THE A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION MOSSAT COLLECTION TUTOR BOOK A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO TUITION BY Jim M c Combie
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION ACKNOWLEEMENTS I would to thank Mr John Blackburn, Pipe Majors Roger Huth and Roddy Livingston for proof reading, my brother Billy McCombie for his involvement in the production and Brendon Collins of Collins Crystall, for producing the logo artwork. The Mossat Collection Tutor Book, compiled and arranged by James Sutherland McCombie 2014 (1.1) TUTOR BOOK CONTENTS PAES LESSONS IARAMS ITEM LIST 06, Why, am I writing this book. Personal experiences. Piper s basic problems. Full page text. 07, Piper s basic problems cont. Notes for the tutor. Full page text. 08, Explanation on slow playing. Notes for the Student. Pros. and Cons. Information. Full page text. 09, Lesson 1 Scales. race notes and Movements. Introduction to the Beat. Tempo. Placing right or bottom hand on the practice chanter. Full page text. 10, Lesson 2. Placing left or top hand on the practice chanter. Bottom hand proceeding up the scale. Full page text. 11, Lesson 34. Top hand proceeding up the scale. The Beat. Top hand proceeding down the scale. Full page text. 12, Lesson 5. Bottom hand proceeding down the scale. Beating to the Scale. Full page text. 13, Metric Accent. Finger movements. Crossing over noises. How to correct unclean playing. Full page text. 14, How to correct unclean playing cont. A tip to ensure clean playing. Full page text. 15, Lesson 6. iagram 01. Notes on the ScaleText. 16, Lesson 7. iagram 02. Notes on the lines and spacestext. 17, Lesson 8. iagram 03. iagram for beatingtext. 18, Lesson 9. Changing hands and cleaning up all notes. Have a look at note Values Full page text. 19, iagram 04. Exercise on changing hands. Low, Low A, B on the scale. 20, Lesson 10. iagram 05. Exercise on changing hands. C,, E on the scale 21, Lesson 11. iagram 06. Exercise on changing hands. F, High, High A on the scale.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION PAES LESSONS IARAMS ITEM LIST 22, Lesson 12. Introduction to the race note. grace notes. Full page text. 23, iagram 07., grace note on the scaletext. 24, Lesson 13. iagram 08., grace note exercisetext. 25, Lesson 14. Introduction to the, grace note. Full page text. 26, iagram 09., grace note on the Scaletext. 27, Lesson 15. Introduction to the E, grace note. Full page text. 28, iagram 10. E, grace note on the scaletext. 29, Lesson 16. iagram 11. & E grace note exercisetext. 30, Lesson 17. Introduction to Note Values and Pointing. HighA grace note. Full page text. 31, iagram 12. Notes on the scale used as a timing exercise. 32, Lesson 18. iagram 13. High A grace note on the scale (Back grace note)text. 33, Lesson 19. iagram 14.,, & E exercisetext. 34, Lesson 20. Introduction to the Pointing for all exercises. Full page text. 35, iagram 15. Exercise on changing hands, with Pointing. Low, Low A, B scalestext. 36, Lesson 21. iagram 16. Exercise on changing hands, with Pointing. C,, E scalestext. 37, Lesson 22. iagram 17. Exercise on changing hands, with Pointing, F, High, High A scalestext. 38, Lesson 23. iagram 18. Exercise on changing hands, Pointing, with grace notes. Low, Low A, B scalestext. 39, Lesson 24. iagram 19. Exercise on changing hands, Pointing, with grace notes. C,, E scalestext. 40, Lesson 25. iagram 20. Exercise on changing hands, Pointing, with grace notes. F, High, High A scalestext. 41, Lesson 26. iagram 21. Exercise on changing hands, Pointing, with back grace notes on the scale to High,. 42, Lesson 27. Introduction to the Throw on. Full page text. 43, iagram 22. Throw on on the Scaletext 44, Lesson 28. Introduction to oublings. Full page text.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION PAES LESSONS IARAMS ITEM LIST 45, Lesson 29. iagram 2324. Low oublings adding the grace note. Low oublings,, grace note. 46, Lesson 3031. iagram 2526. Low A oublings adding the grace note. Low A oublings,, grace note. 47, Lesson 3233. iagram 2728. B oublings adding the grace note. B oublings,, grace note. 48, Lesson 3435. iagram 2930. C oublings adding the grace note. C oublings,, grace note. 49, Lesson 3637. iagram 3132. oublings adding the grace note. oublings,, E grace note. 50, Lesson 3839. iagram 3334. E oublings adding the grace note. E oublings,, F grace note. 51, Lesson 4041. iagram 3536. F oublings adding the grace note. F oublings,, grace note. 52, Lesson 42. iagram 37. High Half oubling: on the scale with Pointingtext. 53, Lesson 43. iagram 38. Half oublings from High with High A grace notes on the scaletext. 54, Lesson 44. iagram 39. High A adding High hit, Pointingtext. 55, Lesson 45. iagram 40. High A Half oubling on the scale, Pointingtext. 56, Lesson 46. iagram 41. Half oubling from High Atext 57, Lesson 47. iagram 42. C & B oubling exercisetext. 58, Lesson 48. iagram 43. All oubling exercisetext. 59, Lesson 49 Introduction to the Birl. Full page text. 60, Lesson 50. iagram 4445. Birls on the scale. Birls on the scale with grace note. 61, Lesson 51. Introduction to the rips. Full page text. 62, iagram 46. rips (Leumluath) on the scale. grace notes. 63, Lesson 52. iagram 47. rips. B grace notes exercise. 64, Lesson 53. Introduction to the Taorluath. Full page text. 65, iagram 48. Taorluath: base melody with E grace notes. 66, Lesson 54 iagram 49 Taorluath, on the scale grace notes. 67, Lesson 5556. iagram 5051. Themals: on the scaletext. Tachums: on the scaletext.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION PAES LESSONS IARAMS ITEM LIST 68, Lesson 5758. iagram 5253. Tachums exercise: for reel playing. Triplings on the scaletext 69, Lesson 5960. iagram 5455.. & E, Triplings and oublings exercisetext. Crunluath on the scaletext. 70, Lesson 61. Introduction to Strikes. B, C,, E, F, High, High A. Full page text. 71, iagram 56. B Strikes on the scale. 