Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: B-17 on March 18, 2011, 09:54:45 PM
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alright. i know what my friends think of the bagpipes, but id be interested to hear some different feedback. i play them and have always been told that everyone hates them except those who play them... what do you guys think?
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I don't play them, but I'd love to - I think they're completely awesome!
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Bagpipes FTW! :rock
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I've played them for over 25 years. Usually, I get about 1 out of 10 that do not care for them or just plain hate them. :cool:
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I hate them because when I hear them Sombody has died.
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interesting reason to hate them, it makes sense though :salute 25 years... comet61, where you from? do you play in a band?
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Please mister please... The thing that sucks about them is getting them started and stopped.
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OMG I KNOW i have drone stoppers though so its all good :D
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I love 'em
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very cool instrument with an unique history...play away maestro :aok
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Had a bag piper play for my wedding.
A good pipe and drum corps is always a great show.
:aok
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Excellent martial music with pipes and drums!
Edinburgh Military Tattoo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHbbW5sT_gA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHbbW5sT_gA)
I never get tired of Scotland the Brave!
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alright. i know what my friends think of the bagpipes, but id be interested to hear some different feedback. i play them and have always been told that everyone hates them except those who play them... what do you guys think?
I also hate those who play them. :neener:
but if it helps you get thru life, by all means, pipe away.... a ways over there.... :bolt:
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I was a snare drummer in a highland pipe band as a teenager, I enjoyed it for a few years and it sort of gives you a sense of belonging when you officialy become a member of the clan. If your interested go for it. Chicks love the kilt and the sporan as well, thats the bit that surprised me.
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Iv'e always liked the sound of bagpipes, but I have some Scottish heritage.
I still think the inventor was originally trying to use them to smoke something.
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My surname is Cameron and even I still cant stand them after about 5 minutes.
Only the best are worth listening to. But I have full respect for someone who plays them however far along the road of learning.
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Love em. Always have.
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(http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/086516415aa173af6127a43e5b10e86c6g.jpg)
These are my first set of pipes, they were a historical set from the regiment that my first pipe band was from. They were at the Battle of the Somme, a very famous battle in WW 1 for us Canadians.
The silver and ivory are real on these pipes, so moving them from place to place across borders is a huge PITA, due to customs loving elephants or something or other...
Anyone interested in learning to play, I'd say just buy a practice chanter and follow some of the free uTube videos for learning the basics, or contact one of your local bands and see if you can arrange some beginners lessons to see if you like playing the pipes, and if the pipes like you playing them.
I originally started playing in a large drill band, and we toured the world, the Soviet Union, South America, Europe, Worlds Fair Expo's 86, 88 (Australia), and 92 (Spain) as Canada's guest performing band. We also had a lot of good solo pipers, I competed in Grade 2 mainly, and won a lot of medals when I was a kid from age 12-17, but a lot of my compatriots won world titles in Grade 1 (the highest level of competition), and many of us went on to play with Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, which has won the World Pipe Band competition a number of times in Scotland now. My local band, Alberta Caledonia has competed numerous times at the world's and other highest level events, and while it doesn't have Simon Fraser's record, it has Panache.
The technology now is incredible compared to when I started playing in 1985, pipes manufactured with very advanced techniques and materials that sound as good or better than the best set of "old" Henderson pipes, yet at a fraction of the cost (mine are insured for 15 thousand dollars). The reeds are now plastic/synthetic instead of cane which always broke and was susceptible to all kinds of weather/temperature issues. Also, there are electronic practice chanters made by numerous companies that make the learning and practicing process MUCH faster, easier, and more accurate.
To the OP, what set of pipes are you running now, and do you play with a band at all?
Also to answer the OP's question, I'd have to say playing in a mass Pipes and Drums corps of thousands is a feeling of ancient power that you can't put into words. In 1988 our band ended up leading the July 4th parade in Waikiki in Hawaii, and that was a close second, as the response we got from our American allies and the civilians lining the route was an absolutely crazy mix of adrenaline and pride.
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I don't remember exactly what brand of pipes, but it is a Nova Scotian set of pipes, about 13 years old. The bag is something special... still made of leather, but it dries out very seldom. I haven't seasoned them in close to a year now, and still nice and moist. I do play with a band, the Halton Regional Police Service Pipes and Drums. I'm from Oakville, close to Toronto. The chanter I play is a Warmac, and the drone reeds are Omegas. In case you are wondering about those, you need an engineering degree to set them up and hange them and what not. Where are you from? You mentioned geting across the border was an undertaking? The U.S order, or somewhere else? And I've only been with the band about a year now, got my uniform last week. Insane amount of kit--> 2 hats (bonnet and glengarry), 2 jackets, 2 pairs of diced hose, 1 pair of white hose, 1 pair of size 11 dress shoes, 1 plaid, 1 kilt, 1 dress shirt, short-sleeved, 1 bonnet hackle, 1 brooch, 1 tie, 1 tie pin, 2 Canada slip-ons (for the epaulettes) 1 Police logo slip-on for the left side, flashes, and of course the pipes. I haven't been on parade yet with them, and Massed Bands? Hands-down, what brought me into playing the pipes 2 years ago. I'm 14 btw.
