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| This side of the Atlantic, Ceol Mor (or Piobaireachd) is not widely appreciated. In my experience Piobaireachd competitions in the U.S. take place early in the morning before anyone arrives and the only “fans” are people whom the piper personally knows. For most Americans the big music (Ceol Mor) is considered boring and repetitive… something only the pipers appreciate. The true classical music of The Great Highland Bagpipe is treated as a relic, a burden, and tragically, an annoyance. This is not the case in Scotland. I sat down on the rough bench roundabout the third variation of a tune. The piper in question was young, nervous, and had already made too many mistakes to have any hope of placing… but he stuck it out to the end. I sipped my wonderfully warm can of McEwen’s and lit up a smoke. The next piper had the look of one who was preparing to compete in the Olympics, he was that serious. My student, Clair Hoskins, was sitting next to me, and I said something to the effect of “pay attention to this!”. The tune was “The Gathering of the MacNabs” and the piper, whose name I will never know, was from the 78th Frasers. Not only were this guy’s pipes in tune to the point that they sounded magical, but he played with such feeling and emotion that the everyday weed-whacker buying Scots stopped and listened to him with understanding, sympathy, and most of all, pride. When it came to the crunluath a mach (the final and crowning movement), my heart exploded and collapsed at one time and the tears of joy squished out of my eyes, for here was the true culture and heritage of Scotland, in front of God and man at 12:30 in the afternoon unabashedly exhibited. Not tucked away in some corner of a stinking livestock corral at the fairground, like we do here, but under the sun, as it should be. Seeing McLennan’s pipes was awesome, but hearing the real music that those pipes were meant to play, alive and well, was even better. |
This Thanksgiving I thought it appropriate to share with you something I am truly thankful for. When I was lucky enough to be in Scotland, the band decided to have a party for ourselves. We had drinks and snacks and an overall good time, and someone (I think it was Nichol, one of our flourishing tenors at the time) asked us what our favourite part of our trip had been. When it came to be to be my turn, I answered, “seeing the pipes of G.S. MacLennan enshrined at the castle of Edinburgh”. This was the day before we went to the games at Crieff. As the coach (that means bus) pulled into the parking lot at Crieff, I could tell that this was nothing close to what we Americans think of as “Highland Games”. This was something more akin to what we would call a fair or a carnival. There were rides for the kids, motocross exhibitions, foot races, paratroopers swooping down to the green, and there was even a vendor tent specializing in weed whackers and lawnmowers. This was clearly a community function, and no one was particularly concerned about “Scotishness”. As I strolled about the park, munching on chips and curry sauce (it may sound nasty to you, but try it, you’ll love it!) I began to realize that these games… this gathering… was not something recreated or resurrected… it had been there all along. Then I heard it. An Piob mhor, calling me from a distance… beckoning… singing, “come, enjoy, this is for you… this is why you traveled all this way!” My feet started walking towards the music before my brain told them to. When I got there I found something more beautiful than words can describe. It was nothing to look at, just a few rough benches and a tent with some old dudes in it looking serious. This, my fellow Americans, was a Piobaireachd competition. |
| Unknown piper from the 78th Frasers Crieff, Scotland |
| If you ever get the chance to listen to a competent piper at his craft, quiet your mind and imagine yourself in the park in Crieff, hearing what MacCrimmon and countless other musical masters intended for you to hear. If you’re interested in real Scottish music, you owe it to yourself. I’ll never forget this experience and thank you NSSC for helping to make it possible. |
| Ceol Mor is Good! by Joe LoGiurato |
Why are we here? (an open letter to the band from November 2000)
GOOD question. This is one many of us have asked several times over the years. One would hope that the immediate answer is because we like
the music. More importantly we like to play the music. We like to play for appreciative audiences. That’s why we like to play for the Clan Society
and the Napkin Wavers. That’s why if we can put aside the physical discomfort, we like to play for the Nevada Day Parade.
Band practice, in itself can be fun, and at times exhilarating. But it is nothing compared to a public performance. The feedback of genuine
audience appreciation feeds the artistic juices like nothing else can.
As musicians, we are a vital part of a creative process that begins with the composer of the music and the builders of our instruments. We are
what give life to the music and the instruments. The performance is like our child. Then we proudly but cautiously give this child over to the
audience. They in turn take this child, examine it, appreciate it, and then give us praise for what we have created. Then we create a new one.
What is the responsibility of the band leaders? It would be nice if we could make you all very happy. But that probably won’t happen. I believe
that what you get out of an organization is equal to what you put in (reminds me of a Beatles song). But you need to tell us if your needs are not
being met. Perhaps we could help. We could at least try.
We want the Sierra Highlanders to be a positive experience for everyone, and with your help, it will be.
Rick James
GOOD question. This is one many of us have asked several times over the years. One would hope that the immediate answer is because we like
the music. More importantly we like to play the music. We like to play for appreciative audiences. That’s why we like to play for the Clan Society
and the Napkin Wavers. That’s why if we can put aside the physical discomfort, we like to play for the Nevada Day Parade.
Band practice, in itself can be fun, and at times exhilarating. But it is nothing compared to a public performance. The feedback of genuine
audience appreciation feeds the artistic juices like nothing else can.
As musicians, we are a vital part of a creative process that begins with the composer of the music and the builders of our instruments. We are
what give life to the music and the instruments. The performance is like our child. Then we proudly but cautiously give this child over to the
audience. They in turn take this child, examine it, appreciate it, and then give us praise for what we have created. Then we create a new one.
- What is your responsibility in this whole process?
- Practice at home. It doesn’t take much. I read somewhere that playing for longer than 20 minutes at a stretch can be bad for the reeds. I’m
not sure how true that is, but it’s not a bad number to shoot for. I would be willing to bet that 20 minutes a day is more than most of us
practice. I strongly feel that daily practice will go a long way towards improving your playing and therefore the overall performance of the band. - Go to band practice. Okay, as I write this I just called Burch to tell him I couldn’t make it to practice. I’m sick. We all get sick. And our
private lives all interfere with the band at some point. That is to be expected. But the truth is, we cannot improve as a band unless we all play
together as a band. So band practice is important. Do your best to be there. But if you can’t, tell someone. - Be at all band performances. It is really hard for the band to put on a good show when people are missing. It becomes discouraging for
everyone else, and then we begin to have motivation problems. Again, our private lives sometimes interfere. But we should all do whatever
we can to minimize this interference.
What is the responsibility of the band leaders? It would be nice if we could make you all very happy. But that probably won’t happen. I believe
that what you get out of an organization is equal to what you put in (reminds me of a Beatles song). But you need to tell us if your needs are not
being met. Perhaps we could help. We could at least try.
We want the Sierra Highlanders to be a positive experience for everyone, and with your help, it will be.
Rick James