72, Lesson 62. iagram 57. C Strikes on the scale. 73, Lesson 63. iagram.58. Strikes on the scale, using C grace note. 74, Lesson 64. iagram 59. Strikes on the scale, using Low grace note. 75, Lesson 65. iagram 60. E Strikes on the scale. 76, Lesson 66. iagram 61. F Strikes on the scale. 77, Lesson 67. iagram 62. High Strikes on the scale with back grace note. 78, Lesson 68. iagram 63. HighA Strikes on the scale 79, Lesson 69 Theory to cover early tuition. Full page text. 80, Theory to cover early tuition. Full page text. 81,. iagram 64. Note values.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION WHY, AM I WRITIN THIS BOOK? PERSONAL EXPERIENCES: Firstly, let me introduce myself. I am James (Jim) McCombie, Pipe Major of the atwick Caledonian Pipe Band, where I have been for the past fourteen years or so. Here is a brief summary of my piping career. In the days when young children went to bed at six pm, my dad, Jimmy, would practise his tunes on the bagpipes after supper. This would send me to sleep and although I had no idea of the impression this would have on me, it has lasted a lifetime. He would practise most nights. When I was eleven years old, I asked ad if I could learn to play the pipes. He told me I would have to take playing seriously and work hard as playing the pipes was not the easiest of instruments. After a few years tuition with the late Willie rant of Strathdon, ex Scots uards piper, I did manage to play with my local pipe band (Lonach) of which he was Pipe Major. At the age of fifteen, I joined the Scots uards in the Junior uardsmen company as a boy soldier piper. By this time, I could handle a set of pipes or so I thought, but the army had different ideas. On one occasion, my Pipe Major, Kenneth (Curly) Roe, handed me a sixpence and asked me to go to the local shop to buy a bag of grace notes. I think he was trying to tell me something. uring my training, we did a lot of square bashing and thus precise marching became the norm with the crack of many heels sounding as one. This may seam an odd thing to say but it does have some relevance, as it refers to the beat in music which I cover extensively in the book. To cut a long story short, in my twelve years as an army piper under Pipe Major, Angus Maconald, I gained valuable experience at various parades, shows, films and stage work along with my bit of soldiering. 6 After being discharged from the uards, I joined British Caledonian Airways, a grade two pipe band, with a lot of the top names in piping at that time under Pipe Major Bob Richardson. This came as a shock to me as I now knew that my playing was not up to their standard. This was a different ball game altogether, hard tunes with precision playing: So following a period of returning to square one, for example basics covering finger and thumb placement on the chanter and fundamentals covering finger control, cleanliness between notes and working with the beat on these notes. In addition, I needed to keep a regular steady beat, controlling and opening up movements for precise placing and execution. My tutor and friend Malcolm owie helped me to rid myself of inherent faults. Faults always resolve to basic or fundamental playing. These are either never taught or probably have been forgotten or never managed to master in the first place. These had to be corrected. I found this hard to do given the number of years that I had been playing, but I did make it through to the other side as a much-improved player and I have never looked back. Had I known in the beginning I may have avoided some of these faults. After joining British Caledonian Airways pipe band, I found that my own standard had improved because of the high standard of the players in the band. This was something to aim for. So onwards and upwards. Three years later in 1977 the band and I won champions of champions grade two in Aberdeen and were promoted grade one soon there after. What a feeling of success. PIPERS BASIC PROBLEMS: Most pipers, whether experienced or novice, will at sometime suffer from basic and fundamental problems. With the correct tuition, these would improve with a little effort. o not let pride or a will do attitude stand in your way.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION The passage above tells of my experiences and after years of teaching the chanter to novice and band members. Having played in other graded pipe bands I understand the common faults that all pipers make, even the skilled players. The aim of this tutor book is to help you to be a competent piper with the help of a tutor. The tutor book covers all these faults in detail and how to eliminate them along with the exercises to improve your ability and finger dexterity. Teaching the reat Highland Bagpipes: A Structured Approach for Students and Tutors with Exercises and Explanations NOTES FOR THE TUTOR: This course has been structured so that all the exercises needed are straight forward and always building on earlier skills. Piano teaching is a good example. Pianists constantly need to practice the scales; even concert pianists begin the day with a practice session. Most piano teachers will hold either the ip Tmus (iploma in the Teaching of Music) or the ipabrsm (iploma of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in piano teaching). I know many piping tutors are often thrown into the job. For many civilian pipe bands, it is often the best player that is invited to be pipe major, experienced or not. Being able to play well is important but many might lack basic teaching and understanding to apply these skills. Thus, the idea was born to produce a structured course for the tutor based on my own experience. This book is written for both student and tutor. Experience has taught me that basic finger work and basic technique are crucial to good playing. These exercises are straight forward, always building on earlier learned skills providing simplicity and completeness. These