THE MOSSAT COLLECTION BOOK SIX

Transcription

1 TH TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN MOSSAT COLLCTION BOOK SIX PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN. Along with other gems BY Jim McCombie 1

2 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN Thnk to my brother Billy McCombie for proof reding of this book nd Brendon Collins of Collins Crystll for producing the logo rtwork. The Mosst Collection Book Six, compiled nd rrnged by Jmes Sutherlnd McCombie (1.1) PA NO & CONTNTS: 3, The prcticlities of lerning tune. History of tune. The bet. Lerning tune. Copying. 4, igrm 5, tune explntions text. stblish how to pply verbl sounds to note vlues. ouble beting. 5, Sight-reding Phrsing Pointing. Points to remember. 6, The prcticlities of writing tune. Copying. Simple Time Theory. Compound Time Theory. 7, Listening to tune. Theory. The Stve. Treble or Clef. Time Signture. Top figure. 8, Bottom figure. ouble Br Lines. Single Br Lines. Brs. ouble Repet ots. Mesure. Nottion. Nottion in the Br 9, Pitch. Visully. Incomplete Brs. Introductory or Strt Notes. BetPulse nd Mesure. Bet. Pulse. Kind of Time. uple. Triple. Qud uple. Simple Time. PA NO & CONTNTS: 10, Compound Time. Tempo. egree or Intervl. Type of Tunes. Prt of Tune Four or ight Br Prt. Phrses. Melody. Rhythm. Accent. 11, Metricl Accent. otted notes. Tied Notes. Puse Mrk. Triplings. Cdence. Pino nd Forty. 1st nd 2nd Time. rouping of Notes. Pointing. 12, igrm 1 three prcticl sets of note vlues. Tune, Vetern Piper s. 13. igrm 2 Three prcticl sets of note vlues. Tune, The Piper s Brnch. 14, igrm 3 Note Vlue. 15, igrm 4 for lerning theory. 16, igrm 5 for Bet Notes nd Timing , igrm 6 Bet Notes nd Timing , Full tune score The orset Tttoo. 19, Tuning the Highlnd Bgpipe rones. Blowing, flt pitch. Shrp pitch. PA NO & CONTNTS: 20, Three items tht the Judges re looking for. Tone. Musiclity, nd Unison. Tone. Blowing. Blowing nd rm mngement. Arm strength. Lip. 21, rone Reed enhncers. Pipe Chnter. Knowing the tune well. Musiclly. Bet. The Piper s hevy left foot. 22, Phrses. Accents. Note Vlues. Pointing. Rhythm of music. xpression of tune type. Breks. Tempo. 23. Clen plying. Controlled movements. Know the tune well. Unison. nsemble. rce notes on the Bet. Listening to others Presenttion 24. Some tips for you. Mrching. Attck. Cut off. Working with rums. 25, Setting up Pipe Chnter Reed. 26, How to wer the uniform. ressing. Short HoesSocks. Flshes. Broguesillie Brogues. Spts. Kilt. Hir Sporrnress Sporrn. oublet. CrossWist Belt. PlidBroch. Medls. Fether Bonnet lengrry. 2

3 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A PIC OF MUSIC: HISTORY OF A TUN: Most composed tunes hve history of why nd where they were written. i.e. militry cmpigns, their commnders, friends, plces nd loves. Hving spent months or even yers lerning the ChnterPipes, it is now time to understnd how music is written nd plyed. There is little to be gined by plying pipes by er, s you will miss out on so much detil required to perform well or even compete. There re four items you must know, to lern tune by yourself. The Time Signture. The Medium. Nottion. Where to plce the Bet in the br. Of course, to know these items you must study the theory on pges six to seventeen. The more you understnd the theory the better plced you will be to understnd how to red nd write music. TH BAT: In other Piping Mnuls, there is mention of the Bet or Pulse but no reference s to how to pply it. The bet, one of the most importnt ingredient in writing nd plying music. This cnnot be stressed enough. The bet regultes nd controls the flow of the music. Look t Accents. Without this bet being in the correct plce, the music will drift nd will not sound, s it should. et used to regulr slow constnt foot tpping with the bet grce notes or note ensuring tht they occur together s one sound. The bet is the rhythmic sound of drumbet in ll music. The bet is mens to control or regulte music by mens of drum tp or use of the foot to imitte drumbet. I cnnot over emphsise the importnce of the bet. Strt by clpping your hnds t slow deliberte nd stedy rhythm, s you do this, spek the notes A-B-C etc s your hnds come together, so tht the words nd clp re working together s one sound. 3 Plying to the bet is essentil for stbility of the music nd plying precisely with others in bnd. on t forget you will be mrching to tunes, so the plcement of notes on the bet must be right. All the informtion required for lerning tunes re detiled in the theory pges nd digrm 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 nd 6. Full bet notes (Notes which re on their own) re bet notes i.e. Crotchets. These notes must be held until the next bet note to give them their full vlue. This is one big problem for lot of pipers. on t forget you will be mrching to most tunes, nd plying to the bet for others, timing is importnt. LARNIN A TUN: COPYIN: Begin by writing out other people s tunes, lots of them. This will help you lern or write your own tunes. The more copying you do, the esier you will recognise time signtures, note vlues nd movements. The first step is to estblish the time signture. Check theory for explntion, pge 7. Second step is the medium. i.e. mrch, strthspey, etc this indictes wht to expect of the tune. Look t the mnuscript of fmilir tune. It should be lid out s four brs to the stve. This mkes reding much esier. The repeting of brs nd phrses will mke lerning nd memorising esier. Third Step, Nottion. Py ttention to the notes nd vlues tht re on the sheet, re you reding them correctly? o not red in dvnce, of wht you re plying s cn confuse things. Use these brs s n exercise rther s tune. Fourth Step, estblished where the bets notes re. Ply the first br of the tune beting with your foot only on the bet notes, these re usully found either s solo note or the

