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.