are elements that the student will need. By tradition, learning the chanter has consisted, of few if any exercises, but rather the desire to promote tunes. I think this is misleading as they would not have the knowledge and find it very difficult to apply. Over many years of teaching the practice chanter and the bagpipes, mistakes and problems tend to repeat themselves as I meet new students wishing to take up the instrument. Occasionally, a student may have individual problems, but most students tend to be consistent in making the same mistakes and encountering similar problems. With that in mind, I have, over the years developed a series of exercises for such beginners and by keeping rigorously to these exercises, students have moved on faster. We can learn much from the approach of other music teaching. They already realise that good finger work and good sound basic technique is essential to good playing. 7 Some of the golden rules may appear obvious but they need to be repeated again and again to the student. Firstly, play slowly. Play very, very slowly. Speed will come soon enough. No student ever plays slow enough to handle these exercises. Secondly, we beat. Even if it is just the scale, we beat each note. From day one, the student must learn to beat the time out with their foot. It is certainly difficult to accomplish, but must be acquired at a very early stage of their learning. Thirdly, break down a movement whenever you can even to the extent of beating each melody and grace note to ensure a good balance throughout, and only then, it can be built up. on t be in a hurry to give the student a tune; such tunes will come soon enough. Clearly, you can use snippets of tunes to illustrate elements the student has learned.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION It has been my experience in tutoring learners that the beat is often very hard to apply to music and marching. So I have introduced a method of learning the beat early in their program, starting with the scale and progressing through the movements until the beatmarching can be easily applied to a tune in its earliest stage. This will apply regulation and discipline throughout the music and the career of the Piper. EXPLAINATION NOTE ON SLOW PLAYIN: Have a count of five between notes. This will have the effect of really slowing things down, controlling and making sure all notes are clean and also enabling the student to read the notation clearly. If, after the second note being played, in quick succession to the first, it is too fast, the second note must have a count of five as with all notes. Stop the student and begin again. As they play, they will speed up, stop the student again and ask them to begin again. Be insistent, as this is the only way they will slow down. NOTE FOR THE STUENT: Whereas it is possible to teach yourself, it is very difficult and you will miss out on so much. Wherever possible you should find a tutor. PROS: Once you have overcome all the obstacles and are playing well, playing the highland bagpipes will open many doors. There is camaraderie amongst pipers worldwide and there are thousands of them. There are piping competitions for solo pipers and pipe bands. If you are good enough and you pass all the relevant piping exams, you could become an adjudicator at those competitions at home and abroad. There are all sorts of piping engagements: weddings, funerals, memorials, corporate functions, birthdays, parties, fetes and charity work; also, you may become involved in stage or in film work. AN CONS: Be under no illusions: learning the practice chanter and the bagpipes will take a lot of dedication, self-discipline and practice to get things right, in preparation for the playing the bagpipes, the biggest challenge of your life. Correct tuition will make all the difference in the end. None of these exercises are easy and will take some time to master. None of this will come overnight. It is going to take years to accomplish a good standard of play. They say seven years to reach the top standard. The student, needs to follow the exercises as instructed by the tutor. Some will be followed sequentially, but, at times, the tutor may cover sections in their own style emphasising certain sections where the student is weak. Piping is fortunate in that most pipe bands are affiliated to The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, 45 Washington Street, lasgow, 3 8AZ. Telephone +44(0)141 221 5414. Fax +44(0) 141 221 1561. Website: HTTP:WWW.RSPBA.OR. They should be contacted for your local pipe band. Most bands have beginner s sections, and often individual members give private lessons. 8 The highland bagpipes are a very intricate instrument and require a disciplined mind and good finger work, blowing, setting up reeds, tuning, maintenance, theory, and none of these are run of the mill. INFORMATION: Although the practice chanter is a musical instrument in its own right, it is mostly used as a learning aid for finger work for the bagpipes. Foundation of the bagpipe finger work starts here. As constructing a brick wall, this is the concrete base that will support everything else. The bricks are the different notes and movements: The melody, rhythm and accents are the cement. You cannot have one without the other. You must build correctly, neatly and confidently to withstand the test of time.