4 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN first note in group, do not t this stge use ny other notes, get this prt right before moving on. This will tie up the bet melody notes or grce notes with the bet. Once you estblish where the bet notes re fill in the other notes between the bet notes, ply slowly nd evenly t this stge if necessry bet ech note until the group of notes re even. Ply until you get feel for the music within the first br, using the foot to tp out the bet. I hve introduced new tune composed by myself clled, The orset Tttoo, which is 2 4 Mrch. The reson for this is, if you know tune it will be eser to bluff your wy, which is not why we re doing this, but something you hve not herd of, will mke you work out the detils. The time signture hs been estblished s 2 4. The medium of music, s Mrch. How to pply the bet in the br nd where to plce the bet in the br. IARAM 5, TUN: First eight brs re the bet notes only. Second eight brs, filling in the other melody notes to the bet notes in the br. Third, eight brs, grouping the notes together. Fourth, eight brs, with pointing nd verbl text sounds pplied lso found on fourth eight brs of digrm 5. Hving often found, even nd pointed notes re treted the sme by students or mixture of both which tends to muddle things up, nd bet notes well, tht ws put down to sher luck. The lck of pointing is usully down to plying flt-out which lso destroys the music nd plying together XPLANATIONS TXT: Also found on fourth eight brs of digrm 5. Bet Pulse: indicted by 1, 2, 3 nd 4 numbers used s bet notes. Never stop on, n or notes (known s connecting notes). An used s even or held notes. used s cut notes. Alwys stop on bet note. STABLISH HOW TO APPLY VRBAL SOUNS TO NOT VALUS. The first br in the tuneexercise, being 2 4 hs two bets to the br, beting on the crotchet. The two bets, lso hve two other notes grouped to them, these groups re evenly plyed. So, speking the bet notes s 1st bet s 1, n, s the second melody note. Now red the br s 1- n 2 - n 3. To get the second n even, you must ply the third bet to complete the second even bet, otherwise the lst note of the second bet tkes on nother vlue, usully longer. Second br in the tuneexercise. Hve more notes but only two bets. First group, bet note is or 3rd bet followed by, F, nd High. Spoken s, (3 n 4), gin to hve proper vlue to lst semi quver sound the fourth bet. Second group bet note is High A or 4th bet. Stop plying on High A bet note. The other two notes on the fourth bet re the strt of the second phrse or third br. Repet the first phrse (two brs) until the bet nd bet notes re plyed together, not one fter nother. The third nd fourth brs (second phrse) re executed the sme s first phrse. OUBL BATIN: A system for giving vlue to even nd pointed notes. To even out two or more note, nd ensure slower pce, for prctice purposes. Bet, ech bet note, nd bet ech of the other notes evenly. There re grouped notes in fours, the sme double beting pplies on every first nd third note, ply evenly until redy for the pointing then pply it with shrp movement of the fingers. 4

5 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN SIHT-RAIN: To mke plying esier, try to sing or hum the tune, with ll note vlues included, either out loud or in your hed. This my seem childlike but most musicins do this nd become excellent exponents of sight-reding. ngge your fingers when singing. PHRASIN: Ply the two brs (one phrse) one fter the other nd this will begin to sound like tune. When plying in phrses stop plying on the fourth bet, the other notes ttched to the fourth bet re the strt notes for the second phrse nd so on. The second phrses is to be lerned exctly the sme, nd then dd first nd second phrses together, now with strt notes between the two phrses one nd two. This is known s question nd nswers, the first phrse question, second phrse nswer, third phrse question, forth phrse the nswer. Complete the tune in the sme wy. Through this method, you will strt to remember the tune when repeting these phrses time nd time gin. In generl, the lst forth phrse in ech tune prt will tend to repet it s self throughout the tune, s do other phrses, wtch out for them. POINTIN: Adding secondry timing to piece of music. I cll this secondry timing to the lredy estblished note vlues. Insted of every note given it s mthemticl vlue, i.e. Quver, Semi Quver, emi semi Quver within the bet group. It is esier to remember nd stte whither held or cut notes nd give them reltive vlue. How do you give vlue to emi semi Quver other thn cutting it? Or how long is dotted note or bet note? Just hold it. These vlues re dependent on how fr the distnce is between bets. The slower the bet the more time nd spce you hve to dd these detils. The held notes nd wht tht mens. Holding note within the timing of bet notes, the bet note its self my be cut or held nd the following notes re either even or hve the secondry timing of holding or cutting. Held notes re s stted, hold them, do not shorten these notes. ven to the extent of over stretching them, just to get used to them being held. The cutting of notes nd wht tht mens. Cutting note within the timing of bet notes, the bet note its self my be cut or held nd the following notes re either even or hve the secondry timing of holding or cutting. Cut notes re s stted cut, but not s much s to eliminte them ll together. All this hs the effect of shrpening up the finger moves nd stilting the music, which is wht we wnt. Fourth prt of digrm 5 demonstrtes this. o not ply fster thn you cn red. Red nd ply the notes t the sme time s the bet. Use the music s n exercise to strt with, plying slowly nd in smll chunks, never over extend yourself. The more you tke on, the hrder it is to estblish detil nd remembering wht you hve just done. Points to remember: Full bet notes (single notes, on their own re full bet notes). Ply to the bet, plce the bet notes onto the bet. Red nottion s you ply don t get hed of yourself. rce notes plyed must close on the bet note lwys. Lern ech phrse one t time thoroughly. Keep the melody slow nd grcing tight. Pointing: hold, held notes nd cut, cut notes 5

