October 20th, 2018

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, and I figured it was time for an end of season wrap up. And what a season! Six highland games and three grades, starting in IV Sr. at the indoor games in April, moving to III for Rhode Island and Glasgowlands, and II for the remainder of the year. I’m well ahead of where I thought I’d be at this point, and I’d figured I’d be applying for a move to grade III after my final events for the year. Instead, I finished the season not only competitive in Grade II, but medalling at each games I played, including a gold and a silver in New Hampshire. With only half a season in Grade II under my belt, I should end up somewhere in the high 20s or low 30s in the season standings.

After disappointing showings at Glasgowlands and Quechee (blowing/reed/warmup issues and warmup/tuning issues, respectively), the band found its stride at the New Hampshire games. We took home “Most Improved Grade V Band,” as well as the group’s first 1st place ever! There are still some issues to iron out, but all in all, it’s an encouraging sign coming just as we start prepping to go to Glasgow for the World’s next year. The band should place somewhere in the top 10 for the Grade V season standings.

I’ve been working with my teacher to get advice on what to do to prepare, and and helping out P/M coordinate with him. We’re going to standardize our drone reeds and bags going into next season, and it looks like we’ve gotten hold of a good set of new (used) chanters – an upgrade over our current McCallum Mk. 1s(?). We're also trying to secure a coach to work with us over there.

On my setup, I’m hoping to enter the Clasp amateur championship over there. If I do so, I'll need to decide on one set of pipes to play for both band and solo. This year's setups were:

• Band: 2007 McCallums, band-issue Mk. 1 chanter, G1 platinum reed, X-Treme bass, Ezeedrone tenors, Bannatyne hybrid bag with Drone-Dri moisture control.
• Solo (first two games): Late-90s Naills, Bannatyne hybrid bag and Drone-Dri, Naill chanter, MacPhee chanter reed, Henderson Harmonic Deluxe Bass, and short Ezeedrone tenors.
• Solo (last four games): Vintage Hendersons, X-Treme bass, Ezeedrone tenors, Bannatyne hybrid bag with Drone-Dri moisture control, Trap-Dri tube trap, and alternating Naill and Kron Medallist chanters with G1 platinum reeds.

Right now, I’m thinking I'll bring the Hendersons to Glasgow, although I’m a little skittish about flying with them. The alternative is to go with the Naills. My McCallums are decent pipes, but they’re a little less steady and stable. I’ve just started testing out bass reeds to match the new band setup. We’re probably going with Kinnaird basses and Ezeedrone tenors. I picked up a Kinnaird Edge reed  to try out, and plugged it into the Hendersons yesterday for an initial blaw. Impressive: very similar sound to the X-Treme I’ve been using, but a bit brighter and noticeably less finicky. I’ve also got an Evolution bass on the way. I’d tried Evos when they first came out, and – frankly – didn’t like them. They’re very harmonic reeds, but not clean sounding to my ear and they gave off a distracting, high-pitched whine. That being said, one of my band mates just got a set of Evos, and they sound fantastic in his pipes. It’s been several years (and I didn’t have the Hendies at that point), so they may surprise me. If not, I’ll have a spare reed in case it’s needed. I’m waiting on figuring out the chanter until I see what the band will be playing, since I want something in the same pitch range. Odds are, it’ll either be my Naill or McC2, although I’m also considering picking up one of Bruce and Alex Gandy’s McCallum chanters.