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION SCALES: Scales are an alphabetical succession of sound. They rise from the bottom up, starting notation from Low, Low A, B, C,, E, F, High and High A. The bagpipes produce continuous sound, which means that everything that we play is heard, mistakes and all, so to prevent this, I would strongly advise anyone to go to a tutor or pipe band to learn properly. RACE NOTES AN MOVEMENTS: race notes and movements are adornments to given to notes enhancing the music by giving depth to certain notes. Always play slowly and deliberately while learning these scales and movements. There is no requirement for speed at this stage since speed will come soon enough. We are looking for quality. Although we are involved with technical aspects of piping, the overall aim is to enjoy playing. INTROUCIN THE BEAT: The beat is the rhythmic sound of a drumbeat in all music. The beat is a means to control or regulate music by means of a drum tap or use of the foot to imitate a drum beat. I cannot over emphasise the importance of the beat. Start by clapping your hands at a slow deliberate and steady rhythm, as you do this speak the notes A-B-C etc as your hands come together, so that the words and clap are working together as one. The beat at this stage must be opened up to slow it down. Once this has been achieved, apply the same to the chanter, beat a slow deliberate and steady rhythm and sound each note on the beat. In this process you will learn the note names, note values, timing and clean playing between the notes that will enable you eventually to learn tunes on your own with a high degree of success, and to write or compose music. The reason for the beat, is to control all finger movements initially and then control the tune s tempo eventually so that the music does not wander about either slower or faster than it should: no drifting. Playing to the beat is essential for stability of the music and playing precisely with others in a band. Invariably a piper plays a tune and the beat is an after thought, which allows the music to wander, as his beat has no control over the tune. Playing a tune to the beat will have the desired effect: it will control the precision of the tune and make it sound controlled throughout. Add the beat to all of the exercises enclosed to ensure balance of the movements. Again, you should hear one sound - beat and note together. The beat is used by both the military and civilian organisations for marching in precise time with the music. The beat is also used in dancing to keep the tune in time for March Strathspey, Reel, Jig and Hornpipe dancing times. TEMPO: Tempo is the speed of a composition. This does not mean that exercises are to be rushed which will make learning much harder. Keep everything slow and deliberate. LESSON-ONE: PLACIN RIHT OR BOTTOM HAN ON THE PRACTICE CHANTER: The holes involved are Low A, B, C, and. Position the end pad of the small finger (pinkie of the right or bottom hand) on to the bottom hole of the chanter: the Low A hole. rop the pads of the other three fingers on to the ascending B, C and holes. By placing your foot on to the floor at the same time as you lift or close the fingers on the chanter produces the beat. You should hear one sound - beat and note together, not one after another. 9
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION Position the thumb of the lower hand either behind the C finger, or between the B and C fingers. The thumb is positioned on its edge rather than flat, giving good balance to the hand while playing. Making sure that the fingers are straight across the chanter, and that the thumbs at the back of the chanter are positioned on their edge rather than flat, similar to the position of shaking hands with some one. Now look down the line of fingers. Feel the holes against the fingers, if you cannot, don t worry, as it will come in time. PLACIN LEFT HAN OR TOP HAN ON THE PRACTICE CHANTER The holes involved are E, F, High and High A. Position the fourth, or wedding ring, finger of the left or top hand on to the chanter s next hole, E, the fifth hole from the bottom. Place the end pad of the finger on to the hole, then place the other two fingers on to the ascending holes F and High ; again, keep the fingers straight across the chanter. The thumb is positioned on the top hole at the back of the chanter, High A and on its edge rather than flat. o not at any time curl your fingers round the chanter as this will let air escape past the holes that are not properly sealed. You may find that some holes are in line with the creases of some fingers. This is nothing to worry about, as straight fingers will cover the holes quite well. You will notice as you progress up the scale that each note in turn raises or sharpens in sound. LESSON-TWO: Now blow your chanter, at constant pressure but not too hard or to soft. Try and get a pleasing sound from the Low as with this exercise you now have all the holes covered. If you find, which you probably will, squeaky noises coming from the chanter, this is because the holes are not properly covered, or that the fingers are not straight across the chanter. Try positioning your fingers again. When ascending the scale, ensure that the individual notes are opened immediately the foot contacts the floor. After sounding Low all fingers on the chanter, take the little finger off the chanter, the Low A position, and beat the note Low A as you hear the Low A with your foot. Sound Low A and take the next finger off the chanter; this is the B position. Beat the note as you hear it with your foot. The next note is C, so lift the next finger off the chanter, hole 3, and replace the Low A finger on its hole at the same instant as lifting C, beating the note with your foot. This will look like a bridge or a C facing the chanter. The C and Low A fingers move together ending up on the C position. The C finger takes priority over the Low A finger. If not you sound a false B or unclean note. Sound C and simply lift off the finger, beat the note as you hear it with your foot, and look at the bottom hand. All three fingers (B, C and ) are off the chanter and the pinkie is on the Low A hole: this is the position. o not lift your fingers too high of the chanter as you will have to return them later. Fingering and blowing the chanter will seem hard work, and it is, but they will help to build up your finger dexterity, lungs, lips and concentration. BOTTOM HAN PROCEEIN UP THE SCALE: Keep your fingers straight but not rigid. They should look straight with the wrists and forearms in a half moon shape. on t be tempted to kink the wrists as this will make it hard to move the fingers, and will take your fingers off the centre line causing squeaky noises. 