'Great Highland Bagpipe' & 'Great Irish Warpipe'

[Ptarmigan]

I borrowed this quote from a piece submitted in the general section here, on Ulster-Scots Music.

It comes from the ‘Queens University – Dept of School of Anthropological Studies’
They produced this piece about the instruments used by the U. S. F. O.

www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofAnthropologicalStudies/Research/MusicMakinginBelfast/Ulster-ScotsFolkOrchestra/InstrumentsPlayingStyles/

I thought it might be useful for us to use this article to help kick start some useful discussions on ‘Highland Bagpipes’ - see below.
You may have information to back up what this article says, or you may disagree with some of the points it makes. ':?:'
Either way it would be interesting to hear from you. ':?:'
You also may wish to elaborate & perhaps even introduce other aspects of these instruments, & the playing of them, here in Ulster, which haven’t been discussed yet.
I’m sure we’d all like to read that kind of information! ;D

Pipe bands have long been enormously strong in Ulster, in fact the Northern Ireland branch of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association is larger than any of the branches within Scotland itself. The Orchestra uses Highland Pipes, sometimes in unconventional ways, such as in assocation with Lambeg drums, and also Lowland Small Pipes, which are more compatible with the sound of the fiddle, and sometimes more suitable for indoor venues.

The distinctive repertoire of piping tunes has also influenced fiddle and accordion styles within Ulster.

You'll find some basic info. on the ‘Great Highland Bagpipe’ here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Highland_Bagpipe

& here is a fascinating article:
‘The Great Irish Warpipe’ by Garaidh O Bríain

www.ipba.ie/warpipe.html

Plus - Links to sites of interest.

Ulster Scots Agency Piping page:
www.ulsterscotsagency.com/pipesandbands.asp

& the Brief History of - “The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association - Northern Ireland Branch:
www.ulsterscotsagency.com/royalpipebands.asp

[emdee]

There is an error on the Ulster Scots Agency Piping Page. The World Pipe Band Championships were also held in Corby, Northants in 1975. I know, because I was there playing with the Campbeltown Pipe Band. (Maybe with such a huge Scottish settlement in Corby they consider it to be virtually an annexe of Scotland anyway!)

Moving on to the strength of the piping tradition. I would suggest a major factor here is the use of the pipes by the military in Scottish and Irish regiments, whereby the settings of tunes became more standardised, and styles of gracing etc. became more codified. This was a major influence in the development of the now worldwide nature of piping. Pipe Major William Ross produced his collection of books in the earlier part of the 20th Century, and these books, along with other publications of the time gained an almost biblical status among pipers. These were the settings to use if you were competing, or indeed running a civilian pipe band.

This meant that bands that had any ambition had an available benchmark by which to build their repertoire, and the number of pipe bands throughout the world, grew exponentially in the latter half of the 20th Century, principally driven by Scottish and Irish influences, and is still growing. My late father, who was an army piper from 1929 through till 1945 said that the best pipers were Scottish, and the best drummers were Irish. Whether that still holds true I am not able to say. Any opinions? Is that a hornet’s nest?

Another factor in the rising numbers and standards of pipe bands is the fact that much of the pipe band “scene” revolves around the competition circuit. This means that they are always striving to go that bit further and be better than the band down the road. As we are aware, some of the Irish bands are now among the leaders. Whatever we think about competitions taking the fun out of music and turning it into a deadly serious adversarial business, those involved relish the rivalry and it does lead to ever rising standards and innovative ideas in the way of arrangements and orchestration (which would be frowned on by many of the pipers from the era of the March, Strathspey and Reel)

We mustn’t forget either that the worldwide nature of piping now means that there is serious money to be made by pipe and reed makers if the leading bands are using their chanters or their drone reeds and having success. It’s getting a bit like sport in that respect.

So far as piobaireachd is concerned, I will call it ceol mor, as it is easier to type. There may be some partial contribution to the survival and success of piping in Scotland, but on its own, I don’t think ceol mor could have saved the Highland Bagpipe from extinction. Ceol mor is really a bit of a closed shop and a mystery to the general public, and also to many pipers I might add. Unless one is a player of ceol mor, it is a very difficult concept to appreciate. It doesn’t set the feet tapping nor does it stir the blood unless you happen to be privy to its secrets. Maybe others may think differently. It has become more or less a purely competitive branch of music, and there is a body of opinion within Scotland that believes that the approach and interpretation of ceol mor that is required and played in competitions is not the way that the music was orginally intended to be played, and that for the true style, one has to go back to the Gaelic songs from which each ceol mor was originally evolved. All very esoteric, and still a complete mystery to me. I happened to ask a prominent competing piper about this and he said that it is probably correct. Does this mean that the ceol mor competitions and the true original style are two completely different things? If so, why?

I’ve rambled on a bit here, better cut it off now and see if anybody else has an opinion.