Coincidence

I've been listening to Seadan in the car a lot, and liking all their tunes a lot. I've printed Blue Bonnets and the Wee Pickle Tow (again). Last time I think the Tow was hopeless, but this time I can get it to sound right, albeit rather slow.

Now I've got a few tunes up to warp speed slow feels...painful. I keep skipping along and tripping over things, and having to remind myself that fast has come suddenly to tunes that I've known as slow for a while. (The only irritating thing about the Cabot Trail suddenly revealing itself as a fast tune its that it has resolutely stripped out those blasted grace notes that I've worked so hard on).

Yesterday I flicked through my books looking for jigs and other fast tunes. Reels are, well, too fast, and rely too much on accurate timing, and let's not even think about strathspeys yet. Anyway, I could find nothing to take my fancy. The fan recommended a few, none of which appealed, other than The Drops of Brandy, which I've been working on. Easy peasy bar the bit that goes above high A. I have a key for a high B, but it's a challenge, especially at speed. I need to listen to how it's played on Tryst.

Anyway, I had dots out. I have two versions of the Tow - one with high A's in the second part, the other with low A's. Trying to work out which I prefer. But here's a thing: I notice that the version from the Thomas Glen Collection is followed by a brief tune called The Irishman's Cudgel, with the alternative title of The Drops of Brandy, and it is, just about, the same tune.

I've played every day since last Friday, sometimes only my chanter, and sometimes quite briefly, but I've been enjoying it. It's also preparation: I should have another month of playing every day. The fan will be away for a whole week next month and I will need something to keep me cheerful. I mustn't neglect A though: playing in D all this week to make the most of the sudden increase in tempo.

Music by numbers

Playing went well today, although I seem to run out of tunes very quickly: my play list seems to get ever shorter, although increasing speed makes a difference. And I really do seem to be speeding up: Over the Cabot Trail, which used to be a gentle wander, has become something of a 100m dash.

My initial thinking on sets was that variety was nice, that I could stick a fast tune on to the end of a slow tune. But, of course, for sessions it seems to work better if the tunes are all alike in a way. So I wondered whether the answer was to group by time signatures.

Including tunes I mean to get one day (ha ha), and tunes I can still just about play, in with my regular playlist, I get something that looks like this.

2/4 marches (or possibly quicksteps)
The 72nd Highlanders' Farewell to Aberdeen
Captain Grant
Murray's Welcome
Teribus

3/4 marches
Highland Brigade at Magersfontein
My Home Town

4/4 marches
Bonnie Galloway
Flett from Flotta
The Rowan Tree
The Shores of Loch Bee

6/8 marches (although some are described as jigs, especially where gleaned from The Session)
Over the Cabot Trail
Captn Angus L MacDonald
MacIntyre's Farewell
The Atholl Highlanders
The Braemar Gathering
A Rock and a Wee Pickle Tow
The Glasgow Gaelic Club
Balmacara
The Falls of Glomach
Troy's Wedding
South Georgia Whaling Song
March of the King of Laoise
All the Blue Bonnets Are over the Border

Hmm. I think all this does is prove that a time signature may be one characteristic of a tune, but it's far from defining a tune. Two of the 4/4s I play slowly, two a bit faster. The 3/4s I play slow, although I also like Magersfontein with a bit more speed. Blamacara and Glomach are lilting and lyrical, Bonnets is a romp, King suits various speeds... As it happens I do play Flett and Bee together, although I'm not totally convinced that works, and plenty of 6/8 tunes in that lists just wouldn't sit together. So, back to the drawing board on sets.

I guess all this list does show is that I seem to have a predilection for tunes in 6/8 time...and that I struggle with them.

Angst

I'm feeling rather muddled about piping at the moment. I went to one of the usual sessions yesterday. Not many of us, but I played 4 or 5 times. I was totally relaxed: not a wobble, not a tremor, not a single pounding heart-beat, not the slightest bit of clamminess on my hands.