6 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN TH PRACTICALITIS OF WRITIN A TUN: Perhps, you hve tune in your hed or hve herd one but you don t hve the music score. It is reltively esy to do it yourself. The following guidelines will llow you to construct your own tunes. Those blck mrks on the mnuscript ren t there to frighten you, but to help you to lern nd write wht you re plying. People who cnnot write or red music tend to record their music or write down their tune s string of notes, this wy there is no structure to the music. If you cn work out the correct number of bets to stisfy time signture you will then be ble to work out where the single br lines should occur to brek up the tune. All the informtion required hs been detiled in the theory pges nd digrms. There is not gret del of difference between lerning nd writing tune, keep to the bsics. stblish the time signture, nd then fill in the melody behind these bet notes. Choosing the wrong time signture will present problems so mke sure tht it is right first time. Look t Time Signtures for note vlues nd lso digrm 3 The second, third or fourth bets re not behind the short br lines but re plced in their individul groups behind the strong bets which re behind the br lines. roup the notes, nd then dd the pointing nd grcing. The bet notes will lso help to position the grcing. COPYIN: Begin by writing out other people s tunes. This will help you when you write your own. The more copying you do, the esier you will recognise time signtures, note vlues nd movements. Use empty stve of four lines nd br lines. Try writing down your fvourite tune ssuming it cn be plyed on the pipes. Fill in the time signture if known, on the bet notes (strong nd wek) etc. The grouping of notes nd pointing within these groups. Now compre the written tune, try nd workout ny errors (if ny) lern them, nd write the tune out gin. Follow the sme procedure checking nd correcting s you go. Time signtures you will come cross re simple time 2 4, 3 4, 4 4, 5 4, 6 4 in either quick or slow time. Other time signtures re compound time 6 8, 9 8, 12 8 in either quick or slow time. Other time signtures C-common or 4 4, strthspey time. Other time signtures -split common or 2 2, reel time. SIMPL TIM THORY: 2 is simple duple time beting on the Minim. Medium Reel is simple duple time beting on the Crotchet. Medium Hornpipe or Mrch. 3 4 is simple triple time beting on the Crotchet. Medium Mrch & Slow time. 4 4 is simple Qud duple time beting on the Crotchet. Medium Strthspey Mrch & Slow time. 6 COMPOUN TIM THORY: 8 is Compound time beting on the otted Crotchet Medium. Mrch, Slow & Jig time. 9 8 is Compound triple time beting on the otted Crotchet. Medium Mrch, Slow & Jig time is Compound Qud duple time beting on the otted Crotchet. Medium Hornpipe, Mrch & Jig. 6

7 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN LISTNIN TO A TUN: Listening to tune hs it s own problems: i.e. estblishing the pitch of every note, the movements nd the timing. Record the tune to ssist listening: i.e. ply short pieces nd write them down, rewind nd listen nd check gin. Try listening or hum the melody nd bet with your foot to estblish which re the strong bet notes. Segment the tune into smller pieces so you cn write the bets down in their correct position behind the br line. In one-prt tune (eight brs) you could hve s mny s thirty-two bets to del with. This could be either 4 4, four crotchets to the br beting on the crotchets or 12 8 twelve quvers to the br beting on the dotted crotchets. Agin pick up on the strong bet notes nd write them down behind the short br lines. Listen to the group of notes with the strong bet, the bet being the first note in the group or single note. The second, third or fourth bets re not fter the br lines but plced in their individul groups fter the strong bets which re behind the br lines. nding up with strong first bet, second bet, third bet nd forth bet or less in one br depending on the time signture of the tune. Look t tune tht sounds bout the sme tht you re listening to nd follow the method of construction. roup the notes nd dd the pointing nd grcing s in the digrm 5 in pges 17. The bet notes will lso help to position the grcing. As you probbly see from these notes, one of the min spects of understnding, listening, composing or lerning tune is knowing where the betpulse lies nd the note vlues used. The bet notes re the guides to plying solid, consistent nd disciplined performnce. The bets re regultors of constnt time throughout the tune. Understnding the bet is ll-importnt nd over time, this will become quite nturl. THORY: TH STAV OR STAFF: In bgpipe music nottion, the stve consists of five prllel lines:,, B,, F, nd four spces between them: F, A, C,. The lines nd spces re red from the bottom up. Tke note tht the first or line or the First F spce, re not used in pipe music. TRBL OR CLF: The clef indictes where to fix the bsolute pitch upon stve, from which ll pipe music is written. The clef is the curved sign t the beginning of the stve. It indictes where to fix the Low note on the stve. The til of the clef is positioned on the Low line of the stve: this is the first note used when reding up the stve or Scle. TIM SINATUR: Immeditely fter the clef sign, t the beginning of piece of music, is nother sign clled time sign or time signture. TOP FIUR: The top figure of the time signture tells the number of bets per br. This number directly pplies to simple time. In compound time, the top figure is lwys equl to or greter tht six, nd must be divided by three, to find the number of bets in ech br. Six divided by three equls two bets. Nine divided by three equls three bets. Twelve divided by three equls four bets. When the letter C is given s the time signture, mens tht the time is 4 4 nd is referred to s common time. 7

8 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN BOTTOM FIUR: The bottom figure shows the reltionship of the bet note to the semi breve. Under the heding, Note Vlues digrm 3, it will be seen tht ech note hs reference figure. This figure being n bbrevition of its frctionl vlue of the semi breve. The 2 for instnce men hlf note, Minim. 4, qurter note, Crotchet. 8, n eighth note, Quver. 16, sixteenth note, Semi Quver. 32 note, emi Semi Quver. seprte the music into four or eight br prts. These single br lines eqully divide the number of notes nd bets in the tune. This lso determines the hevy betccent or pulse, which occurs immeditely behind these br lines. Single br lines mke it esier to red nd phrse music. BARS: Brs re the re between the fine verticl br lines on the stve on which the melody nottion is plced. This gives informtion bout the music. For exmple, tke simple 2 4 Mrch. The 2 represents two bets to the br while the 4 represents crotchets, with two crotchet to the br beting on the crotchet. The time signture sometime tkes the form of C or C with line drwn through it like this,, but more often it consists of two figures in the form of frction, such s 2 4, 3 4, 6 8. These figures refer to the number of bets or pulse notes to ech br nd the reltion of the pulse or bet note to the semi breve. These figures in frctionl form without the between the numbers, re plced t the commencement of piece music, represent the time in which the tune is written to indicte the number of the bets in the br nd vlue of the notes used. A bsic understnding of the time signtures is very importnt, s without them there is no guide s to the bet, tempo, rhythm, or the composer's feelings to their music. OUBL BAR LINS: The double br lines re the two short thick lines verticl to the stve. They cn be found fter the time signture nd t the end of the lst br to indicte the beginning or termintion of section of movement. SINL BAR LINS: The single br lines re the fine verticl lines tht divide up the stve enbling the melody to be divided into logicl bite size pieces. They lso 8 OUBL RPAT OTS: Repet dots re used when prt is to be repeted. The repet dots re found to the inside of the double br line nd re plced one bove the other. MASUR: The mesure is the nottion between two br lines. The mesure or br refers to strong-wek ccents s two-pulse mesure. Strong - wek - wek ccent s three-pulse mesure. Strong - wek - medium - wek ccent s four-pulse mesure. NOTATION: Nottion is the nme given to the visul system of representing vrious sounds. These sounds re represented on the stve using the lines nd spces. Stve nottion is the plcing of the vrious reltive durtion notes, or symbols, on series of lines nd spces. NOTATION IN TH BAR: This is clled pitch. In piping, the notes of the melody hve lrge heds with their tils pointing down cross the stve nd re written on these lines nd spces. The smller heded notes with their tils rising up cross the stve re clled grce notes, which re lso written on the lines nd spces to denote their pitch. Nottions in the brs re t the composer's discretion. They re there to help us lern the tune initilly, to ssist us to remember the tune nd to return to it yers lter. It is not recommended lerning tunes by er, s you cn miss so much.

