On piping in Hong Kong

When Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrations were in full swing in September, with literally hundreds of thousands of protestors peacefully demonstrating for freedoms, I listened intently to news reports on their demands and progress. They rallied for democratic reform and suffrage that they felt was due them (and all Chinese citizens too); Through peaceful civil disobedience they made a resounding sound that may not have been heard in Beijing. I applaud their efforts to bring democratic values and change to their land.

Even as the protests continued, I thought about Hong Kong as a British colony that until 1997 was the wild west of capitalism, banking and commerce. Its rich heritage is a mix of English, Scottish, Chinese and many other cultures, so it must have included bagpipes. I went in search of piping in the news for pipes and drum bands in Hong Kong, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. A picture from the water of Hong Kong harbor shows a city built on green hills. Surely there must still be bagpipes playing today. A little research quickly shows that Hong Kong has a rich Scottish heritage.

The HSBC Bank was founded by a Scotsman, Thomas Sutherland in 1865. Even today, the firing of the Noonday Gun, a cannon mounted on a tiny jetty, is a daily ritual in remembrance of William Jardine and James Matheson, who were shipping tycoons from Edinburgh. Even at Hong Kong University which incorporates a castle erected in the 1860’s by a Scotsman, Douglas Laprik, the influence of the Scots can be found.

There are two pipe bands in Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Pipe Band http://hkpipeband.com/ and Hong Kong St. Andrews Pipe Band http://www.pipeband.org.hk/. The KH Pipe Band was formed in 1982 and continues to bring the music of Scotland to the city. Looking at their web site shows that they are into performing at many civic and private events as well as competing as a grade 4 band. One of their pipers, Andrew Yu took the top honors this summer at the All-England Championships in the United Kingdom in July. Andrew took grade one first place in the Piobaireachd, 6/8 March and second in the Air & Jig and March, Strathspey & Reel.

The second band is the Hong Kong St. Andrews Pipe Band http://www.pipeband.org.hk/. Their organization also plays our traditional Scottish music, but also plays arrangements of Chinese and Korean folk songs which can be downloaded from their site in pdf. I’ve attached one Chinese folk tune, “Dance of Youth” here. Very fun to play.

From a history perspective the Royal Gurkha Rifles, a regiment made up of Nepalese soldiers, loyal to the crown since 1857 became British regulars in 1949 following Indian Independence. Their regiment and pipe band were stationed in Hong Kong soon around 1962 and remained on station there until the draw down and final with drawl of all British troop in 1997. Today their piping tradition continues in in the Singapore Police Force Gurkha Contingent Pipes and Drums Platoon. Here’s a set performed by them on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH-Y9kdWbjk

It is great to think that we have piping brethren across the world. From many cultures from Nepal to South America, from Canada to Dubai, my guess is that we have more than just bagpipe music in common. I think of those families in Hong Kong wishing for a life free to follow their God given rights.

On music programs in the Bay Area

Fall is in the air. Yesterday I saw a young student on the way to school carrying a large musical instrument case. In a heartbeat I was transported back to Lindbergh Elementary, in my home town, where in 4th grade I carried my saxophone to and from school, beginning a lifelong love of music. That year I was introduced to my music teacher who for the next nine years would guide us students each band period to excel in making music. We benefited from his passion for music, and his love and no nonsense approach for his students, that we might catch the beautiful creativeness of the arts.

Without a doubt, reading, writing and math are essential to a quality education. To that point, research studies have demonstrated how including music education in a child's life helps them to do well in school, developing confidence and self-discipline, creativity, a sense of accomplishment and openness to other cultures and their music. Playing instruments, I learned how to be part of a team, from concerts to half time shows, parades to jazz ensembles. We learned how to work toward goals and accomplish hard things. Music united us in purpose much like an athletic team might under the guidance of a coach, but giving our minds and hearts to the music and the audience.

Musicians of every genre speak of music as an expression of our humanity. Famed violinist Joshua Bell recently spoke after a New York performance that "Music is something that should be a part of everyone's life." I agree. Can we in the Bay Area, as a people of great cultures and beliefs, in an economic and technical hub, not pay attention to the need for music in our children’s lives? Join me this fall to encourage music students, their teachers and administrators, and school music programs to continue to thrive, not just survive.

So leave your windows open as that young student next door practices with all the excitement of a virtuoso, even as he or she hits a few wrong notes. Or maybe wave encouragement to that student with that over-sized case on their way to school and to new adventures through music.

