BREAKTHROUGH!!

I've been getting a bit frustrated lately with my playing.  While I am content with how I'm progressing on the tunes, I've been having the worst time playing with all three drones open.  I just couldn't seem to keep up enough pressure to maintain that steady background drone.  As the pressure drops off, the drone pitch changes, giving it a (what my instructor calls) a "double tone."  Not a desirable sound.

So I've been practicing squeezing the bag harder, and trying to keep the bag filled with air at the same time.  The offshoot of this is after one, maybe two tunes, I find myself squeezing down so hard, I'm actually starting to bend forward, while trying to fill the bag with air.  My lips break down and I might as well have a mouth full of Novocain for all the control I have over my mouth at that point.  After one particularly strenuous attempt, I started feeling pain in my groin.  And yes, I've been told that hernias are a very real risk for bagpipers. 

I figured I just needed to work harder to build more strength and stamina.

Then last week, after a discussion about obtaining new reeds, Neil (our instructor) said he wanted to test our pipes.  With reed instruments, if you force too much air through them, the sound will cut out.  So he asked each of us to blow our bags up and try to get to that point where the drone reeds cut out. 

I couldn't do it. 

So I tried again.  This time Neil squeezed the bag with me.  Even together we couldn't get the sound to cut out.  He took one of my drones off and blew directly through the reed till he was shaking and his face turned red.  Still couldn't get it to cut out.

He said that was a sign my pipes weren't "passing air efficiently." 

Drone reeds (pictured below) are cylindrical with a hole in the side.  The reed itself is a thin blade that covers that hole and vibrates as air passes over and under it into the hole.  How that reed covers that hole makes all the difference in the world to the instruments sound.

What Neil did was slide the bridle back, ever so slightly, then blew again.  He got the cut off.  He did this for each of my drone reeds and we put my pipes back together.  Then he asked me to play a tune.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  It was a WORLD of difference!  I felt like I had been struggling to push a stalled car down the street, and then the driver suddenly said, "Oh wait!  Let me take off the parking brake..."

Seriously, my drones were strong and clear, and sounded so easily!  I had to leave at that point, so I didn't get to experiment then, but once I got home I put them together and struck up the bag.

I got through the 3/4 marches as well as the 4/4 marches without needing to rest.  I felt elated, like I could play all night!  My regret is that I didn't know any jigs or reels, because I sure felt like playing something jaunty!

So thanks Neil, for taking the weights off my bat.

Oxygen anyone?

So I can maintain a single drone for about 5 minutes before I start feeling lightheaded.   Likewise, if I cork off all the drones, I can get through Barnyards of Delgaty before I feel like I'm going to pass out.   I suppose this is progress....

The new bagpipes are here! The new bagpipes are here!

Last week I received my bagpipes.

They are McCallum AB4s, with Celtic engraving, antique finish, and they are beautiful.

So, in spite of suffering with a bout of influenza, I put them together and blew them up.  I mean, how could I not?

I got all three drones to sound but got hit with a coughing fit before I could attach the chanter.

So I reluctantly put them away.

Two nights ago I was finally feeling better, so I decided I better start practicing.  I set them up and my kids were very excited to see what I was doing.  I warned them that it was going to get loud, and they might want to go into the other room, but all three refused.

I corked off the drones and tried to just focus on the chanter.  With the first note, my two year old RAN out of the room, followed by the 8 year old.  My five year old daughter, however, remained with me, just grinning at the god-awful squeaks coming through.

I closed the door to try and muffle the sound a little bit a tried it again.  Nothing fancy, just a scale.

I went from low G to A to B before I heard my son yelling “No dada!  No!”  I opened the door and told him it was all right.

“Loud, dada!  LOUD!” 

“Yes it is buddy.  It’s okay.  Just stay in the other room and I’ll close the door.”

I tried the scale again, but couldn’t get past C. 

Then I heard my 8 year old yell, “Oh, GROSS!  Sean just threw up!!”

I put the pipes down and went out to the other room.

Sure enough, Sean had gotten so worked up he spit up all over the couch.  So I put the pipes away and got to work cleaning the upholstery.

Now today was my first rehearsal with the Pipes.  My instructor Neil was great.  Another band member had just gotten her pipes as well, so he helped make sure we were set up correctly.  He had us cork off the base and one of the tenor drones as well as the chanter.  He told us that for now our practice was just to get used to sounding one drone for 5 minutes at a time. 

Everything I’d heard about the bagpipes being hard to play is absolutely right.  Trying to maintain enough pressure with my arm while keeping the bag full and not letting the blowpipe shoot out of my mouth took much more concentration than I expected.  It didn’t take long for me to get rubber lips and lose the seal around the blowpipe.

Next Neil looked at our chanters.  He said they will loosen with use, but we can jump start the process by moistening them very slightly prior to each practice, then gently squeezing the base of the reed to narrow the gap.  He also put a bridle (rubber band) around the base of the reed.

Then he had me cork off all three drones and pop the chanter in.  To my surprise, I was able to get through a full scale, both up and down.

Of course I immediately got light-headed and had to stop.

We went back to our practice chanters after that, but now I know what I need to work on with the full set of pipes.  Just practicing keeping one drone going will help me build the appropriate arm and mouth muscles to be able to play full tunes.

Advances and set backs

Short post as I'm on my way to combined practice.
The good new is I've been asked to head up the Uniform committee!