EDIT: There is also a Sgean Dbhu, 1 crossbelt with holster and 1 belt
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Amazing grace on the bagpipes, bring a tear to your eye, unless your not human :D
We have a friend came to the park on the fourth he played his pipes it drew a huge crowd.
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I absolutely love the sound of bagpipes......had them at my wedding as well. :aok
Alba gu brąth :salute
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Here you go, just in case you haven't heard of Dropkick Murphy's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3k6LKAKbCuE "Cadence to Arms" :rock
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Amazing grace on the bagpipes, bring a tear to your eye, unless your not human :D
We have a friend came to the park on the fourth he played his pipes it drew a huge crowd.
+1 on Amazing Grace
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i love the bagpipes. The "79ths Farewell to Gibraltar" is my favorite tune.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlvcGZgA0yw
I can trace a bit of my heritage back to Scotland. My family originated in the Lancashire, England area and just over the border into Scotland near Lockerbie and Dumfries.
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Love em. Great for storming castles or beachheads.
"it takes an irishman to play the pipes!"
-Sean Connery, "The Longest Day"
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LOVE EM! :aok
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Back in the early 90's I lived in Cary, NC.
On some spring and summer afternoons someone within earshot would play the pipes...fantastic pipes...amazing pipes.
After mowing the yard I would just sit in a lawn chair on my back deck with a cold one and listen.
I am mostly Irish, but the rest is all Scot. I guess it's imbedded in our DNA.
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Love em.
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Yep, I've seen The Black Watch and bag pipes are great!
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If you have a friend with a rock band and a truck
(http://www.clandonaldwa.com.au/images1/AC-DC%20-%20It%27s%20A%20Long%20Way%20To%20The%20Top%20(If%20You%20Wanna%20Rock%20n%27%20Roll)_avi_000035280.jpg)
Btw that picture is from my highland clans web page
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If you have a friend with a rock band and a truck
(http://www.clandonaldwa.com.au/images1/AC-DC%20-%20It%27s%20A%20Long%20Way%20To%20The%20Top%20(If%20You%20Wanna%20Rock%20n%27%20Roll)_avi_000035280.jpg)
Btw that picture is from my highland clans web page
Looks like Shawk. :rofl
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Looks like Shawk. :rofl
except Bon Scott is much cooler.
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alright. i know what my friends think of the bagpipes, but id be interested to hear some different feedback. i play them and have always been told that everyone hates them except those who play them... what do you guys think?
Lol, that's exACTLY what they sound like!
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I love bagpipe music. I understand they are really hard to play well, and it can be a real turn off to hear someone playing pipes badly.
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A few questions:
Why do you "season" a bag, and with what?
Why does it need to be "moist"?
Why do bagpipes sound awful when you start them up?
What's a drone stopper?
-Penguin
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A few questions:
Why do you "season" a bag, and with what?
Why does it need to be "moist"?
Why do bagpipes sound awful when you start them up?
What's a drone stopper?
-Penguin
ok. here goes:
1 and 2 tie in together.
seasoning is required to basically airproof the bag so you dont lose even more air when playing. the bag is seasoned with bag seasoning. not even kidding :lol
why the bag needs to be moist... hmmm... think of a leather jacket. when its dry out (weather-wise), there are more cracks in the jacket. when the jackets been out in the rain for a bit, the cracks in the leather are a bit less apparent. kinda how it works for bagpipes.
they sound awful when starting because the beast has been awakened. :D its really the drone reeds starting to vibrate and create sound. sort of like when you havent spoken in a while and your voice cracks/dies.
drone stoppers are, in essence, pressure valves for the drone reeds. they fit over the reeds, and do two things:
a) stop the reeds from falling into the bag-- its a PITA to find them and get them out again
b)reduce/remove that gawd-awful noise when starting up
hope that helps!
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say it aint so...
my brother, his ex girlfriend and my dad just took the Massachusetts Fire Academy course. if any of them so desired they could be a fire fighter in say Boston. thats besides the point. at their graduation, they had a bag piper. thing sounded so nice. wish i could blow that much and not pass out... players have my respect.
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If you have a friend with a rock band and a truck
(http://www.clandonaldwa.com.au/images1/AC-DC%20-%20It%27s%20A%20Long%20Way%20To%20The%20Top%20(If%20You%20Wanna%20Rock%20n%27%20Roll)_avi_000035280.jpg)
Btw that picture is from my highland clans web page
:aok btw ACDC FOREVER!!!
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wish i could blow that much and not pass out...
um... phrasing. :neener:
In case you don't get the reference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS4QGEQaclk from Archer
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um... phrasing. :neener:
um... dirty-mindedness. :neener: its really not that hard, it just takes alot of diaphragm... take that how you will... :lol
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um... dirty-mindedness. :neener: its really not that hard, it just takes alot of diaphragm... take that how you will... :lol
a lot of stuff takes diphragm... how would we live without it?
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true... granted, many things require diaphragm, but piping is a class in its own in terms of diaphragmatic ability. like playing "Mercy" with a front-end loader. :D
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true... granted, many things require diaphragm, but piping is a class in its own in terms of diaphragmatic ability. like playing "Mercy" with a front-end loader. :D
i would beat that front end loader...im like Chuck Norris
:noid
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i guess the real question is... can you kick a mcdonalds so hard that it turns into a wendys?