With a perspective,
John

Top Ten reasons why not to stand next to the Pipe Major

One evening on my way home from a grueling sweaty summer pipe band practice I found myself thinking about standing and playing next to our band’s Pipe Major. In the church where we practice, the narthex is used for both its space to form a band circle and has somewhat less reflective sound than the main church. It’s tight, it works and I have found myself standing at times either next to or near the Pipe Major (PM).  Seems like when I have practiced the ‘right’ tunes for the evening I find myself standing across from him, my sound mixing with all pipers. On other nights, when I’d practiced ‘other’ tunes I found myself next to the PM, or Pipe Sergeant, or, in between both! You can guess how those evenings’ turned out (insert nervous laugh)… So I thought about the top ten reasons why not to stand next to the PM.

10. When standing next to the PM, I may get a stiff neck from craning my neck left or right depending which side of the PM I stand. - This is the only one of the ten that does not rely on the PM hearing me play. In a piping circle, everyone should stand facing the center, with only our heads turned toward the PM to follow his fingering and feet. My blow pipe is perfect for standing facing forward, but when I turn to the left the blow pipe feels too long. Getting used to playing in different physical piping circle positions makes a piper more confident, versatile and useful in the band.

9. The PM hears my chanter or drones are out of tune – We spend a lot of time tuning at practice and before competition, always seeking that ‘one sound’ from the band. Tuning at practice or before a performance I may match the PM perfectly. And yet during competition when the adrenaline is coursing through my veins, my pipe’s pressure may elevate and both drones and my upper hand 'D', ‘E’, ‘F’, ‘G’ or ‘A’ may quickly go out of tune. It take practice, confidence and control over my own emotions and physical excitement to play steadily with the group on the march or in the circle.

8. The PM hears my pressure waver as I play – A band’s sound depends on both a solid drone and chanter sound, as well as volume.  Maintaining pressure through the tune to its cut-off is important. Knowing that my arm can maintain pressure through that last birl and until cut-off should be part of my practice routine, always listening to the sound (how about recording your solo practice?). Without confidence and concentration you will (not may) lose focus. When that band ‘one sound’ occurs, you no longer hear your own playing. Practicing helps, but practicing your breathing and arm pressure technique properly is key. 

7. The PM hears my chanter drops out – Maybe the reed is too old that over blowing finally killed it, or it is too stiff and not properly broken in (“Sorry, but I just changed my chanter reed the morning”), or lips are shot to hold blowing pressure at end of a performance. Then I’m reminded why I practice. The chanter may stop in practice but on the day of a competition may end up with me being cut from the field, or the band losing a placing.

6. The PM hears my drones cut out – The band needs the drone sound of every piper. Maybe they worked perfectly at home, but because I’m now over blowing or drone reeds are damp, one (or more) drones cut out. Controlling my instrument and having ‘nerves of steel’ to drop out and re-start my drones and chanter is a difficult task in performance or competition. I should practice this at home to be prepared for performances.

5. The PM hears my drones strike in early or late – Controlling my pipes is equal to correctly playing music. Striking in IS part of the music. Both music practice on pipes and bagpipe maintenance must be part of my practice regimen. A band depends on producing one sound so striking in together is key. No early drone sounds allowed! Proper strike in sounds solid from the start, not wavering and is maintained. This takes concerted effort, confidence and practice.

4. The PM hears my fingering mistakes, both tune and embellishment – “Question: What’s similar between lightening and a bagpiper’s fingering? Answer: Neither strikes the same place twice.” The old joke holds some truth. Have you ever been ‘encouraged’ during band practice to revisit your music before the next band practice? I have, and on music I have played for years! How could I even mess up on a tuning sequence? Everyone, from the PM on down to the neophyte piper makes mistakes. Rushing embellishments or ending phrasing? Or "The 'D' in D-throw is to be heard but not held." When mistakes happen, play through, not wincing or making eye contact with the PM. Make like it never happened, then go home and correct with practice. If asked in practice 'Who played the note errors in bar 27?" Just owe up to it and move on to perfecting your music in practice at home. In performance, as a band, we must play to the PM’s foot and fingering, and as an ensemble with the drum corp.

3. The PM hears my ‘E’ strike in, early or late – Even more pronounced than ricochet drones is a band with ricochet ‘E’ strike in. As a band we practice this many times. That crazy strike in exercise of repeating the roll-off, strike in, ‘E’ and first four bars of a march then repeat makes sense to do, but I don’t have to enjoy it. The almighty ‘E’ depends on the confidence of each band member controlling their pipes and striking in together. Practice at home on the march and with a metronome will make a big difference.

