This will sound like a question the late, beloved Mr. Rogers might have asked, but I’ll ask it anyway.
Do you like bagpipes? I do.
Here are some links to some sounds and video of bagpipes that I have been obsessed with recently: bagpipe solo 6/8 Marches; bagpipe solo Viscount of Dundee; street video of a pipe and some drums jamming in Scotland; street video of Banda Gaites Corvera; Clan MacFarlane at a Highland Games somewhere; Holbaeck Pipe Band; crowd video of Simon Fraser University Pipe Band; Strathclyde Police Pipe Band; champion piper Jori Chisholm; high school band from Singapore. That’s about it.
After watching an Oregon Public Broadcasting feature on the world-class quality of bagpipes made in Oregon by Murray Huggins, I am thinking of buying a practice chanter, which is the “flute” part of the bagpipe, without the bag, to learn how to play.
[Postscript: A lot of these videos feature pipe bands in contest, much like military reviews. For me, there is a bittersweet dichotomy in listening to this music. These melodies melt the soul, but they have also been used quite effectively over many centuries by rulers martialing their populations to war.]
Tags: bagpipe, bagpipe videos, clan macfarlan, gaites corvera, murray huggins, simon fraser, strathclyde, viscount of dundee
April 5, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Dear Sir, sorry about the music link. I’ll try to have my tunes back up again some time. I didn’t realize so many people wanted to here my playing. Viscount of Dundee is one of my favorite tunes to play. Murray
April 5, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Murray:
Thanks for writing! I hope to see your music links back up soon. If the link changes, please let me know in comments so I can redirect visitors to your tunes.