What song stirs your highland blood?

[Archangel]

Highland Cathedral comes high on my list too, though I feel proud to sing along with our National Anthem Flower of Scotland which really gets the blood stirred and the hairs raised for me. Although as a lowland Scot, with possibly a wee bit highland ancestry, Mull of Kintyre is one of my personal favourites.

Restless Natives had my vote for National Anthem.

Did Flower of Scotland become the official anthem?

[ccga3359]

Londonderry Air on the pipes does it for me... althought you can't exactly say that it stirs any Highland blood....

They have hills in Ireland don't they?

[gilmore]

Restless Natives had my vote for National Anthem.

Did Flower of Scotland become the official anthem?

No. Pro-unionists are often quick to point out that Scotland's national anthem is "God Save the Queen."

[Warhoover]

Ok time for me to be the total nut case here,

For me personally, nothing says "highlands" to me better than Piobaireachd, mony canna stand it! When I was younger, it didn't appeal, but once I started to take up the pipes I started to build a love affair with it. "Lament for Mary McLeod", "Lament for Alasdair Dearg MacDonnell of Glengarry" and the "MacGregor's Gathering" are some of my favorites. I hope to one day play them and several others. Piobaireachd is the ancient "classical" music of the pipes if your not familiar with it.

I just can't stand Amazing Grace. As a piper, I'm forced to play it all the time and now I hate it.
Nowadays, I really love any strathspey (that's a type of tune). A good strathspey really get my heart pumping.

I have to agree with Beloitpiper here, AG, better known around my area as "America's Second National Anthem" is probably what everyone associates with the pipes. I also hate playing it for the same reasons as above. Many in my band feel the same. Its what everyone wants to hear over and over and.......!

And, I do agree with him also on Strathspeys, these are tunes that "swing" you don't march to them. But, man when the band is really going good, that swing is contagious, the Bass Drum gets to rocking and you really feel it, sure gets my blood a pumping! I can't think of any other term that describes it better for me than "swing". One of my absolute personal favorites is "Or'e The Hills To Ballindalloch"

[Warhoover]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wh4H5Cfg1RQ

this make me want to pick up my pipes however when I do it rapidly dawns on me how futile it is to try and match Gordon's astonishing playing

Daz, Thanks for the link above!
It is amazing to see how effortless he made it look! I am wondering if anyone ever did some slow motion of his hands, especially his birl! It has to be an optical illusion? I just see his pinky move across once!
Do you know if he used a tap-drag??? I started out using the double tap and at the insistence of my instructor moved to the "number 7" technique. Which I find awkward. I would love to see it in slow motion just to figure it out!! Absolutely amazing!

Thanks again!

[PiperGeorge]

Playing the pipes has given me such an appreciation for the poetry of the Piobaireachd. Also the power of the Crunluath A Mach is timeless. My favorites to play are Too Long in this Condition, Desperate Battle of the Birds and Black Donald's March. For light music, I really enjoy the Galician Set as played by Hamish Moore, The Magic Flute played by Martyn Bennet, Ewe with the Crookit' Horn played by Gordon Duncan, Old Copper Plate played by Finn Moore. I also have to say that I have expanded my horizons from the Great Highland pipes to small pipes, reel pipes/border pipes, Northumbrian pipes, Uillean pipes and Gaitas. I have a set of Border pipes coming from Hamish Moore any time now.

I do have to say that Amazing Grace and Scotland the Brave are down the list for me. They have powerful emotional connections, but they are overplayed and are.....well, not my favorites. (But I do understand why others do like them)

[Arizona Scot]

I have to cast my vote for Scotland the brave, I even have it set as a ring tone on my phone. But it is only attached to members of my family so I know right away if the call is family or not.

[highlander_Daz]

Looking at his Birl it looks like a "7" but with the forward movement performed as a very small movement very quickly (quicker than the eye!!) and then a very rapid draw back, with such speed his finger comes right back, I think the rapid draw backward gives it that machine gun like quality. it does appear that he only draws back his finger, Ive spoke to a few pipers that played with him and they all say the way he performed his Birl was a very unique to him, Interestingly, they all tell me that Gordon never "showboated" when playing with other pipers and would often let them take the lead, however on his new CD there is a very long recording of a Set from The Scottish Pipers Assoc Knockout Comp final in 1993 and he just effortlessly levels the opposition.

"God save the queen" is indeed the national anthem of the United Kingdon, however Flùir na h-Alba is played at football matches and national events, interstingly the tune cannot be played correctly on the bagpipe, well it can, but the c has to be played as a c natural which sounds awful against the drones, so pipers play the c which alters the melody compared to the singing version.

[beloitpiper]

As far as Piobaireachd, my favorite is "Lament for my Brother", which is the only I've heard live. Played amazingly at a funeral, it was probably the most powerful tune I've heard. The second most would have to be Highland Cathedral played with a church organ. The organ and the bagpipes go together very well, but make sure they're tuned!

[davedove]

I have found that any well played martial tune done with bagpipes tends to stir me a bit. It's just something about the sound of a group of pipers that gets me going.