I didn't necessarily play well. I began with Magersfontein, which was fine. Then I wanted to play Flett, but couldn't bring it to mind at all. I consider Flett to be one of the Old Faithfuls so why I couldn't play was a mystery. I did play, though: I played Dargai. I don't know why. I don't consider it t be ready for session playing. I don't know it well enough. Apparently my fingers felt they did, and not only did they play it they played at a fair old lick, with me calmly hanging on in there, trusting that they could manage it, which they did. It was a popular tune, though, and people joined in.

A little later I played My Home Town. After that I began, twice, on the King, but kept getting stuck. So, without batting an eyelid or feeling any sense of embarrassment, panic or stage fright of any kind, I laughingly went in to Flett. Why Flett appeared then when it wouldn't before I can't say. Again, the tune flew out at speed and people joined in. (The fan says that it's easier to join in with a faster tune. I don't understand this: for the purposes of picking and playing along a new tune by ear I should think speed was the last thing you wanted).

I got to the end, began on Bee, but couldn't hear myself play over the sound of the fan, so I stopped, again, without a tinge of embarrassment, self-recrimination etc.

I've been working with the chanter on Captain Grant, Murray and Dragon. I've listened to them over and over. It's such a good set and I love it. I can hum the tunes, separately or together, to order, I've had them in my head for days. And yet, and yet... Captain Grant has a rather gloomy air to him. Dragon and Murray don't sound well together. Captain Grant really needs his taorluaths. I've had to get the green book out and play slowly over and over, but it doesn't work.

Then the fan says fast and upbeat is what is needed for sessions, and somehow this trio don't fit that bill. Then I start to wonder what if I like to play other tunes, tunes that are not fast and upbeat? Who (or even, for whom) am I learning tunes? Is there a point in learning tunes that I don't play at sessions? Do I play for sessions or for me? I don't know. Should I abandon this trio, or keep plugging away?

What I do know is that two tunes, fast and upbeat, are trotting around my head a lot today: the Rock and a Wee Pickle Tow and The Blue Bonnets...

WIP

A bit more knitting terminology today that seems to cross over nicely to piping. WIP stands for work in progress. I think the interesting thing about it as a term is that it can describe a wide range of states. The item you are currently knitting on like fury in every spare moment and will cast off and be wearing by the end of the week is a WIP. The cardigan that has been sat in a drawer for upwards of 7 months waiting for you to find the ideal zip or buttons is a WIP. The jumper you haven't touched for over a year because, frankly, you hate the yarn and are sure it's a least a size too small is a WIP. Even something you cast on and knitted two rows of and then lost the pattern is a WIP.

In fact everything is a WIP from the moment you cast on until you either rip the entire thing (i.e. unravel the yarn and ball it up ready to use for something different) or complete the item. I rather like this: it means that you give up on nothing, and even the least number of rows on a needle has its potential.

And where does piping come in? I was thinking of each tune as a WIP. There are those I've "done": I know them, I can play them with confidence and pleasure. There's always room for improvement, but the basics are there. There are tunes I've played once or twice and really want to get to grips with one day, but the time somehow isn't right. There are tunes (like Troy) that are so nearly there but are stuck in a metaphorical drawer waiting buttons. There are tunes I really feel aren't possible at present. But they are all work in progress, still full of potential and possibilities.

Actually, learning to play pipes is a major WIP in itself. Ongoing until the day I give up and trade in Morag and the Monkey for something else, or until the day I feel I have "finished". I can't imagine that ever happening: piping will always be a work in progress.

Lorelei

After last week's flurry a bit of a silence here. Blame the light, dry evenings and the siren call of the allotment where the cucumbers and marigolds have joined the courgettes and squash, although the green house is still packed with tomatoes, peppers and aubergines awaiting the right moment to be planted out (if the green fly don't eat them all first).