9 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN PITCH: Pitch is the height nd depth of sound. The notes tke their nmes from the lines or spces on the stve where they re plced nd re used to denote reltive pitch nd durtion. VISUALLY: The two visul chrcters of pitch re length or durtion (vlue of note) nd the height or depth (pitch of note). Stve nottion represents these. Often referred to s the pitch ldder, or stve, showing the modifiction of pitch. For exmple, written music on music score. INCOMPLT BARS. An incomplete br is the lst br in the prt tht does not hve the lst few notes included, but will hve the correct number of bets. If the introductory notes re included in the lst bet then the br nd timing will dd up correctly. INTROUCTORY OR START NOTS. These notes will mke up the timing of the lst incomplete br but re plyed t the beginning of the music or repeted prt. The introductory strt or entry notes re found between the first double br lines, nd before the first single br line. Usully the strt notes re written on short stve. These notes re not included in the bet but do form prt of the tune. Thus, the first bet of the tune immeditely follows the first single br line. BAT PULS AN MASUR: BAT: A bet is one of the min divisions of br or mesure. It is importnt to hve rock stedy bet. PULS: The pulse, is the distnce from one strong ccentbet to the next. The mesured "throb" of the music. KIN OF TIM: Time is the grouping of sounds into sets of notes by mens of ccent. All music hs bets or pulses running through it nd some pulses re stronger or more prominent thn others. Time is the mens of mesuring these bets or pulses into brs nd this is determined by the regulr periodic recurrence of the strong ccent. Time is method of mesuring nd not to be confused with tempo. UPL: uple mens two bets in the br with rhythmic recurrence of strong wek. Tht is to sy, the first bet in ech br is the strong one, the second bet, the wek one. Time signtures tht pply re 2 4, 6 8,. TRIPL: Triple mens three bets in the br with rhythmic recurrence of strong wek - wek. Tht is to sy, the first bet in ech br is the strong one, the second bet wek nd the third bet lso wek. Time signtures tht pply re 3 4, 9 8. QUA UPL: Qud uple mens four bets in the br with rhythmic recurrence of strong wek - medium - wek. Tht is to sy, the first bet in ech br is the strong one, the second bet wek, the third bet not s strong s the first but stronger thn the forth wek bet. Time signtures tht pply re 4 4, C, In ddition, ech of the bove times hs two sub divisions clled simple nd compound time. SIMPL TIM: Simple Time: is where ech bet of br is divisible by two. It is not dotted nd cn equl to two notes of lesser vlue. For exmple, 2 4 time. Simple time is time in which the bet, or pulse note, is simple one. For exmple: split common, reel time or 2 2, denotes two bets in the br, 2 beting on the minim. 4 denotes two bets in the br, beting on the crotchet. 3 4 denotes three bets in the br, beting on the crotchet. 4 4 or common time denotes four bets in the br, beting on the crotchet. 9

10 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN COMPOUN TIM: Compound Time, is where ech bet of br is divisible by three. It is dotted note nd cn equl to three notes of lesser vlue. For exmple, 6 8 time. Compound time, is time in which the bet or pulse note is dotted one. For exmple: 6 8 denotes two bets in the br, beting on the dotted crotchet. 9 8 denotes three bets in the br, beting on the dotted crotchet denotes four bets in the br, beting on the dotted crotchet. In simple time, the reding is direct, but in compound time, three notes must be dded together nd represented by one dotted note. The bet or pulse note is then referred to s dotted crotchet, dotted quver, etc. FOUR, OR IHT BAR PART: A four br prt is normlly in strthspey or reel time. The eight br prt cn cover ll tunes nd cn hve s mny s six or more prts to the tune. PHRASS: Phrses re term for binding two brs together: A musicl period of two brs. By prcticing the individul phrses, nd movements within, you will memorise the tune esier. An eight br prt hs four phrses. A useful wy to think of phrses is s follows: the first phrse is the question nd the second phrse the nswer. In tht wy, the third phrse nd fourth phrse re the question nd nswer respectively, nd so on. The bet or pulse note my be represented by ny number of lesser notes to the vlue thereof, nd when this occurs, the bet lwys flls on the first note. TMPO: Tempo is the speed or pce t which the music is plyed. It is the number of bets or pces to the minute. This cn be mesured by using metronome. There is little point of plying mrch t tempo you cn t mrch to, let the kilt swing be your guide, if the plets ruffles up your going too fst. Piping is not rce, lets ply music. R OR INTRVAL: A degree, or intervl, is the distnce in pitch between ny two musicl sounds. For exmple A nd B, B nd C, nd so on. TYP OF TUNS: Type of tune mens the construction of prticulr melody. For exmple, Mrch, Strthspey, Reel, Slow Mrch, Hornpipe or Jig nd these will determine the tempo, which the tune will be plyed t. PART OF A TUN: A prt consists of four, eight or sixteen brs nd cn increse depending on the tune. 10 MLOY: Melody is single sounds in musicl succession. RHYTHM: Rhythm is the principl in music where sounds re felt to progress to certin points of culmintion. Rhythm is the regulr recurrence of the strong nd wek ccents rising from the division of the music into regulr metricl portions. Lnguge hs its own nturl rhythm. The words nd syllbles when spoken form themselves into rhythmicl recurring groups of two, three or four. Simple nursery rhymes cn be used to demonstrte rhythm. ACCNT: Music is composed of two successive strongest ccents. The strong ccent or bet is behind ech br line. Accent, hs very wide mening nd my be sid to give emphsis, stress, strin, force, dominnce or prominence given to certin notes or bets. In piping, it cn only be obtined through the dominnce or prominence of certin notes in the melodic sequence. It is nevertheless so striking in chrcter tht bgpipe music is rted very highly for its rhythmicl qulities. To produce stisfctory musicl effect it is not only necessry

