As a kid, I remember going
to the El Ray Theatre in beautiful downtown Manteca, CA to see the movie: The
Bridge on the River Kwai starring William Holden and Sir Alec Guinness. In one scene
you hear the British prisoners of war returning to the Japanese POW camp, first
whistling the Colonel Bogey March, then you hear their boots marching in time
to the music; very stirring “in your face”, spirit lifting combination. The
movie was early impetus for me to learn whistling. When I reached High School,
our marching band director, Mr. LeRoy Darling, chose for our parade competition
piece: The Colonel Bogey March. I was in seventh heaven. The music drives the
feet to march in time to the music.
Bagpiping is similar in
that in many instances, the music is composed to be played on the march.
Learning begins on the chanter in order to learn music and musical embellishments.
You then progress to the bagpipes, applying the music technique now drilled
into your head. This allows you (after a wee bit o’ practice) to manage
breathing techniques with the pipe bag and handling your pipe chanter to
produce a continuous sound and hopefully music. Can you imagine adding marching
on top of that? Yet pipers learn how. I’ll speak to marching technique next
time. Now back to the music (on the march or not). Practicing music, especially
march music is all about the musicality of the tune played and keeping the
beat.
Most of us do not have a
natural internal sense for keeping time. Over the years I’ve found that
successful drummers in bands (rock, orchestra, jazz, mariachi, marching or even
bagpipe) have an innate sense of timing. The rest of us need lots of help to
train our brains to keep time in a tune. Practicing on chanter or bagpipes
lends itself to practicing with a metronome in order to teach our brains to
keep proper time. Whether sitting or standing, tap your foot (or feet) to the metronome
and music. Tapping your feet reinforces the tempo in your head. Later, in the
piping circle, only the pipe major and bass drummer will tap their feet.
My chanter practice almost
always includes a section of practice with my metronome and a headphone ear
piece. I personally use only one earphone in one ear leaving the other ear for
the music. When I’m learning new pieces (I’m just starting work on a hornpipe,
Jimmy Blue) I may lower the timing to say 50 beats per minute, practicing the
fingering diligently with all embellishments. Slowly over time, I will increase
the speed until it is of the correct tempo. The metronome keeps me grounded and
my music on target, tempo wise. Using the metronome keeps the embellishment in
the proper place. The D-throw or taorluath is to be on the down beat, not early,
not late.
When I get a tune up and playing
on the pipes, I will play the tune with the metronome in one ear as well. Once
the tune is being played well, in tempo, the piper can add marching. The
marching must hit the beat of the tempo and music, or the music will quickly
fall apart. So use the metronome in marching as well. Take your time, and be
patient as you learn to keep the beat.
One last word about
metronomes: use them as a tool, and not as a crutch. When practicing, also
include time away from metronome. This gives your mind time to apply what it
has learned and become conditioned through using the metronome. If you find
yourself speeding up in the fourth part of a march or jig, go back to the
metronome, and work through. Soon, your marching and playing will be together
and you’ll be ready to join a pipe band that marches.
Whistle with me now, swing
those arms like you are in the British Army, and march…