10 I use the word priority quite a lot and all it means is the note that you are going to is to be sounded fractionally in front of the note that you have left. This may sound stupid but it must happen this way or you have a catch or unclean sound being heard. Example is to E, which is described next.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION To sound a note means, to blow a note before you move to another note otherwise you will just hear the second note of which there is no advantage. You must hear between notes for unclean sounds appearing. LESSON-THREE: TOP HAN PROCEEIN UP THE SCALE: The next note is E, which is the first finger of the top hand. The pinkie of this hand does nothing. This is quite a hard move to master but an important one. Sound then lift the E finger off the chanter, hole 5, beating the note as you hear it with your foot, and close the, C and B fingers together onto their holes while lifting off the Low A as the priority note. This move involves five fingers changing places at the same time. Crossing over noises will occur on to E until you perfect the movement. While you use all of the top hand, the pinkie of the bottom hand should remain up or off the chanter in Low A position. Sound E then lift the F finger off the chanter, hole 6, beat the note as you hear it with your foot. This is the F position. Remember your pinkie! Sound F then lift the High finger off the chanter, hole 7, beating the note as you hear it with your foot. This is the High position: you should now have three fingers off the chanter on the top hand. Remember your pinkie. Sound High, take the thumb off at the back of the chanter before putting the E finger on its hole, hole 8, beating the note as you hear it with your foot. This is the High A position: the E finger should give the impression that it has pushed the thumb off the back hole Practise going up the scale with the top hand until clean and correct. Then practise the whole scale up (Low to High A) until clean and correct. Beat all the individual notes as you hear them with your foot. This may take some time to accomplish, as this is all new and a very disciplined exercise. THE BEAT: I cannot over emphasise the beat enough. o not produce the note before or after the beat but on the beat: the sound of the beat and note must be heard together as one. Practise a slow steady beat, with your foot or metronome, and then proceed up the scale ensuring that the individual notes are being opened as the foot contacts the floor. Ensure that you play the notes to the beat, not the other way round; control and crispness in finger work will depend on this. LESSON-FOUR TOP HAN PROCEEIN OWN THE SCALE: You will notice as you progress down the scale that each note in turn becomes lower or flatter in sound. When descending the scale, ensure that the individual notes are closed immediately the foot contacts the floor. o not produce the note before or after the beat but on the beat. The sound of the beat and note must be heard together as one. (Take note that the bottom hand is always in Low A position (pinkie off) while you are working with the top hand.) Sound High A, put the thumb on at the back of the chanter after taking the E finger off its hole for High and beat the note as you hear it with your foot. The thumb should give the impression that it has pushed the E finger off the hole; keep the thumb on its side 11
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION or edge. You should now have three fingers off on the top hand. Remember your pinkie. Sound High and place the High finger back on the chanter, to sound the F, beating the note as you hear it with your foot. You should now have two fingers off on the top hand. Remember your pinkie. Sound F, then place the F finger down on the chanter, to sound the E beating the note as you hear it with your foot. You should now have one finger off on the top hand. Remember your pinkie. This next move is quite a hard move to master and an important one. Sound E, then place the E finger on the chanter, after lifting all three fingers of the bottom hand off their holes. The priority note is, (, C and B) Place the Low A finger on its hole. This is the position. Beat the note as you hear it with your foot. Sound C, then close the C finger onto the chanter, while lifting the B and Low A finger off the chanter, leaving two fingers off the chanter. This is the B position beating the note as you hear it with your foot. Sound B and then close the B finger onto the chanter, leaving the pinkie up, or in Low A position beating the note as you hear it with your foot. Sound Low A, then close the Low A finger onto the chanter beating the note as you hear it with your foot. This is Low position: all fingers correctly on the chanter. Practise the bottom hand going down the scale until clean and correct. Then practise the whole scale down from (High A to Low ) until fingering is clean and correct beating all the individual notes as you hear them with your foot. This may take some time to accomplish. This movement involves five fingers changing places at the same time and crossing over noises will occur until you perfect the movement. Practise the top hand going down the scale until clean and correct. LESSON-FIVE: BOTTOM HAN PROCEEIN OWN THE SCALE: Sound and then close the finger onto the chanter, for the C position beating the note as you hear it with your foot. C looks like a bridge or a C facing the chanter. The Low A finger remains on its hole. Always practise with a slow steady beat, with your foot and then proceed up and down the scale ensuring that the individual notes are being opened or closed as the foot contacts the floor. Ensure that you play the notes to the beat and not the other way round; crispness in finger work will depend on this. If you are unfamiliar with reading musical notation, try looking at the written notes as you play them to get used to their position. Listen as well to the sound of each note as this will help you eventually as you cover all exercises. BEATIN TO THE SCALE: Secure a slow, slow steady beat with your foot or metronome and then proceed up and down the scale, ensuring that the individual notes are opened or closed immediately the foot contacts the floor. You should hear one sound: note and foot together. 12