11 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN tht there should be (1) vriety of pitch nd (2) durtion of sound, but lso wht is termed ccent. This lso pplies to two even grouped notes behind the br line, s they re written, they re even, but the ccent is on the bet note which hs slight dely but not pointed. The grouping of sounds into sets by mens of ccents produces wht is known s time. MTRICAL ACCNT: Metricl ccent in music is written to incite ction, such s mrching or dncing. The music hs within it, the regulr rhythmic recurrence of pulsting ccents or bets, which the listener nticiptes to very fine degree, nd mrked with spontneous movement of feet or hnd. The recurrences of ccents, both strong nd wek, mesured off in regulr groups by br lines nd re known s metricl ccents. Metricl mening mesured. OTT NOTS: A dot plced fter ny note increses its vlue by one hlf. A dotted semi breve would therefore hve the vlue of one semi breve nd one minim. Two dots plced fter note would increse its vlue by three qurters. Which mens tht double dotted semi breve would be worth, one semi breve, one minim nd one crotchet. This principl pplies to ll notes. In piping, double dot plced fter note rrely occurs. TI NOTS: Tied notes hve curved line bove them connecting two or more notes of the sme letter nme nd qulity, which indictes tht the first only is sounded, then prolonged s one sound until the next bet, the durtion of which is equl to the sum of the notes tied. PAUS MARK: A puse mrk is short curved line with dot underneth the curve, shown bove the note tht is to be held. It leves the length of the note to the performer s discretion. 11 TRIPLINS: Triplings: re three notes plyed in the time of two. They hve curved line over the three notes nd number 3 under the curved line. CANC: A cdence is the completion of phrse, or rhythmicl period. PIANO AN FORTY. The pino is the first time through the prt, whether it is four or eight br prt. There re no repet dots by the double br lines. The Forty is the second time through the prt if plyed, nd does hve repet dots by the double br lines (dotted br line). 1ST, AN 2N TIMS. The first nd second times refer to the pino nd forty but with difference. First time, is the first time through the prt (pino). The second time, through the prt consists of the first four brs s first time through of the prt, nd then different four brs to complete the prt, which is subtlety different from the originl lst four brs. This is usully mrked on the music score with line cross the top of the score with 1st nd 2nd times written on it. ROUPIN OF NOTS: It is worth pointing out tht notes re written in groups. It is good prctice, whenever possible, to group the equivlents together, to the vlue of the bet note, thus, showing t glnce, the group of notes comprising the bet. More importntly, the first note of the group is deemed to be the bet note nd ll other notes will follow this bet note. POINTIN: Pointing is subjective interprettion. Pointing is from the term, dotting nd cutting. Pointing is the dding of point, or dot, to note to prolong its vlue. The compenstory cutting of n djcent note is the dding of short til, which reduces its vlue within the frmework of the metricl ccents. All this gives stilted effect to the music, typicl of Celtic music.

12 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN IARAM 1: Vetern Pipers Mrch " ` ` U O Jmes Sutherlnd McCombie Pipe Mjor, twick Cledonin Pipe Bnd. (c) 2012 X 1 2 [ [ g [ ` O ^ ] U X > O X p X 1 [ ` O X X 2 [ g ^ ] > > p Written with PiobMster (Ceol Mor Softwre Ltd.) THR PRACTICAL STS OF NOT VALUS: First circle: One dotted note in pointing re sounded s 1 etc with the bet nd to be held s long s possible. One cut note in pointing re sounded s to be kept s short s possible nd sounding just before the next bet note. They re short but not to be obliterted ltogether. Second circle: Crotchet notes or full bet note on their own hve the vlue of full bet on the bet nd only chnging on the next bet. nd 1st grce notes in movements including strikes re ll on the bet. nd 1st grce notes re to be plnted on the regulr bet, lwys. These note vlues pply to 2 4, 3 4, 4 4,

13 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN IARAM 2: Mrch & 1 2 ] ] The Pipers Brnch Scots urds Assocition dinburgh. X X Jmes Sutherlnd McCombie (c) n 2 n 1 n 2 1 n n 2 1 n 2 1 n X X X THR PRACTICAL STS OF NOT VALUS: First circle: One dotted note in pointing re sounded s 1 with the bet, nd to be held s long s possible. One cut note in pointing re sounded s to be kept s short s possible, They re short but not to be obliterted ltogether, nd one even note given its vlue to the next bet note. Second circle: A Crotchet followed by quver hve the vlue of full bet, s otted Crotchet. Crotchet nd quver notes re sounded s 1 Written with PiobMster (Ceol Mor Softwre Ltd.) Third circle: Quver nd Crotchet notes re sounded s 1. Cut quver note, Held bet note. The bet is on the cut note nd 1st grce notes in movements re ll on the bet. Bet notes nd nd 1st grce notes re to be plnted on the regulr bet, lwys. These note vlues pply to 6,8 9 8,

14 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN This digrm must be thoroughly lerned to enble you to red the time signture nd the vlue of notes within piece of music. Without these note vlues, you could not red nd understnd the musicl score IARAM 3 Semi Breve 1 2 Minim 1 4 Crotchet 1 8 Quver 1 16 Semi Quver 1 32 emi Semi Quver 14