2. The PM hears me cut-off late – OMG! If practice teaches me nothing, it is controlling my instrument. Ending the tune solidly together is as important as starting together. Cutting off late, or having trailing drones after everyone else cuts off will cost a band. Using drone valves may help (I’m in favor of these, but that’s just me), but learning to be present in the moment of the tune ending, anticipating its end is key. Keeping enough air in the bag to complete the tune with proper drone and chanter pressure is paramount. Cut-off together should be the norm. To hear the PM say “Nice cut-off” should be a rarity.

And the #1 reason not to stand next to the Pipe Major is:

1. The PM wants to hear me play solo so he volunteers me to lead out on a build-a-band tune. We play a very loud instrument: at home, in a park, and certainly before band practice to warm up. Why is it that I become so nervous when asked to play solo in front of fellow band mates and PM? My friends are probably just breathing a sigh of relief that they were not picked, or, are concentrating on practicing fingering technique while I play. Learning to play in any situation builds your confidence and makes you a better piper.

Nine out of the ten points has the Pipe Major hearing me play. I am truly amazed that the PM can hear what is happening while concentrating on tempo and playing correctly for the pipers to follow. It’s not walking and chewing gum that may cause me to stumble, but… roll off, marching, arm swing, dress right, strike in, ‘E’, one beat ‘E’ (or two?), playing the tune to the PM’s beat, mark time, turn into circle, stop, continue playing focused on the PM’s fingering, transitions between tunes, cut off, then breath once again.

I value the PM’s constructive criticism (most of the time) and his praise and support (all the time). I also feel comfortable speaking to him about what I observe or think about practice, competition, band matters, etc. Whether my PM implements the ideas is secondary to the communication line being open. I may sometimes prefer not to be in the PM’s watchful gaze, or him being in ear shot of my playing. But playing next to the Pipe Major is to play with a better player than me, and can only improve me as a piper and musician. I think I see a mantra: practice and control improves confidence and performance. Next practice, I’m standing next to the PM.

On The Battle of the Somme as a massed bands tune honoring WWI

Today, July 28, marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Great War, known today simply as World War I. A fellow band mate and piper, Melody, sent me a link to the BBC Special “Pipers of the Trenches" on http://youtu.be/4oXiAu3P0LM (great show by the way). After a short email discussion about the show, she suggested that the classic pipe tune The Battle of the Somme become a tune to be played with appropriate fanfare by massed bands over the next four years, honoring and celebrating the lives, valor and sacrifices made by the men and women who served during the Great War, 1914 – 1918.

The tune: The Battle of the Somme is attributed to Pipe Major William Lawrie (1881-1916). He was PM of the 8th Argyllshire Battalion of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1914 and remained as such until pneumonia, pleurisy and meningitis contracted in the trenches of France took his health, was sent home and succumbed to an early death.

Prior to the war, Lawrie was a student of the pipes under both his father, Hugh, and the great John MacColl, winning many awards for his piping. He left the piping community a legacy of compositions of which ‘Battle’ is considered one of the best and remains a classic 9/8 march played by pipe bands to this day.

The setting of the public domain tune pictured above is included for download: The Battle of the Somme

To add your voice to the discussion go to Bob Dunshire’s forum at: http://forums.bobdunsire.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156316

On Finding Piping Music

PM Willie Lawrie, undated

I stood nervously. “Hi. My name is John and I’m a pipe music junkie”; group response: “Hi John.” With that I opened the 1st meeting of Piping Music Anonymous, Silicon Valley Chapter (PMASV for short). All kidding aside, I have noticed that most pipers love new pipe music. I do. I listen to my fair share of pipe music on-line, on Pandora, on Youtube.com, on iTunes of my own MP3’s and even CD’s in my car. I have more music than I could ever play in books such as Scots Guards Vol. 1 & 2, W. Ross Collection(s), Irish pipe music, Scottish dance tunes, folders and binders of copied music given to me and a fair number of PDF’s. A few weeks ago at pipe band practice I heard a fellow piper playing 'From Maui to Kona' by Bob Worrall. Very catchy tune when played well and at tempo. And I wanted the sheet music; no… I needed the sheet music. So where do you find new music?

In year’s past, I would have fired up my laptop, opened Google.com (or your favorite flavor of search engine) and spent time searching by name (alternate name, composer, composer’s mother’s maiden name, etc.) for a PDF, gif or BMW of the tune. If the tune was a bit obscure, I might get a hit on Bob Dunshire’s forum site finding a discussion that might give me clues on where to find that elusive tune. Occasionally, I’d find a band’s unlocked web site music page with their current play list available in PDF format with my sought after tune included. They don’t call it data (err… tune) mining for nothing. A lot of digging and an occasional gold nugget (of music). I still resort to this process on occasion but with the advent of reliable tune sites, I do it less and less.

