The Captain's Corner

Welcome to the Reading Room

Please come into the Reading Room and have a seat. You will find articles of interest - some historical, some technical and others just for pure fun. Many of these articles are sourced from the web or from back issues of the many piping publications in existence today. In all cases, the ownership of intellectual property must be respected. Thus, appropriate permissions are acquired and proper accreditation is given to all sources. Please consider that when using the articles for your own purposes. Where appropriate, links will be given to the owner of such material to better promote information and sales.

A Wonderful Video on Piping

Some History - Playing- Familiar Faces

Lynda Arnold

Lynda Arnold is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist (voice, flute, piano, and guitar), and electronic musician/sound artist who has been producing, performing, and developing her own sound for over 12 year. In addition, she is a seasoned music and audio production educator with a thriving private practice. Recent projects include a collaborative piano album called ‘Hammer Inventions,’ developing a sound healing practice and composing meditation music for yoga classes, live events and websites.

She has published several articles in Music Theory and Education; two of which are included here. Click on the links.

Exploring the 432 Hz Tuning Debate

Odd and Compound Time Signatures

Music is Just Another Language

As a prelude to understanding our music, it is fundamental that we see the comparison with the written score and any formal language. Music is nothing more than another way of communicating - a medium consisting of an alphabet, words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs. In short, every tune tells a story. Read further .....

Playing Pipes with Other Instruments

Every so often, articles appear that shed light on modern music - things that are not covered in the traditional music tutors or even in Theory 101 sessions. Piping Today, published by the National Piping Centre has been instrumental in bringing refreshing educational material to the fore on a regular basis. Over the past three issues John Slavin, a contributing editor, has enlisted many musicians in groups like Battlefield and Breabach, Mike Katz, Finlay MacDonald, Calum MacCrimmon, etc., to put together a series of articles on playing the pipes with other instruments. I found these 3 installments enlightening, filling gaps in my own knowledge as well as shedding light on the tuning of our own instrument... again not discussed enough and left for the player to "catch as catch can".....The following is the first of three great reads. We thank John Slavin and the National Piping Centre for their kind permission to reproduce these papers here. Please be responsible in using them for your own education. Consider a subscription to Piping Today - a great read!

Click Image to Download Article 1

The next article is the the second in the series, following well on the preliminaries of the first:

Click Image to Download Article 2

The third article in the series furthers our understanding.

Click Image to Download Article 3

And now for the fourth article from Piping Today:

Click Image to Download Article

Once again, the Corner thanks John Slavin and the National Piping Centre for their kind permission to pass on these articles. Consider a subscription to Piping Today, the source of these and many more educational and entertaining articles.

The fifth article from Piping Today:

Click Image to Download Article

For the fifth and sixth articles, we are once again indebted to John Slavin and the National Piping Centre for their kind permission to pass on these articles. In addition, these articles are the copyrighted property of Tim Cummings, and it is through his consent that we are able to provide them for you. Please visit Tim's website at http://www.timothycummings.com/

Consider a subscription to Piping Today, the source of these and many more educational and entertaining articles.

The sixth article from Piping Today:

Click Image to Download Article

Training a Piper's Ear

by Bob Mitchell

Bob Mitchell

Every so often you read an article that mirrors your views almost better than you can express them yourself. This article, is a reprint from the website Alternative Pipers of North America, a site devoted to small pipes. Resolution, two bar phrasing, structure of the music and many other methods and ideas are discussed that just might change how you learn your music - and surprise, surprise, it doesn't rely on an absolute dependence on sight reading the written score!

My Response

Bob…. a superb article. First of all, I subscribe to your methods completely. It is always a challenge to distance the student from the written score. But once they realize that it is only a guide for occasional reference, they are on their way. It is a commonly accepted principle that the more efficient path to the brain is through the ear and not the eye. Whereas optical skills require a "mental processor" that often fails, the ear is unencumbered in delivering the musical message to the brain and therefore to the instrument. Thanks for the article!

Ivory

An article on ivory imports and the CITES agreement to

assist when considering when travelling with ivory mounted pipes

The Learning Process

The process of learning the pipe is multifaceted. The following articles were printed in the Midwest Pipe Band Association (MWPBA) Newsletter back in 2006, but are relevant for all time.

1. Arpeggios and the Learning Process

2. Structure and the Learning Process

3. Memorization and the Learning Process

4. Practice and the Learning Process

5. Rhythm and the Learning Process

6. Grace Notes and the Learning Process

The Function of the Grace Note - Part One

The Function of the Grace Note - Part Two

Meaning of the Notes by Thomas Pearston

A New Appreciation for Piobaireachd

Martyn Bennett's Mackay's Memoirs

The Lament for Mary MacLeod

Article and Audio, copyright protected

Used here for educational purposes only

The Geometry of Music - an article written for Time Magazine about the structures in music.... has meaning for your understanding of phrasing and how music is put together.

Reed Shaving made easy - a picture !

What a repertoire of tunes can do for you.

An article by Mike Cole, Bass Drummer for Inverary & District and past cover story in Piping Today - Mike discusses ensemble for pipe bands.

The EUSPBA Voice Review of the Captain's Corner, Spring 2006

Read the Voice