In addition to the prep going on with my band, I’ve started teaching a fledgling group. They’ve been around for almost 20 years, but they’re small and the pipers are mostly beginners. A friend has been working with the drum corps for some time, and asked me to come in and work with the pipe corps. I’m having a lot of fun working with them, and I’m looking forward to working with them more over the winter. It’s also looking like I may end up coaching the pipers in a third band - the band I started out with almost 20 years ago. Their lead drummer is hoping to field a competition group for next season, although I’m skeptical they’ll have enough people to do so (I think they only have one snare right now). He wants to have me on board to play, but I'm not planning on it unless a) they’re competing in Canadian events (which I may do a few of) or b) my current band moves to Grade IV, which is unlikely to happen for next season. But, we’ll see. In any case, while the season may be over, things aren’t slowing down.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a busy couple weeks! Here's what's going on:

• I did my second competition in Grade 3 at Glasgow Lands in Florence, MA, coming away first with above grade marks in the 2/4 March and Piobaireachd, and 3rd in the Strathspey & Reel. I didn't play as well as I could have for the S&R, but didn't play terribly either. My hands stiffened up and I crushed some C doublings. Still, that makes six above grades from six different judges across two games. The band came in 6th out of 14 - better than expected based on how we sounded.
• I did a roadtrip trip to Maxville for the Glengarry Highland Games. I didn't compete in solos, but did play with the band. We didn't do well (14th out of 17), but learned a lot and will put it to good use for the last couple events of the year - Quechee (VT) and Loon Mountain (NH). I also got a chance to say hi to my instructor after he finished up with the Grade 1 band events.
• I'm hurriedly preping for the Maine Highland Games. Why? Apparently I'm moving to Grade 2 sometime in the next two weeks. I'll likely be starting competition in the Grade 2 events at either Maine or Quechee. If not, I will be at Loon Mountain in September. For Maine/Quechee, that means dusting off a hornpipe and jig. I've settled on two old favorites: the H.L.I. Hornpipe and The Hammer on the Anvil - both tunes I learned from my first pipe teacher, John Ryan, out of the USAF band book. I'm not holding out hope of winning with them since I have only a week and a half to prepare (and my instructor is in Europe for the next month), but I'll still make it a good showing. Everything else I already have (somewhat) worked up, so it's more a matter of smoothing things out and working towards making everything musical.

More on the Hendersons

I've got the Hendersons well-oiled, and have been getting moisture into them over the last month. They're in a Bannatyne bag with Dri-Flos and a tube trap, I'm not worried about cracking anymore, and over the last week I've started getting into extended sessions with them. The verdict: wow.

I've only recorded one of those sessions so far. It's a crappy take at the end of almost two hours of solid playing with a waterlogged chanter reed, but it gives some idea of the sound. The drone reeds are regular Ezeedrone tenors and a Henderson Harmonic Deluxe bass. This was a first go at an extended session with these pipes, and the reeds aren't quite balanced right (fixed later, after the recording), leading to some warbles. The chanter is a post-2005 Naill with a G1 Platinum reed. I particularly like the sound of these drones against my low-hand notes - Bs and low Gs ring like a telephone.

I've just started learning Old Men of the Shells in the last few weeks - my teacher set me on it to build up my repertoire for Grade 2. The recording was my first attempt on the pipes, and was done off of photocopied sheet music in a badly-lit basement - leading to some extra mistakes. It's not stellar yet, but it'll get there.

I need to do a chanter shootout to figure out what I want to use with the Henderson, as I'm planning to use them as my competition set for the remainder of the season. Right now, I'm thinking of going a little lower pitched - maybe to my McC2. The McC2 was my go to with the McCallums, in part because of volume. However, it's not getting used at the moment. We'll see after I sit down to do a side-by-side.

Clean Sweep!

I made the trip down to the Rhode Island Games today for my first competition in Grade 3. Long story short, I'm exhausted, but it went well. It was a clean sweep - 1st place in all four events, and above grade marks in all four events. It looks like for my second season I'll be playing in Grade 2. In unrelated news, I've found myself a new, top notch teacher via Skype, and am gearing up for next month's band competition - my first in more than 10 years. Next up: Glasgow Lands in July.

***EDIT 6/11/18***

The pipe band association is looking at moving me to Grade 2 now, so I may be finishing the season in Grade 2 rather than starting in the spring.

Success!

Just a short update today. Success! A mid-season regrade from IV to III. I'll need to change my registration for the RI Games now.

I visited a local pipe band and sat in on their competition group's practice earlier this week. I have a good feeling about it, and am going back down next week to sit in on the full band's practice. With any luck, I'll be back to band playing soon.