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION When ascending the scale, ensure that the individual notes are opened immediately the foot contacts the floor. Again, you should hear one sound. When descending the scale, ensure that the individual notes are closed immediately the foot contacts the floor. Again, you should hear one sound. Ensure that you play the notes to the beat and not the other way round. Playing a tune to the beat will control the precision of the tune and make it sound controlled throughout. Playing to the beat is essential for stability of the music, and playing precisely with others in a band. Add the beat to all of the exercises enclosed to ensure balance of the movements. In theory: the beat refers to metric accent. CROSSIN OVER NOISES: Crossing over noises occur when there is catching between notes. Catching, or unclean playing, means that there is other note that sounds between two notes. For example, consider changing from to E: the fingers close to low A position a fraction before sounding E. An unwanted note, Low A, will be sounded momentarily. The way to eliminate this is to remember that when the highest note is sounded, for example High A, you cannot sound any other note below it. The priority note: is the note that you are going to not coming from. Therefore, it follows that if to E is played, the E is given priority over the closing, no unclean sound will appear. METRICAL ACCENT: Metrical accent in music is written to incite action, such as marching or dancing. The music has within it, the regular rhythmic recurrence of pulsating accents or beats, which the listener anticipates to a very fine degree, and marks, with spontaneous movement of feet or hand. The recurrences of accents, both strong and weak, measured off in regular groups by bar lines and are known as metrical accents. Metrical meaning measured. FINER MOVEMENTS: Practise these finger movements by proceeding up and down the chanter slowly and deliberately. For example, when moving your fingers to create a note, do not let your fingers do what they want. When you move your fingers, move them sharply and cleanly, not only coming off the notes, but also returning to the notes. on t forget that all finger work is heard whether good or bad. Imagine a cork coming out of a bottle: there is silence then a mini explosion when it is released. Your finger will have to move sharply to achieve this. This will take practice but it is well worth doing. 13 The same applies going down the scale; in changing from E to, the will take priority over E. For example, the fingers lift off the holes prior to closing the E finger. This is where your ears come into play: you must listen for these odd sounds and eliminate them. HOW TO CORRECT UNCLEAN PLAYIN: Unclean playing is producing one note and moving to the next note with a blip, or catching sound, in between the notes. to E is the best example of this unclean playing but can happen between any two notes.. When changing from bottom hand to top hand, Before the E is sounded, the bottom hand closes to Low A position too quickly causing the Low A to sound momentarily. This will happen in a split second but it does happen. The rule to remember is to give priority to the note you are going to going up or down the scale. Sound and don t close the fingers until the E finger is raised off the E hole. Then close the bottom hand to Low A position without actually sounding Low A.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION You now have a clean changeover with no unclean sounds appearing. This will have to be practised very slowly at first. The note changes that demand special attention and practice are: Up the scale Low to B, B to C, to E, and High to High A. own the scale High A to High, E to, C to B and B to Low. E to, and to E, these are the hardest to master because of the hand changeovers. A TIP TO ENSURE CLEAN PLAYIN: Sound the first note, listen to it, must have a clear sound, then stop blowing. Sound the second note but listen to it closely. As this is here it will all go wrong. When blowing both notes one after another you should hear the second note clearly. If there are any other sounds, it is not correct. 14
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-SIX Notes on the Scale Practical diagram 1 As you progress through all the movements in this book, the main notation notes will be referred to as Melody notes (large heads). Every movement from now on must be played slowly deliberate and cleanly with a beat until competent.. As you read the notes, play them and listen, recognise them as you practise up and down the scale. This is the way to learn the melody notes by sight, the sound of each note by ear, which you will require as you progress through this book 15
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-SEVEN Notes on the Lines and Spaces Practical diagram 2 These two scales rise and fall two notes at a time, which makes this harder as your fingers will try to follow the scale you have just learned, with one note following another. Your fingers will try and follow the scale even though you want to play every second note. This causes catches, blips or unclean sounds between notes. They must be clean. The solution is to think of the note you want to go to and make it the priority note, and you should lift or drop to that note, you will find that your fingers contorting to the shapes required, yes it feels awkward but certain notation requires these shapes. 16