15 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN igrm 4 Mrch etc Lerning digrm for theory Stff or Stve, 5 lines nd 4 spces Jmes Sutherlnd McCombie 2014 " 1 Short Stve Br Medium Br lines Nme of Tune Nme of Composer 2 or Treble Clef Time Signture ouble otted Br Lines ouble Br Lines 1 st nd 2 nd times lines Written with PiobMster (Ceol Mor Softwre Ltd.) 15

16 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN igrm 5 LARNIN BAT NOTS: SIMPL TIM: IRCT APPLICATION " Jmes Sutherlnd McCombie 2015 Written with PiobMster (Ceol Mor Softwre Ltd.) 16

17 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN igrm 6 LARNIN BAT NOTS: COMPOUN TIM: IVI BY THR, APPLICATION & Jmes Sutherlnd McCombie 2015 Written with PiobMster (Ceol Mor Softwre Ltd.) 17

18 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN Mrch " 2 2 ^ ` ^ ` R R ` ` R Z Z c c ` ` ^ c The orset Tttoo (2005) ` ` ` ` ` ` Z Z X Z Z X Z X Z Z Jmes Sutherlnd McCombie Pipe Mjor, twick Cledonin Pipe Bnd s s s s i 1 ^ i i ` i 1 ^ i i Written with PiobMster (Ceol Mor Softwre Ltd.) 18

19 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN TUNIN OF TH HIHLAN BAPIP RONS: Pipe Chnter must be in true pitch. Blowing must be solid nd holding the pitch. (Tht s nother story) When first blown up the pipes will sound flt nd the drones out of tune with the chnter, this is norml for the first blow. Knock off or cork the three drones nd ply few tunes, the equivlent of two four prt mrches, this hs the effect of shrpening or rising the pitch nd settling the pipe chnter reed. Now to tune in the first drone. Uncork the outside or middle tenor nd blow up the pipes, should hve only one tenor nd pipe chnter sounding t this time. The tuning will not be fr out t this stge, but if not fmilir with the sound required, try this. Adjust the top extension of the tenor drone upwrd on the tuning pin, don t move it more tht necessry to lter the sound of the drone, smll movement should be sufficient to fltten of the drone sound which will increses the wrbling effect in the drone. This is clled lengthening the column of ir. (Flttening the reed sound). Now to tune in the drone into the pipe chnter. Shortening the column of ir or rising the pitch (Shrpening the sound) this is done by gently turning the top extension of the tenor drone downwrd on the tuning pin, don t move it more tht necessry to lter the sound of the drone, smll movement should be sufficient to shrpen the drone sound, which will decreses the wrbling effect in the drone to stedy hum. very time the drone is djusted check High A the, C nd Low A on the pipe chnter, this must be done t every minute turn of the top extension of the drone (other wise crossing over between flt nd shrp in the drone will hppen) until the wrble stops nd the drone sounds in hrmony with the pipe chnter on High A the, C nd Low A. This first drone is importnt to get right, s the other two drones re tuned to the first drone in the sme wy of djustment on the tuning pins to reduce the wrble. uring tuning of ll drones keep the pressure even nd pipe chnter sounding. Now do the sme with the second tenor drone nd tune it to the first tuned tenor drone. Once in tune stop, bring in the bss drone nd shut off the first tuned tenor drone This is the eser prt of tuning the drones. If there is still discrepncy, djust bss drone top slide section nd tune to the tenor, this should lock the hrmonics together. Of course the longer you tke over tuning ll drones the fltter the first drone will become in comprison to the other drones nd pipe chnter which re going shrper the longer they re blown, this mens the procedure hs to begin gin with the first drone. As the pipes settle down it will be necessry to retune every so often until stble. The tuning of drones will tke lot of prctice to perfect but well worth doing. ventully tuning ll three drones together. There is nothing like the sound of well-tuned set of Bgpipes. When tuning the drones, top hnd in the High A position. Never in the position with the bottom hnd off, this note will be flt. When tuning rone to the pipe chnter both hnds must be on when using High A the, C nd Low A. escriptions: Pitch: The height nd epth of sound. BLOWIN: The use of the rm in conjunction with blowing to produce stedy tone. If the blowing isn t even, this will mke it hrder to tune the drones. FLAT PITCH: ffects cused by under blowing or possible wether problems, reeds wet. SHARP PITCH: ffects cused by over blowing or possible wether problems, sun, reeds too dry. 19

20 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN To get the optimum sound from the drones the proper plcing of the top extensions on the tuning pins for both tenor nd bss drones is bout 5mm bove the hemp line. The middle extension on the tuning pin of the bss drone is bout 3cm up the tuning pin, this cn vry. Resons why drones re difficult to tune. 1. Reeds tking too much ir, not set correctly. 2. Reeds too hrd, not set correctly. 3. Reeds not djusted on pins for optimum tone or re unblnced drone reeds. 4. Unstedy blowing, even out blowing nd rm strength. 5. Lck of proper mintennce. 6. Your er not djusted to drone sound, trin your er to her the sound of the individul drones nd then s group. The more you prctice the more you her. THR ITMS THAT TH JUS AR LOOKIN FOR: TON, MUSICALLITY AN UNISON: Involves ll the under mentioned. TON Bgpipe mintennce: Bgpipe mintennce is of prmount importnce becuse; ny drop of ir loss is too much. BLOWIN: Most of us cn blow higher pressure by mouth but cn fil to mintin this pressure due to lck of rm strength hence not mintining stedy tone. You cn chieve this in three wys. Build up your rm strength to del with the higher pressure produced by mouth. By chieving this, you will be ble to ply hrder reed. Adjust your blowing pressure to mtch your rm strength. Reeds cn be djusted to suit. Keep the pipebg full t ll times except when finishing but the pressure is kept up until cut off. Hving soft spongy pipebg will ply hvoc with the drones nd tone, drones becuse they will rock nd slide round on your shoulder, you my hve to hitch up the bg, this must be voided s the judges will be lerted to uneven blowing nd not in control of your instrument. BLOWIN AN ARM MANAMNT: Uneven blowing, or the lck of stedy tone is due to the blowing nd rm strength not being mtched. Tone, is the even nd stedy opertion of blowing nd rm control on the pipe bg. Producing n even sound will improve the tuning nd sound of your instrument. Any discord in sound is produced by either too much hrd blowing by mouth in comprison to rm pressure blowing hrd cn produce the tone required but is hrder to mintin, blowing tone over the top (very shrp) will looses blnce between top nd bottom hnds. Lck of rm pressure in comprison to hrd blowing will fltten your sound one piper with both of these extremes will seriously dmge the bnd sound. To correct this imblnce pipers must prctice their blowing skills concentrting on their prticulr wekness. This is must. ARM STRNTH: There re some physicl exercises, which cn help. LIPS: Lips need to hve perfect sel round the mouthpiece nd lso be ble to hold sel for n indefinite mount of time. The longer you cn blow the better this will get. o not let your cheeks bulge out s this will not help with the sel. Holding the mouthpiece between the front teeth lightly, to hold it in plce nd keep the top lip stiff when blowing. 20

