Pipers article from Boston magazine

[IrishSean]

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/a...-bagpipe-band/

[Blupiper]

Not a bad article. If you can separate the weeds (drinking, snark, some stereotypes) from the grain (long hours of hard work, temperamental instruments, dedication to playing, pressure,) you can really glean some good stuff from this article. While I don't play in a band, I do know the hard work top units put into their play, what can go right and wrong and how competitions can hinge on the tiniest thing. This was a worthwhile read.

JMB

[Dughlas mor]

A very interesting article. Thanks for sharing, and Blupiper, thanks for your insight.

[OC Richard]

What strikes me first is the zillion references to alcoholic drinks (the first five paragraphs of the second page have them). Makes me wonder why the author is obsessed with that. Maybe he should visit a teatotalling band from Utah to adjust his preconceptions a bit.

I really like those jackets! Dark bluish grey with ordinary buttons, not silver or staghorn.

The bulk of the article is pretty good, discussing all the stuff a band goes through, the ridiculous new US ivory ban, etc.

Some quibbles:

The World Pipe Band Championships are live streamed worldwide, not just in the UK.

This is utter nonsense:

Performers who’ve perfected the art of circular breathing are able to feed air from their lungs into the blowpipe, which fills a bag...

You don't do circular breathing when playing the pipes. That's precisely what the bag does for you!

And so is this:

First in drumming
Last in piping.
Last in ensemble.
Last overall.

It’s all poor Charly’s fault. Charly Slagle, the piper who flew in from Denver, blew the attack.

One piper hitting an "early E" does not put the pipe corps last and the ensemble corps last. The judges notice it, it's a blemish, but a small one in the overall score.

[Profane James]

Perhaps the tunes weren't the only things with embellishments LoL

[crash]

I was there and saw that performance. When they came to the line and hit that "early E" the whole crowd went "oooh". That being said they just didn't measure up to the other three bands. One thing I found odd though, that had nothing to do with their performance was their kit was kind of ragged and thread bare. You don't have to look good to sound good. It just seemed odd for a grade 1 band.

[Dughlas mor]

It seems as though this article is just another written in the "Rolling Stone" style of over hyped, exaggerated for effect journalism. Still, it was interesting. OCR, thanks for pointing out the circular breathing thing. Good luck to the "Stewies," it sounds like they will need it competing in grade I.

[MacGumerait]

Interesting article . My guess is the author was trying to impress his boss .

Probably a bit more fiction than fact .

[OC Richard]

I was there and saw that performance. When they came to the line and hit that "early E" the whole crowd went "oooh". That being said they just didn't measure up to the other three bands.

Yes I've been in that situation, and a bad attack can give the people in the band a psychological letdown and in the worst cases leave people so rattled that the band doesn't play to its usual standard. The attitude the band should have is "OK we had a bad attack. But that's the LAST negative thing that will be on our sheets!" In other words it can serve as a rallying cry to get everyone to focus on being their best.

The top bands aren't rattled by this. I heard FMM have an early E. They played wonderfully and placed. One time Richard Parkes couldn't strike in his pipes and silently fingered the whole set on his chanter, the deflated bag sagging at his side. One judge didn't even notice it and gave them first in piping. The band soldiered on and played like the champions they are regardless.

Here. Parkes can't get his pipes struck in, then continues to "play" deflated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6ItWVymx1o

One thing I found odd though, that had nothing to do with their performance was their kit was kind of ragged and thread bare. You don't have to look good to sound good. It just seemed odd for a grade 1 band.

Yes that is very odd!

I've bought the DVDs of The Worlds and watched the live streaming since they began doing it and the first year all the close-ups of the bands revealed all sorts of little things like mismatching Glengarries, touries, bagcovers, sporrans, etc as well as some kit in need of pressing or repair. The second year it was miles better... obviously I wasn't the only one who noticed all that stuff!

Nowadays the Grade One bands, knowing that they'll be scrutinized in numerous close-up shots, take great care to get everything just so.

[PipeFuzz]

The whole article, while having some truths in it, paints a picture of a bunch of drunks with a pipe band problem!. I am personal friends with many of the players in the band, and have played with some of them in bands. These are hard working, dedicated musicians that put in countless hours of personal and group rehearsal. While they may have a few swallys after a competition, this article is a bit OTT in my opinion.

PipeFuzz