Today, I initially visit a couple of sites that publish pipe tunes. My current favorites are:

http://pipetunes.ca/ – Jim McGillivray’s site. One becomes a member, login and buys credits for future tune PDF and mp3 purchases, downloading as you go. Great resource.

http://www.leeandsonsbagpipes.com/ - Jack Lee’s site. Purchase tunes PDF and mp3 as you go with a link to the download emailed to you. Wonderful site.

Coming back to “From Maui to Kona”. My first thought was to go to McGillivray’s site, hoping to download a copy, paying as I go. The composer gets paid a little and the site gets paid a little. And no worries for me about copyright issues. I didn't find the tune there so went to Jack Lee's site where I’ve purchased tunes before as well. Didn't find it there either. I even went online to Ebay.com, then Amazon.com, to see if Worrall’s book was for sale by private party as his book is out of print. No luck there. Like many pipers, we are a determined lot, so I went searching the internet for that elusive PDF. Early one Saturday morning, while the household slept, I made coffee and settled down for a pleasant hour’s search. Going down more than a few rabbit trails, I eventually found a PDF scan of the tune from the original book (I believe). Sorry Bob, I really wanted your book, chuck full of new tunes.

There is also a mountain of public domain tunes. No need to purchase that, right? Technically there is no need to purchase. But the format of the music if you find it may not be neat and clean. Go looking for some of the classic piobaireachd and you may find a copy of a copy of a page typeset and printed in the 1800’s that looks like it was faxed in the early 1900’s. This week, I went looking for classic WWI tune: The Battle of the Somme by William Lawrie and found a copy on pipetunes.ca and a copy as a gif on another site. I decided to spend the few credits with pipetunes.ca and downloaded a beautifully set PDF of the public domain tune as well as an mp3 of the tune to work with. Money well spent.

Starving bagpiper’s aside, paying for tunes is the right thing to do. A composer works hard to create music that is both fun to play and enjoyable to listen to. He (or she) deserves royalties for their intellectual property. It also take guts to publish a book of tunes, yet thankfully some pipers continue to compose. Hardcopy tune books are fun to browse and play through on chanter or even pencil (it just helps to finger a tune as you sight). Maybe soon we will be able to buy a tune book (besides in pdf format) for example College of Piping: Highland Bagpipe Tutor Pioaireached in a form that can be formatted for viewing on and played straight from the iPad or Surface. I think I’ll go in search to see what progressive bagpipe composers are doing.

I might even find a tune I just have to have.

The Piper - By Robert Louis Stevenson

The Piper

By Robert Louis Stevenson

AGAIN I hear you piping, for I know the tune so well, -
   You rouse the heart to wander and be free,
Tho' where you learned your music, not the God of song can tell,
   For you pipe the open highway and the sea.
O piper, lightly footing, lightly piping on your way,
   Tho' your music thrills and pierces far and near,
I tell you you had better pipe to someone else to-day,
   For you cannot pipe my fancy from my dear.

You sound the note of travel through the hamlet and the town;
   You would lure the holy angels from on high;
And not a man can hear you, but he throws the hammer down
   And is off to see the countries ere he die.
But now no more I wander, now unchanging here I stay;
   By my love, you find me safely sitting here:
And pipe you ne'er so sweetly, till you pipe the hills away,
   You can never pipe my fancy from my dear.

Memorial Day (In July?) Semi-Annual Back-to-Basics … Part 3

I remember taking my bagpipes for a spin when I first got them. I took them out of the old wooden case, initially seasoning the leather bag, then put reeds made out of actual reed into the drone stocks, added a chanter reed, inflated the bag, struck in the drones, then chanter and heard a cacophonous sound far out of tune. I was painfully aware that I was doing was probably done in excitement, and ignorance of how to tune. I needed to learn more; I was eager to learn more. That’s how we sometimes learn, by trial and error, learning from our mistakes.

In my Memorial Day Back-to-Basics, Part 1, I talked about the need to strengthen lips, lungs and arm. In Part 2, I spoke to bagpipes basic maintenance. Both parts are about the set-up of the pipes. In part 3, I want to look at tuning. You can have the strength to maintain a steady tone and you can have the lips to play for an hour plus, and your pipes may be set up to play functionally correct, but if your chanter and drones are out of tune, a great performance can turn into a dismal, painful sounding exercise.

Two schools of thought come to mind regarding effective tuning: Tune the tune the drones to the chanter or the chanter to the drones. Won’t they both get your pipes set-up correctly to play? I say yes, but consistent (and correct) technique leads to good piping. There is wisdom in the generations of pipers that came before me. So ask experienced player how they tune and play. Pick their brains. Watch their technique. Try things. Ask more questions, observe how others approach tuning, and playing technique for that matter. Let’s start with tuning the chanter first.