21 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN RON RS AN NHANCRS: rone enhncers will help to use less ir going through the drone reeds. The drone reeds cn then be djusted to tke miniml ir. Adjust drone reeds to get the correct height on the pins for optimum tone. Tenor drones top sections just bove the hemp on pins nd bss drone bottom section 1 inch up on pin, top bss section sme s tenors pins. These two items will reduce irflow nd your instrument will sound good. PIP CHANTR: The Pipe chnter should be set to your strength of blowing. Blowing reed, which is too hrd or soft, the tone will suffer. Probbly plstic chnter is best, s wooden one tkes no prisoners. KNOWIN TH TUN WLL: If you know the tune well this will let you concentrte on the tone. If your concentrtion is on the tune then tone will suffer by blowing flt--not good. MUSICALLITY involves ll the under mentioned. BAT: The bet is the rhythmic sound of drumbet in ll music. The bet is mens to control or regulte music by mens of drum tp or use of the foot to imitte drumbet. I cnnot over emphsise the importnce of this item. Plcing your foot on to the floor t the sme time s you lift or close the fingers on the chnter produces the bet. You should her one sound - bet nd note together, not one fter nother. The reson for the bet is to control ll finger movements initilly nd then control the tune s tempo eventully so tht the music does not wnder bout either slower or fster thn it should: no drifting. Invribly piper plys tune nd the bet is n fter thought, which llows the music to wnder, s his bet hs no control over the tune. 21 Plying tune to the bet will hve the desired effect: it will control the precision of the tune nd mke it sound controlled throughout. When scending the scle, ensure tht the individul notes re opened immeditely the foot contcts the floor. When descending the scle, ensure tht the individul notes re closed immeditely the foot contcts the floor. o not produce the note before or fter the bet but on the bet. The sound of the bet nd note must be herd together s one. Alwys prctise with slow stedy bet, with your foot nd then proceed up nd down the scle ensuring tht the individul notes re being opened or closed s the foot contcts the floor. nsure tht you rest the notes on the bet nd not the other wy round; crispness in finger work will depend on this. Plying to the bet is essentil for stbility of the music nd plying precisely with others in bnd. The bet is used by both the militry nd civilin orgnistions for mrching in precise time with the music. Tke wlk nd in your mind ply some music, try to keep time with the rhythmic sound of the tune in your hed nd s you wlk, feel ech bet s your foot contcts with the ground. The bet is lso used in dncing to keep the tune in time for Mrch strthspey, reel, jig nd hornpipe dncing times. You would not be ble to keep time to ny of these if you could not tp out the bet with your hnd or foot. TH PIPR S HAVY LFT FOOT: (Comes under Accent nd Rhythm) You my hve herd of this, it reltes to the bet behind the br line which in most cses re held or strong bet notes hence the hevy left foot. 2 4 time hs strong, nd week bets 3 4 time hs strong, week week bets, 4 4 time hs strong, week medium week bets.

22 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN PHRASS: Phrses re term for binding two brs together: n eight br prt hs four phrses. A useful wy to think of phrses is s follows: the first phrse is the question nd the second phrse the nswer. In tht wy, the third phrse nd fourth phrse re the question nd nswer respectively, nd so on. This is n idel wy to lern. Tke tune but forget it s tune nd insted use it s n exercise in lerning phrse t time, with ll the detil in tht phrse. Ply it slowly with hevy pointing (see pointing) grce notes on the bet nd clen execution on the movements. Once it is ll there, move onto the next phrse nd do the sme. Remember it s n exercise for now. The more you prctice this method the esier it will be to remember the tune eventully. This is bout hving smller chunks to lern. ACCNT: Accent, hs very wide mening nd my be sid to give emphsis, stress, strin, force, dominnce or prominence given to certin notes or bets. In piping, it cn only be obtined through the dominnce or prominence of certin notes in the melodic sequence. It is nevertheless so striking in chrcter tht bgpipe music is rted very highly for its rhythmicl qulities. To produce stisfctory musicl effect it is not only necessry tht there should be (1) vriety of pitch nd (2) durtion of sound, but lso wht is termed ccent. The grouping of sounds into sets by mens of ccents produces wht is known s time. NOT VALUS: Note Vlue digrm must be thoroughly lerned to enble you to red the time signture nd the vlue of notes within piece of music. Without these note vlues, you could not red nd understnd the musicl score, or hd ny ide of wht the composer hd in mind. POINTIN: Pointing is the holding nd subsequent cutting of notes within the time frme of tune. If you do not hold or cut correctly, you will round off both notes, giving them the both the sme vlue. This will hppen quite esily, you must work to chieve the holding nd cutting of notes. Pointing is from the term, dotting nd cutting. Pointing is the dding of point, or dot, to note to prolong its vlue. The compenstory cutting of n djcent note is the dding of short til, which reduces its vlue within the frmework of the mesured ccents. All this gives stilted effect to the music, typicl of Celtic music. RHYTHM OF MUSIC: Rhythm is the principl in music where sounds re felt to progress to certin points of culmintion. Rhythm is the regulr recurrence of the strong nd wek ccents rising from the division of the music into mesured regulr portions. XPRSSION OF TUN TYPS: ch tune i.e. Mrch, Strthspey, Reel, Slow, Hornpipe nd Jig hs it s own expression get to know them. BRAKS: Breks re the intervl between tunes know your breks nd the next tune in the set will be utomtic. TMPO: Tempo is the regulted speed of the tune. The words of commnd will give the tempo t the correct speed for the composition. This does not men you cn tke off to suit yourself. 22