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-EIHT iagram for beating Practical diagram 3 $ You may find this diagram harder to achieve. Beating: I have introduced this diagram for beating on the melody notes and as an aid in recognising the notes on the stave. The fact that they do not follow in alphabetical order will have its own problems of catching from note to note. Move from note to note deliberately and cleanly. Think of the priority notes always. 17
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-NINE CHANIN HANS AN CLEANIN UP ALL NOTES: It may be apparent to you now that some or all of the notes while moving around on the chanter are not clean. The following exercises are to help control the fingers in any variation while keeping the notes clean from Low to High A. Have a look at the Note Values iagram 64 on page 81 and learn them thoroughly. On the practical diagram 4 we have Low, Low A and B scales. In the first bar, the 1st beat consists of two quavers, equal to one crotchet and the second beat has the same values as beat one. To equalise the two quavers you need to have a regular foot beat on both notes until you are familiar with them, then, and only then will you beat on the first quaver but playing the two quavers equally. To get true value of the two even notes, always go onto the next beat note so that you now have three notes in succession but only two beats. Apply this to the complete exercise, and to all of these diagrams. On the practical diagram 5, we have C, and E scales. On the practical diagram 6, we have F, High and High A scales. Once you have evened out the first two notes, try beating the first beat through to the second beat, this will even out the second note still further as it will be in the middle of the two beats. 18
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION Exercise on changing hands Practical diagram 4 Look for clarity betw een notes, Low, Low A and B scales. 19
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-TEN Exercise on changing hands Practical diagram 5 Look for clarity betw een notes, C, and E scales. 20
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-ELEVEN Exercise on changing hands Practical diagram 6 Look for clarity betw een notes, F, High and High A scales. 21
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-TWELVE INTROUCTION TO THE RACE NOTES: The grace notes are musical embellishments used to adorn the melody. They are written on the manuscript as smaller headed notes with their stems turned up and three small tails. Their individual values, 1 32nd or demi-semi quavers, they have nothing to do with the flow or timing of a tune, but do add weight to given notes to enhance the melody. The next important step is to master the grace notes. Once this has been accomplished, everything else is progressively built on two items: the scale and three grace notes. If the grace notes are heavy or out of sync with the melody notes they will disrupt the flow of the music, therefore, grace notes must be practised until perfected. The grace note adds a little weight to a given melody note and, as you will see, the more gracing that is added the greater the weight. There are some written grace notes that are not actual grace notes but are melody notes shortened to grace note value. This happens in other movements, which we will learn later. RACE NOTE: The grace note is not played as a melody note but as a shortened version of High with only one finger raised rather than three. This means that the E and F fingers, which would normally be off the chanter while sounding High, are not used when the grace note is played. the melody note is sounded, and then the grace note finger should sharply return, which will leave you sounding the chosen melody note. Rather than beating on the melody note, we are now concentrating the beat on the grace note as it returns to the chanter. The grace note landing and the beat working together. Take care to make sure that the grace note and melody note leave the chanter together with the priority given to the grace note to ensure clean playing. If not, you will have the grace note sounding after the melody note, giving an unclean sound. Some of these patterns will feel odd at first, but stick to it and they will come with practice. Rule 2 oing down the scale: the grace note and the melody note land together on the chanter. Lift the grace note finger off the chanter on its own, priority will be closing the melody note, then close the grace note. If not, you will have the grace note sounding after the melody note, giving an unclean sound. For example, as the grace note finger opens or lifts to create the shortened High, the foot will also rise from the floor. As you close the grace note finger onto the chanter, the foot will contact the floor and you should hear one sound with both foot and note. The idea eventually is to have the grace note reduced to the beat value, which is short and snappy, like a tap on the drum. The majority of beats will fall on a grace note, so grace notes and beat will have to be practised until perfected. There are two rules that apply to all three grace notes:, and E. Rule 1 oing up the scale: lift the grace note finger and the melody finger off together. They should leave the chanter at the same instance using the grace note as a priority note, which must be heard just before 22 This is the first and most used grace note. Written on manuscript it looks as if it is played in front of the melody note. It actually forms part of the melody note to which it is attached. The grace note is quite difficult to finger but will get easier as you practice. To beat the grace note. The grace note finger closes on the chanter, with the beat.