I have been playing, although almost entirely just on the practice chanter, and mainly Heights of Dargai over and over. I feel I can tick this off my list of half-learned tunes and move on to the next, when I decide what that is.

All shall be well

Out to the usual session today. I played for an hour earlier in the afternoon, which went OK. The A seemed like a lot of work, so I flipped across to the D and found my fingers soft on the chanter, the chanter itself buzzing, grace notes that are so fast and short it takes me a time or two of close observation to see that they are actually there. Having problems with the B part of the Trail after the Farewell, which is odd as when I played the Whaling Song (the B part of which I have been conflating with the B part of the Trail) that was fine and dandy.

The session was small and I felt relaxed. I plunged directly into Flett and Bee, with only a wobble as I thought about how the Bee begins. Promptly lost track of where I was and I think I only played it twice, but fellow sessioneers who hadn't seen me play for a couple of months felt I'd improved.

Later on I played the King. I struggled a bit with a few bars in the middle of the A part, but by the time the second play through came I was fine. Later I confidently told the fan I was going to play Rowan Tree and was half way through the A repeat before I realised I was actually playing Magersfontein, which was good. Next up Home Town where the fan says I am sitting on a rogue note for too long. I need to work out which. Bonnie Galloway for grand finale.

During the first set I wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew, and my heart was beating away at a serious tempo, but after that  was fine. A tiny bit of sticky fingers, which interferes with gracing as the tiny movements you make for a grace aren't always enough to break the seal between finger and chanter if the skin is damp. But the bellows/bag/drones were good and I felt very relaxed with them, in control, doing minimal pumping, barely pumping at all at times, withholding pumping when I needed to hold a note or move to high A (both of which sounds vile if you apply pressure to the bellows at the same time).

So, not perfect: a few small errors and hesitations, but on the whole not bad, not bad at all.

Plan of action

Heights of Dargai is my first target. I had it just about by heart, then haven't played it for while. Played pretty much nothing else this evening, on one chanter then the other, working on the grace notes. Can't say it went that well. I've hit that odd stage where some of it is fine, then I suddenly get stuck on a single bar which I get wrong over and over. Grace notes that I work hard to round up elude my grasp when I actually play the tune through.

But I've got it in my head, now, and may listen to James Duncan playing it in a minute, if I can be bothered to get off the sofa and find the CD. It won't take long to learn.

Not sure where I'll head next, potentially Captain Grant, Murray and the Dragon, which I know really. I think they are short enough to work on as a set, and learn in one go, as I did with the Nova Scotia set. To some extent I already know them - I certainly thought I had them back in January.

The Age of Miracles

Yesterday I sat down and played. The A chanter was already in place, so that’s what I began with. I was slightly worried that I’d have the usual switching issues as it’s been well over a week – probably longer – since I last played in A. Amazingly, my hands adjusted at once and I had no problem at all with positioning fingers. I had a tad too much pressure in the bag, and a slight tendency to whack the bellows to keep that pressure up, but nothing that worried me too much. After half an hour or so I switched across to D….and again, no problems at all. My fingers found where they were meant to be, the pressure as easier, and off we went.

I had more of a problem with tunes. I hadn’t got any dots out so I played through the usual suspects. I then tried to play some of those tunes I’ve been playing from dots on an off for a while. Murray’s Farewell was a bit sticky at the end of the first section of the A part and the B was hit and miss. Listening to Tryst recently I don’t think I’ve got the timing quite right and I need to check it over.

I managed two bars of Gaelic Club but couldn’t bring to mind a single note of Portree, Captain Grant, Highland Lassie, Balmacara, Falls, or Dargai. I managed one part (but which?) of Pibroch of Donal Dhu, which I play from time to time but never with any serious intent to add it to my repertoire. I managed to dredge up Terebus although I think I missed a variant on the B part. No joy at all with Castle Dangerous and only intermittent luck with the Dragon. I did manage Captain. Now I’m not playing it with the Cabot Trail I haven’t played it in a while, but it was still there, in one piece.