23 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN CLAN PLAYIN: It my be pprent to you now tht some or ll of the notes while moving round on the chnter re not clen. Clen plying is producing one note nd then moving to the next note without nother sound or note encroching on the second note. CONTROLL MOVMNTS: Being ble to control ll movements within the flow of the music. The movements likely to let you down re rips Torluths oublings nd birl. The birl is one of the hrdest movements to mster nd will tke effort nd gility to chieve. It is possibly the loveliest sounding movement we hve when done correctly. Avoid excessive hnd movement while executing the birl, s this will produce squeky noises if holes re not properly covered. Only the little finger should move, so prctise the stretch between the little finger nd hnd. It will become esier s time psses. oublings re our most common grce note combintions. You would hve to look long nd hrd to find pipe tune tht doesn t contin doubling of some sort. As the nme suggests, doublings re mde up of two grce notes. A short melody note seprtes these two grce notes; do not try to ply these two grce notes on top of one nother. KNOWIN TH TUN WLL: This mens tht you should be ble to execute the tune without relly thinking bout it nd should be utomtic, then you will be ble to concentrte on the overll performnce of tone, drill, Mrching, dressing nd deportment. UNISON involves ll the under mentioned. Unison is plying together. Unison is the sme sound produced by two or more instruments of the sme type. NSMBL: nsemble is the plying together of both pipes nd drums to produce tone, ccurcy nd rounded performnce. RAC NOTS ON TH BAT: The grce notes re musicl embellishments used to dorn the melody. If the grce notes re hevy, or out of sync (known s unclen plying) with the melody notes they will disrupt the flow of the music. The grce note dds little weight to given melody note nd, s you will see, the more grcing tht is dded the greter the weight. There re some written grce notes, which re not ctul grce notes, but re melody notes shortened to grce note vlue. Written on mnuscript it looks s if it is plyed in front of the melody note. It ctully forms prt of the melody note to which it is ttched. LISTNIN TO OTHRS: While plying, you must listen to others, being ble to gel with them, or nticipte their feel for the music, lso for tone, the tune, bet nd the tempo. There is no vlue in doing your own thing. Plying together s one. Other items you should consider when turning out on enggements, which hs nothing to do with judging. PRSNTATION: Most of us tke t lest pssing interest in our personl ppernce. ven the most csul of us wer clothes, which fit pproximtely. If we don t keep ourselves tidy for our own skes, it is t lest our duty to mke n effort for the ske of the people who hve to look t us. 23

24 TH PRACTICALITIS OF LARNIN AN WRITIN A TUN Pipers hve n dditionl responsibility, in this connection. The Bgpipes might be considered to be unginly, unsymmetricl nd certinly to novice n wkwrd collection of bits nd pieces. It is cpble of being nd often is plyed in ll kinds of weird postures nd positions. ven if to void dding further ugliness to the world, we should mke conscious effort to look our best when performing the noble instrument. Try looking into mirror while you ply. Fifty percent of our turnout is how you look nd the other fifty percent is how you sound. SOM TIPS FOR YOU. If you mke it look difficult there is something not right. Consider how you look in comprison with well known pipers. How you look, how you stnd, how you hold your instrument this is ll prt of wht you do or wht you re ment to do. You cn embrrss your udience if they feel you my not mke it. on t forget the pipes should be prt of you nd not you of them, just stnd s nturlly s possible nd hold the instrument s comfortbly s you cn. Piping should be musicl performnce, not n exhibition of strength endurnce or how fst you cn ply the music. MARCHIN: Mrching is like wlking down the street, one foot in front of the other, with stedy controlled step in time with the music, the heel must contct the ground on the bet notes. Min points to look for when mrching re, do not be jerky or stiff like wooden doll. o not bend your knees unnecessrily so tht you bounce long the street. o not crsh your feet down s if you were stmping out fire, nd do not swy from side to side s this ffects the dressing front to rer nd side to side of the bnd nd if you re plying solo people will wonder wht you hd to drink. While plying in bnd, you re not soloist but member of tem. Work together, this tkes lots of dediction, ptience nd prctice. required tempo. Count from the rum Roll 1,2, 3 is hnd on the bg no squeks or sounds from drones, 4,5, hnd tps in the drones under the rm in one movement nd plce bottom hnd onto the pipe chnter with the finger off 6, 7, bring in full tone, nd 8, 9 strt of tune. very left foot is on 1-,3-,5-,7-,9. rum rolls strt 1-2-3, finish -8-9 strt of tune. This mnoeuvre must second nture to you. Tone depends on your strength of rm pressure on the pipe bg t ll times Agreed. It therefore follows tht the pressure must be the sme, by bringing in the by using your rm nd not by blowing it in lone. The must hve sudden sound like bullet from gun on the bet, nd t your pressure, don t over blow the nd certinly don t blow flt up to the, s this sound strts of flt nd eventully reches the proper sounding. It must be solid from the word go. CUTOFF: The cut off is hrder to describe s it is down to how your blowing works t the end of the tune, but try guging your cut off point by using your rm only in the two lst brs or there bout in the tune, s your finl pressure on the bg, nd on the lst bet note with reduced mount of ir left in the bg, suddenly tke the rm off the bg. At this point of reduced ir, be conscious of the tone, do not let it go flt or cut out, keep the pressure up to the end. Agin this mnoeuvre must second nture to you. Listen to the top bnds how they hve clen cut off. This is how it should hppen. WORKIN WITH RUMS: The rum corps produces the bet nd rhythm for the entire bnds music. et the feel for it. The closer we work together the better the results. ATTACK: Attck or strike in is when Pipers sound their pipes for the first time. The sequence is, the words of commnd re Quick Mrch given in time to the 24