry about the fonts and stuff there.

To export into Word or Powerpoint, make sure that the tune in Bagpipe Player has no Title or Composer, etc. You can put the tune name and the rest into the code and have it not appear on the tune by using double inverted commas (“ “) anywhere in the code.

… if coded as above, the tune should look like this… with no ‘Title’ (scroll all the way up to the top of the viewing window):

Next, open up Powerpoint or Word and select ‘Insert Object’ (or just ‘Object’) from the “Insert” menu at the top left of the screen.

A box will open up and you should select the ‘Create from File’ option.

Then select your tune file (it will have a .bww or a .BMW extension) and click ok. Reposition and Format as you like – the tune will now be treated as an image.

I’m learning of new ways to do things every day with this program… it really is an excellent bagpipe music notational tool. Just remember… when all else fails, it helps to read the ‘Help’ file.

I’m back!

Matt — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 10:22:32 +0000

Hi all…

Apologies for the absence. So much has happened in the past few months that I need to post about… more tunes, links, equipment and experiences. I’ll get to it asap!

Keep piping…

The South African Tattoo at Monte Casino… I can’t wait!

Matt — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:46:40 +0000

The first day of rehearsals for the South African Tattoo began yesterday and I must say that it had never quite hit me how big and popular a production this is until I walked onto the performance ground! I arrived at Monte Casino amidst the distant hum of bands tuning up that usually greets me when arriving at Gatherings. The sound was louder due to the walls and grand stands surrounding the arena, giving it the feel of a big athletics stadium. There were over 200 bandsmen scattered throughout the stadium in addition to about the same number of brass band members and over 50 highland dancers… there was even a camera crew running around filming the rehearsal (a camera man snuck up on me at one point, giving me such a frigh that I forgot which tune we were playing!).

We spent the whole day going through the various formations and tunes that would make up the 90min show, and I found myself having an absolute blast despite the sunburn and stiffness. It was a new and enjoyable experience playing with the brass and percussion bands of Springs Boys High and the SAPS (South African Police Service), and the African drums.

One of the reasons I enjoyed it so much was that my pipes worked perfectly! I was worried (really worried!) that I’d have a hard time playing with the drones since I haven’t really found an air-efficient setting for them yet, but after deciding only to use one tenor and a bass they felt and sounded amazing. I managed to play from 9am to 5pm with a reed that I consider quite ’challenging’, so I’m ecstatic about how yesterday went. I honestly can’t wait for the first show on Thursday. I’ve got all my kit from the band (borrowed mostly from those who aren’t doing the Tattoo) and after a few major repairs to the kilt I was given, I should be ready for anything!

Rehearsals continue this evening and tomorrow evening with the dress rehearsal on Wednesday. I’m going to love every minute!

If you want to read more about the show, click here or here…

It’s been a while…

Matt — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:03:49 +0000

Hey all…

I’m back to posting and updating the page. I’ve been on holiday for a week and was sick the whole time – Murphy had a really screwed up sense of humour.

I’ve added more tunes to the Tunes Page… just some interesting stuff I found in the repertoire of the band that I thought I’d share.

The South African Tattoo is in two or three weeks time. I’m really looking foward to it! It’s the first of (hopefully) many annual military performances at Monte Casino in Fourways, Johannesburg… and it’s looking to be a cracker! We’ve been hard at work learning the tunes, and it’s been really helpful in getting my personal repertoire back up to what it used to be. I’ll add the tunes that we’ll play as soon as I have them coded.

My pipes are pretty much fixed and I got them back last week, but only played them over the weekend due to my cold/flu thingy… they seem fine. I just have to play with the drones to make them as economical as possible.

Thanks for all the comments and support lately guys… I hope you’re getting as much out of this blog as I am.

ps. Well done to SFU for winning the World Champs two weeks ago. I heard that the Shotts pipers turned to face the crowd in their Medley performance… must have been quite a show!

Bagpipe Woes…

Matt — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:03:09 +0000

I started to play my pipes again about a month ago and at first I thought I was really, really, awfully unfit! I could barely get through a four-part 2/4 march. I had had them fixed by Chris Mulinder (who taught me to play years and years ago) who put brass tubing into all the stocks to stop the spread of some hair-line cracks that were appearing in every stock. He did an awesome job, and my pipes were good to go… or so I thought. After about 2 weeks of almost passing out every time I looked at my set, I played my brother’s, and it was heaven… the reed was no lighter than mine, but the bag stayed full a whole lot longer than my set did. I can’t believe that I didn’t think to check the bag for leaks before I just started hammering away at tunes!

It turned out that there was a major leak just above the chanter stock and the bag would visibly deflate in about 20 seconds when I corked up all the stocks! After a visit to Chris (we all just call him ‘Pipes’) and some secret-recipe resin that he mixed up, they were good to go. But the problem didn’t go away, and Craig and I found another leak around the chanter stock. I’ll visit Pipes next week for some more of that resin.

I’ll upload photos of my set as soon as I can… I’m not too happy with them to be honest. They are a beautiful set and just the weight I like to have on my shoulder, but the issues are just not worth it. I too a look at Owen’s set at practice last week (he plays a set of Mulinder’s) and I have to say I’m impressed. I didn’t buy a set from Chris when I left school because they seemed to me to be a bit small and light. But age and wisdom go hand in hand most of the time, and I’m realising now that I really couldn’t give a sh*t what the look like, as long as they’re made well and sound good… and Chris Mulinder’s bagpipes have the most mellow, soothing drones I’ve ever heard – and I’m sure that he can make them a bit heavier if I ask him to. When I’ve got some cash I think I’ll go have a look at what he can make for me.