Starting to Record

One thing I've been sorely neglecting has been recording my practice sessions. It's difficult with my equipment, but I'm slowly getting there. I ordered a Zoom recorder (which will hopefully be here this week).

Recording is a frustrating thing. I've been out of practice for two years, and I hear every bit of it. Not only that - I'm on a new instrument that I'm still getting used to. That being said, I do have flashes where stuff comes back to me.

I need to build my repertoire up again. I feel like I only have a handful of pieces I can play really well, with a bunch that I can (kind of) half play. That being said, as of 4/15/18 I'm ranked #6 in P4Sr., based on two out of three events. I should (temporarily) wind up #4 once they post the third event. Not bad for my first foray back.

New Hampshire Indoor Scottish Festival

First competition down! I drove down to New Hampshire for the Indoor Scottish Festival in Nashua. I promptly had a freakout upon learning I was up first for the 2/4 march, and I had arrived a few minutes after the scheduled start time for the piping competitions. I'd also forgotten how difficult it could be to tune inside when there are a lot of other pipers around! After a few minutes of warm up (not enough  to get the pipes settled down and locked in, unfortunately), I was off to the races.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how I did - first in the 2/4 and piobaireachd, second in the 6/8, and two AGL marks. Had I been settled down and warmed up better, I think I probably could have gotten an AGL for the piobaireachd as well. I'm comfortable I made the right decision picking up the Naills and reeding them with Ezee tenors and a Henderson bass. Two judges commented on the drone sound, one giving a "great instrument" comment. Not bad for a $400 set of pipes I've had for about two months. One of the judges took a few minutes to talk with me right after I played, leading off with "You're from Maine right? Who the hell is there in Maine to teach you to play like THAT?!" They also suggested I petition for a regrade. I think John would be proud.

After wandering around and listening a little, I think I'm a step ahead of where I thought I was playing-wise. I've sent an email off to the EUSPBA to figure out if I can petition for a mid-season regrade. If I'm lucky, I may end my first year of competition in Grade 3, with an eye towards Grade 2. The next competition on the docket for me is the Rhode Island Highland Games in June. I've got a month and a half to get ready, and to work up a competition strathspey and reel set in case I get moved up.

***Update: 4/14***

They're letting me petition for a regrade, and I'm anxiously awaiting the results. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll know before the registration info for the Rhode Island games is up.

Last weekend before the 2018 competition season

Well, this is the last weekend before the 2018 competition season. I went to my practice spot early in the morning, since there's a storm moving in this afternoon. I spent most of the session running through The Field of Gold. It's not particularly challenging, but my left ring finger tends to lock up when doing edres off of C. Overall, a good practice session. I'm feeling ready to compete.

I also took some time over the last few days to work with my drone reeds. I really like my current setup of Ezeedrone tenors and a Henderson Harmonic Deluxe bass - smooth, balanced, and powerful without being overbearing. However, I wanted to make sure I didn't have something else that would work better. Long story short - out of what I have - that's the best setup for me. I tried various combinations of Kinnaird Evos, Crozier carbons, Ezeedrones, and Henderson Harmonics, and kept coming back to the Henderson Harmonic Bass and Ezee tenors. I think that's what I'm sticking with this season, although I may pick up more reeds to try over the summer. The biggest difference between my current setup and the others?

I'm eagerly awaiting a new blowpipe stock from Dunbar, since the Naills came with a stock that had in a built in tube trap that was pretty well dead. When it arrives, I'll finally be able to use one of my bottle traps with the Naills. It should go a long way towards extending the Naills' stable playing time. If I'm lucky, the stock will show up before next weekend. If not, it should be here well before the next competition in April.

EDIT 3/11/18

The Dunbar stock came in time. It looks good - better than the split stock that came with the pipes. Unfortunately the contest was cancelled due to a nor'easter impacting travel for the judges. It looks like I'll be getting going in New Hampshire next month instead.