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION grace note on the scale Practical diagram 7 Sound the Low first then play the grace note with the beat. The first note must be sounded first, otherwise you would not hear the first grace note. You will notice that the High and High A do not have a grace note on them; it is impossible to play from these two notes. The grace note is used as a transfer grace note between notes. The second grace note is played from Low to Low A and so forth up and down the scale. 23
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-THIRTEEN grace note exercise Practical diagram 8 This exercise will help in two ways. 1. To control the grace note. 2. To move the fingers around within the scale and to read the notation Beat the grace note when the grace note finger closes on the chanter. Play evenly the other notes. If necessary, beat all the notes until fluent Most diagrams will have a line drawn under notes to group notes together, this has the effect of one beat per group and gives value to quaver notes in that group. 24
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-FOUREEN INTROUCTION OF THE RACE NOTE: The grace note is not played as a melody note but as a shortened version of melody note with only one finger raised rather than three. This means that the C and B fingers, which would normally be off the chanter while sounding, are not used when the grace note is played. Again there are two rules that apply to all three grace notes:, and E. Rule 1 oing up the scale: lift the grace note finger and the melody finger off together. They should leave the chanter at the same instance using the grace note as a priority note, which must be heard just before the melody note is sounded, and then the grace note finger should sharply return, which will leave you sounding the chosen melody note. When playing a grace note to C be very careful to en sure that the is sounded ahead of the C, returning the grace note finger to sound C. This particular movement does cause problems. Rather than beating on the melody note, we are now concentrating the beat on the grace note as it returns to the chanter. The grace note landing and the beat work together. Take care to make sure that the grace note and melody note leave the chanter together priority must be given to the grace note to ensure clean playing. If not, you will have the grace note sounding after the melody note, giving an unclean sound. Some of these patterns will feel odd at first, but stick to it and they will come with practice. an unclean sound. For example, as the grace note finger opens or lifts to create the shortened, the foot will also rise from the floor. As you close the grace note finger onto the chanter, the foot will contact the floor and you should hear one sound with both foot and note. The idea eventually is to have the grace note reduced to the beat value, which is short and snappy, like a tap on the drum. The grace note is often used as an echo beat or second grace note. grace notes, and beat will have to be practised until perfected. This is the second most used grace note. Written on manuscript it looks as if it is played in front of the melody note. It actually forms part of the melody note to which it is attached. The grace note and melody note are on the same hand, which actually makes it harder to handle unlike the, and E. grace note. The grace note is quite difficult to finger but will get easier as you practice. Beat the grace note. The grace note finger closes on the chanter, on the beat. Your foot has to lift off the floor to be place back. So the grace note and foot make contact at the same instant. As you can see on diagram 9, the grace note does not cover, E, F, High or High A. The reason for this is once you play the grace note you cannot physically play higher with grace notes. You cannot play above the melody note with the same named grace note but you can play below. Rule 2 oing down the scale: the grace note and the melody note land together on the chanter. Lift the grace note finger off the chanter on its own, priority will be closing the melody note, then close the grace note. If not, you will have the grace note sounding after the melody note, giving 25
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION grace note on the scale Practical diagram 9 Sound the Low first then play the grace note with the beat. The must be played open and cleanly then closed to Low to form the grace note. The first note must be sounded first otherwise; you would not hear the first grace note. The second grace note is played from Low to Low A and so forth up and down the scale. You will notice that the, E, F, High and High A do not have a grace note on them; it is impossible to play from these notes. 26
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-FIFTEEN INTROUCTION TO THE E RACENOTE The E grace note is not played as a melody note but as a shortened version of E Melody note with only one finger raised and returned. There are two rules that apply to all three grace notes:, and E. Rule 1 oing up the scale: lift the grace note finger and the melody finger off together. They should leave the chanter at the same instance using the E grace note as a priority note, which must be heard just before the melody note is sounded, and then the grace note finger should sharply return, which will leave you sounding the chosen melody note. Rather than beating on the melody note, we are now concentrating the beat on the E grace note as it returns to the chanter. The grace note landing and the beat work together. Take care to make sure that the grace note and melody note leave the chanter together priority must be given to the grace note to ensure clean playing. If not, you will have the grace note sounding after the melody note, giving an unclean sound. Some of these patterns will feel odd at first, but stick to it and they will come with practice. The idea eventually is to have the grace note reduced to the beat value, which is short and snappy, like a tap on the drum. The E grace note is used as an echo beat or second grace note. E grace notes, and beat will have to be practised until perfected. This is the third most used grace note. Written on manuscript it looks as if it is played in front of the melody note. It actually forms part of the melody note to which it is attached. The E grace note is quite difficult to finger but will get easier as you practice. Beat the E grace note. The E grace note finger closes on the chanter on the beat. Your foot has to lift off the floor to be place back. So the E race note and foot make contact at the same instant. As you can see on diagram 10, the E grace note does not cover E, F, High or High A. The reason for this is once you play the E grace note you cannot physically play higher grace notes. You cannot play above the melody note with the same named grace note but you can play below. Rule 2 oing down the scale: the grace note and the melody note land together on the chanter. Lift the grace note finger off the chanter on its own, priority will be closing the melody note, then close the E grace note. If not, you will have the grace note sounding after the melody note, giving an unclean sound. For example, as the E grace note finger opens or lifts to create the E, the foot will also rise from the floor. As you close the grace note finger onto the chanter, the foot will contact the floor and you should hear one sound. sound with both foot and note. 27
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION E grace note on the scale Practical diagram 10 Sound the Low first then play the E grace note with the beat. The first note must be sounded first otherwise you would not hear the first grace note. You will notice that the E, F, High and High A do not have an E grace note on them; it is impossible to play from these notes. The second grace note is played from Low to Low A and so forth up and down the scale. 28
A STRUCTURE APPROACH TO HIHLAN BAPIPE TUITION LESSON-SIXTEEN and E grace note exercise Practical diagram 11 This exercise is simlar to diagram 8. This exercise will help in two ways. 1. To control the grace note. Beat the grace note when the grace note finger closes on the chanter. Play evenly the other notes. And use the second grace notes to return to the melody note. If necessary, beat all the notes until fluent. 2. To move the fingers around within the scale and to read the notation. 29