I didn’t try particularly hard with any of these. I thought of the name of a tune, I tried to play. If I got half a phrase I had another run at it, but quickly moved on if I got stuck. Even so, some of these are tunes I definitely “knew” at one stage.  I seem to have unlearned them very quickly.

I think I need to pick one tune and work on it to bring it up to scratch, abandoning the others for now, then move on to the next. Or maybe work on Grant, Murray and Dragon as a set (as played on Tryst).  I think the other option would be just to abandon the whole lot and find some others to work on, but I’ll start with Plan A and see how it goes.

I've not yet noted that it's a year since I collected my little velvet Monkey, fell in love. and, I think, became a better piper.

Analogy

I've been doing a lot of needlepoint recently and pondering on progress.

I've been thinking that sometimes the background...

...makes as much difference as the detail...

...that everything looks better once you tie up any lose ends...

...and that sometimes focusing on what you have still to do...

stops you seeing, and appreciating, what has already been done.

Which is possibly an analogy for learning to play pipes...or possibly not.

Blue Bonnets

I've played quite bit today, and it has gone well, although I managed to get through an hour without using my drones as all, and I also realise it's a while since I played in A. I've swapped chanters so next time I'll be encouraged to at least start with A.

Recording is All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border. Suffering from a bit of red-button-itis today. Speed doesn't sound how it feels, although I think I slowed down for this because the faster versions were more likely to hit the skids. It's particularly lacking the rather joyous "here we come!" opening that Seudan manage.

I'm  finding the timing for the end of the final bar and back to the very beginning difficult to manage, unless playing very slowly. (There's only one run through on the recording as I was getting fed up with it and cutting my losses.) The birl on the first low A and various repeats was there but faded out over successive playings today, and I cannot persuade my fingers to double the B's anywhere.

I'm also reminded that it's easier to throw on D when playing in A. My fingers have a tendency to curl a little on the chanter on D. I wonder if a doubling and strike would work better?

As ever, wondering what it would go with to make a set. As a four parter it could perhaps have just one other tune: maybe one of those shorts I have: Gaelic Club, Murray, Highland Lassie...?


Check this out on Chirbit

None the wiser

After a bit of a break I'm back to listening to Seudan. It's odd, how it seems to have changed. Sets that seemed once to be endless tunes merged together are now clearly groupings of individual tunes. I can hear them clearly, work out how many parts each one has, identify ones I particularly like. I might have liked them before, but I am not sure I would have thought of trying to play them. I have tried Alick C McGregor, of course, and never quite got the hang of it.

I've picked out two from one set: All the Blue Bonnets are Over the Border and Rock and a Wee Pickle Tow. Dots for the first are in my Seaforth book, those for the second come from the Piper's Assistant, courtesy of the ever wonderful Coel Sean.

The Bonnets are coming on OK. I've spent two evenings working on the tune on my chanter, paying particular attention to gracing. I tried them out on pipes this evening and it went OK. I'm pleased at how quickly I am moving from first run through to something that sounds like playing a tune, and how quickly I start to remember bits.

The Pickle Tow turns out to be a total non-starter. It's one of those deceptive ones that has few bars, limited, and quite basic, gracing, straight forward note combinations. Nothing fancy at all...and yet I'm blowed if I can get even an approximation of what it sounds like on the CD. I was careful to pick a version marked as a jig - Ceol Sean has some march versions - but it's hopeless. Much, I suppose, will be down to timing, although as the tune is quite clear in my head that ought not to be a problem. I can't listen through while I read the dots as the CD is in the car for intensive listening and I can't be bothered to go out and get it, and You Tube isn't helping much.

I also have no idea what a pickle tow is. Google has offered me some lyrics and some dance instructions, but that's as far as it goes. The Gaelic name is Iain Caimbeul a'Bhanca, which is apparently John Campbell of the Bank, so that sheds no light at all on the matter. I'm clueless all round when it comes to this tune.