Worst piper in the band

[mull]

It's official; as of the end of band pratice tonight, I am the newest full member, and not coincidentally the worst piper in my band. I could not be more thrilled.

The kilt I worked so long to earn came from the bottom of a pile of previously worn kilts on the floor of a metal filing cabinet. The pleats aren't to bad, but there are some serious wrinkles in the apron and it needs some freshening. I plan to start with steaming and see if it works, I am a little hesitant to go to a dry cleaners.

Anyway, the 4th of July now means three parades. I better go practice my marching.

Joe

[longhuntr74]

I've not yet even attempted to start learning the pipes, but I have a pretty good appreciation for how hard it is to be any good on them. You should be very proud of your accomplishment. Well done!!

[ohiopiper]

Just remember that at some point, every piper, including the greats, were the worst piper in the band.

We're not all going to be Jack Lee, but we can all play pretty darn well with effort. Keep at it and look for that new member to pass your title on to.

Hardest part about parades for me was the strike in. I didn't discipline myself enough early on in my piping to practice a coordinated strike in and struggled for a while getting it together with the rest of the band.

[dadgad]

Good for you. I'll be making my debut as the newest piper in my band on July 4th. I'm anxious to get my bag cover and ribbons. I've got the kilt as I've been drumming the last 1.5 years while I learn pipes.

[OC Richard]

It's an exciting time, isn't it, Mull?

I remember it so well, though it was 35 years ago.

Here I was, a new piper, 19 years old, just moved to the big city from the boonies, who had had to teach myself due to there being nobody around.

I had heard about the existence of a pipe band who practised closeby.

I went down to their practice hall and I was blown away. I'd never heard a pipe band in person-heck, I'd only once heard a piper in person!

They sounded fantastic to me. At the time I new nothing about band grade levels etc but they were a Grade Two band and many of the pipers, who at that time were in their mid twenties, had won loads of solo competitions in their teens and were "Professional" grade solo pipers.

It was extremely entertaining just to sit off in the corner and listen to them play.

Nobody came over and said "hi" that first night. Indeed I attended each week for months and nobody ever came over to my spot in the corner to ask who I was.

Initially I just came to listen. Then I started bringing a tape recorder and I taped their tunes. At home I found music to some of their tunes in The Scots Guards or Queens Own Highlanders books. So after a while I would sit in my spot in the far-off corner and toot along on my practice chanter while the band played.

After a few months of this, one night the youngest piper in the band, just a year or two older than myself perhaps but a fantastic player, walked over to my spot in the corner and plopped down a pile of music on the table in front of me. I don't recall him saying anything.

Well it was like Christmas morning, the night I got all the band music! Or maybe more like discovering the Rosetta Stone. Here it was, all the music I had been listening to, unlocked for me. (I had figured out some of it by ear but it was great to know for sure what all the gracenotes were etc.)

So now I sat off in my corner happily tooting away on ALL the band tunes, week after week.

Eventually the Pipe Major one night came up and introduced himself and asked me to play something. I did. He said "you're doing everything more or less right" and told me to bring my pipes.

Well talk about being the worst piper in the band!!! This was a band full of top-level players and there I was standing in the circle trying to figure out how to "play with others". I'd never done that before. I was WAY out of my league. But I was young and determined and I practiced hours each day and eventually I was invited to play on the band's gigs. They had loads of gigs, paying gigs, which brought a lot of money into the band.

So one day I went over to the Pipe Major's house; he had closets full of feather bonnets and doublets and crossbelts and spats and all that stuff. The band wore Full Dress for gigs. It was like Christmas morning all over again, getting kitted out in all that finery! I wish I had just one photo of the band, or of me, wearing that stuff.

After a year or so I got to play in band competition. We won Grade Two somewhere and they gave me the trophy, saying "all of us have piles of those already". I still treasure that thing!

So anyhow good luck in your piping journey!

[Kiltboy]

It's an exciting time, isn't it, Mull?

I remember it so well, though it was 35 years ago...

What a fun story.

Jo, Good luck with your piping!

[piperdbh]

You've joined the right band. My college band director gave me the same advice, although he was talking about jazz bands: "If you're going to play in a band, play in one in which you're the weakest player. You'll learn more from that than if you were the strongest player."

[beloitpiper]

You're going to have so much fun! What band are you in?

[EagleJCS]

Congrats Joe. Relax and have fun with it!

I'll second the advice to really work on your strike-ins and coordinate that with your marching. (Most bands have an 8-count process. Check with your instructor, Pipe Sergeant or another senior player on how your band does it.) Depending on how well you're playing, your PM might even have you stop up your drones or chanter for the parade (to make it easier for you - less chance of errors and/or fatigue).

Also, you've probably heard not to get too upset/confused if you can't hear yourself playing. If you do at this stage, you're probably playing something wrong. (I've learned to be able to hear myself with the band, but it's taken a few years. Just like learning the scale by ear or tuning by ear, you have to train your ear to it.)

[Pyper]

Congrats Joe.

After 5 years of piping, and 4 years of piping in the band, I am frequently still the worst piper in the band.

But it gets easier and better all the time. After a year or so, one day I realized that I actually had gotten a handle on the whole thing and it felt more or less comfortable. I think that's when, as JCS mentions, you can start to hear yourself and separate it from the others.