The bad news is that Ryan got the first kilt in from Neokilts and he said they are "awful."
He's supposed to bring them to practice today, so hopefully it's not as bad as he says.

I've ordered my pipes at the end of December and they are "supposed" to be here by the end of January.  Well, here it is near the end of January, and I'm waiting on pins and needles......

Debut of our Pipe Major

On October 28th was the Seattle Police Awards Banquet...and the debut of Pipe Major Joe Cepeda!!

Fundraiser and some special pipes

On October 12^th, our band had another fundraiser.  It was at this one I got to meet Norm Smith.  I don’t know a lot about him, but let me tell you what I do know.

Norm used to be a piper, but doesn’t anymore because of a throat injury.  He went to High School with Timothy Brenton’s Mother.  His father was a piper with the Canadian Seaforth Highlanders…and he wants to donate the use of his father’s 1917 Henderson Bagpipes to our band.

I was exceptionally touched by this generous offer.  Norm is a truly wonderful guy and I had quite a bit of fun visiting with him.  He’s on the board for the Special Olympics, and has a big heart.  He told me that since he can’t play anymore, he would love to see them used in something as meaningful as what our band is about.  He’s offering them to specifically honor Officer Brenton and also to honor the Seattle Police Officers who have participated in the Special Olympics Torch Run.

My understanding is these pipes have been carried by a Seaforth Highlander up until his father’s separation with the unit. 

They are beautiful.

Yes, they’re very musty smelling.  The bag cover has moth holes.  They are scratched and some of the ivory mounts are chipped.  All of which just speaks to the history of these 93 year old bagpipes. 

I took them to Neal and he was very excited about them.  He said that they would need restoration before they could be played, and sent me an estimate.

Sadly, the estimate came in around $1000.  While these pipes are certainly worth it, I don’t know of too many pipers who would be willing to lay out that kind of cash for pipes they wouldn’t be able to keep.

I sent Norm the bad news.  He agreed it was more of a financial outlay than he was willing to make.  So sadly, I will be returning the pipes to him at his convenience.

But none of that should dim the generous offer he made. It was wonderful just to handle the pipes for a short while.  I felt like I was truly holding a piece of history.

Thank you Norm!

September 2011 Membership meeting

 I’m listening to the 2004 Master so the Scottish Arts CD and figure this might be a good time to catch up a little bit.

            Tuesday (9/27/11) we had a general membership meeting.  About 27 of us were there.   Ryan gave a general overview of where we stood, which included our financial situation.  I must reluctantly admit that it was a bit confusing.  The numbers he handed around didn’t really seem to have a particular context to them.  He tried to answer some of the general questions, but I don’t know if he had the specifics.  I email Karla and see if they can’t send out a more detailed breakdown.  In short, Ryan Karla and Lt. Hennigan all seemed to think that we were right “on track,” especially for a band that has yet to play a note together.  We have been getting corporate sponsorships that (combined with the various fundraising projects) will enable the band to buy most of the uniform pieces for each member.  However, each band member will still be responsible for buying their shirt, their hat and their socks.  They will have the option of buying the individual uniform pieces if/when they leave the band.  Or they could just buy everything themselves anyway, but I don’t know why someone would want to do that.

            A local uniform shop (Blumenthals) will be taking the measurements for the kilts.  I’m hoping someone from Neokilts gives them some pretty clear guidance one where they should measure. 

            Joe Cepeda was formally accepted as our Pipe Major.  He’ll serve for two years at which point we’ll see if he still wants to do it or if someone else wants the job. 

            The nice thing about this is that Joe has prior piping experience and will be able to play at the upcoming Seattle Police Awards Banquet on October 28th – in our official uniform.  I’m pretty excited about this first glimpse that everyone will get!

            It was also pointed out that we’re 8 months into this, and were still shooting for March 17th as our official debut.  To that end, we’re at the point where we need to start thinking about bagpipes.  Our instructor was kind enough to put together a spec sheet for what we should be shopping for.  Ryan Bailey and Steve Nadell did some legwork and located three vendors which have pretty good prices.  The closes is just across the border in Vancouver, but of course he has the highest prices of the three.  But there is something to be said about having your vendor within driving distance in case there’s a problem.

            The price range looks to be between $1500-$2000 dollars, depending on which vendor.

            Looking over Neil’s spec sheet, I realized I don’t know squat about bagpipes.  I mean I know what they are and obviously we’re learning to play them, but I don’t know anything about the parts or how they fit together.  Like a canning drone.  What the hell is that?  A canister system?  When I went to the individual websites, it just raised more questions.  How long of a blow pipe?  What size bag?  Hell if I know…

            Fortunately Neil was able to answer some of those questions today at practice.  He suggested a medium bag and an adjustable blow pipe.  He also (briefly) explained what the various elements were and how they went together.

            He explained, for instance, that the bag itself is usually hide, and you have to fill it with this “goop” to make it airtight.  This is called “seasoning the bag.”  However the bag and canister system he recommends is lined with Gore Tex and doesn’t need seasoning.  Good to know!

            The other interesting thing to note was that we (the band) are all ready getting requests to march in a variety of regional parades.  Again, we haven’t played a note together, and we all ready have gig offers!?  Well, no pressure…

            Ryan pointed out that not only are we the only single department Police pipe band in the Seattle Area, we are also the only one in all of Washington and possibly the greater Northwest.  The Fire Department Pipes and Drums are great, but as has been pointed out elsewhere, Police take care of their own.  It’s a good reminder why this unit is being put together.