The chanter, made of blackwood or polypenco (a wonderful dense type of plastic), has been designed and refined for a hundred or more years for sound resonance with holes designed for bagpipe fingering. Eight finger holes for creating the scale of notes and two holes at the side of the base of the chanter for sound resonance. Without going into the music scale and it’s fingering, suffice it to say that each of the nine notes on the chanter must be tuned. To tune each note one adds (or subtracts) tape to the top side of the hole open nearest the fingering being played. Many pipers use black electrical tape, others a clear pipe chanter tape. Both work. Both need replacing as they will warn and slip causing a note to go out of tune.

But where to start tuning? Begin by warming up your pipes. Tuning will mean nothing if you start tuning while the pipes are cold. Of course you are developing your ear for tuning correctness. As I warm up, I will adjust my drones and chanter to sound good to myself. Practicing in tune is more fun than playing out of tune. If you are tuned when ‘cold’ as soon as you run through a couple tunes, your chanter and / or drones will be out of tune. Last weekend I played for a wonderful family who held a memorial service for their deceased Dad, sister and friends. I warmed up and tuned in 60 degree F, foggy weather. For the first 15 – 20 minutes of my playing, the weather held, but by thirty minutes into the pre-memorial playing, the sun was out, only wafts of fog remained and I started to go out of tune. If you find yourself in this performance circumstance, between tunes take time to make small adjustments to the drones to match the changing environment. Don’t panic, just take 30 seconds to retune the drones. Then soldier on.

Tuning starts with low ‘A’ on the chanter, the drones shut off. Typically, one changes the depth the chanter reed is seated to tune ‘A’. If you are part of a band, the Pipe Major or Pipe Sergeant will tune to a certain calibration, and let you know. Your job is then to come close to his (or her) tuning before the band tunes for practice. Lately our band has been tuning at 478 – 480 Hz using a tuner. A number of manufacturers have small tuners with digital readouts. My favorite is an iPhone app (not currently available on Androids) called aptly, Bagpipe Tuner from Blair and uses the iPhone mic and has an optional Bluetooth mic to clamp onto chanter or drone. I find that this app works very well. Once ‘A’ is in tune, slowly proceed up the scale adjusting each note, adding or removing tape in very small increments. These notes should be measured against the tuner.

A goal for every piper is, or should be, tuning without the aid of the tuner, tuning by ear. This take practice, and not every piper has the ear to accomplish this. When one plays solo, as long as the chanter and drones is in tune to middle ‘A’ then the performance will sound good. For a band the tuning becomes much more critical. A band is to sound and act as one, playing in unison with both chanters and drones playing the same notes. Extra care need be taken in the upper register of notes as these more easily can shift out of tune. High ‘A’ and middle ‘A’ need to sound essentially the same. One can’t play them simultaneously, but alternating one to the other will help, as long as you blow steadily.

Once the chanter is tuned, play middle ‘A’ on the chanter while the outer drone sounds middle ‘A’. If there is a beating sound, or a sound of ‘wa-wa-wa’ then the two are out of tune. To adjust, sound ‘E’ and reach across with your right hand and adjust the drone in (to shorten / sharpen the tone) or out (to lengthen / flatten the tone) to slow down the beating sound. Note that you can over lengthen or shorten the drone so that there is no beating sound. The drone is in essence on a different note altogether. Sound ‘A’ and repeat until the beating is gone. Here’s another reason to have your pipes properly set-up. Your drone should slide easily, but not too easily. If it’s too tight, you’ll have a hard time sliding the drone; to loose and the drone will move as you play. Next add to play the middle drone and adjust to the outside drone. The chanter can be silent during this, with the chanter eventually being played to hear and adjust the drones to chanter. Finally, stop the middle drone and start the third drone, the low ‘A’. Listen again to the beating adjusting the lower drone slide to match the outside drone tone. Then strike drones and chanter in to sound ‘A’ and listen. It can help to alternate to ‘E’ to listen for dissonance.

Finally, play a tuning scale listening all the while for out of tune notes and drones. If all is good, play a slow air or 2/4 march to hear the tuning. Play something you know by heart (e.g. Green Hills) so you can concentrate on how the pipes sound. Playing something familiar will allow for playing without stress and give your body and ears chance to play ‘normally’. If you are stressed while tuning, your blowing will be higher pressured, your arms and hands tighter and you’ll play elevated and sharp.

So just relax, play tuned, play, then re-tune, and play as if for an audience of only one… yourself.