GRIP, don't THROW!!

Since we have our formal “kilting” coming up on Monday (2/11/13) Joe and Neal reviewed our playing the marches.  (A process LONG overdue in my opinion!!)

At any rate, I played The Green Hills of Tyrol followed by The Battle’s Over.  These are staples for us at this point.

I thought I did well, if a little fast.  But Joe pointed out that my fingering was a little rushed and I was missing some of the embellishments.

So I was going over the music today and I realized that I’d been playing all the grips as D-throws.  What’s more, I COULDN’T REMEMBER HOW TO PLAY A GRIP!  Seriously, I had to re-teach myself!

Now I gotta go back and see if I can eliminate the bad habit from all my tunes….

July - do or die.

Looking back over my last entry, I can’t believe how far I’ve come.  So much so, I’ll dare to call myself a Piper.  Not a very good piper (yet), but by God, I’ve played in public, pubs and parades.  So I’ll claim the moniker, thank you very much.

Let’s see if we can’t catch up on this marathon…

Since the last post, we got our uniforms in and have been sorting through ill measured tunics and oversized kilts.  But we managed to trade around enough to get ourselves respectably outfitted.  The kilt I ended up with is still a bit big, so I’ll have to find a tailor to bring it down an inch or two, and take an inch off the bottom.

Neil got us new chanter reeds.  While they may sound better, they are quite a bit harder to play.   Our debut was scheduled for June 22^nd, and the fact is I didn’t feel comfortable playing the harder reed.  So I switched it back for my easier reed.

The morning of the 22^nd, I took my pipes out to an isolated section of Magnuson Park to practice my tunes. I have to admit, there was something deeply satisfying in standing on the shores of Lake Washington, playing my pipes under a cloudy (and very Scottish feeling) sky, sending the tunes out across the water.

That evening was a “soft” opening, under the guise of our monthly Department Social.  We gathered (in uniform) at Paddy Coynes at Pier 70.  We marched in (well, walked in) playing The Minstrel Boy followed by The Rowan Tree.  The crowd was highly enthusiastic!  Throughout the night, we played three or four different times.  Unfortunately, our repertoire is limited to Minstrel Boy/The Rowan Tree, The Battle’s Over/Green Hills of Tyrol, Amazing Grace, Going Home and Scot’s Wha Hay (Not played.)  Consequently, we repeated our sets a few times.  Nevertheless, it was a huge boost to our self confidence, and just what we needed.  The best part was that my parents were in town and got to see the whole thing.  

The next day I put my harder reed back in.  (This becomes important in a later post.)

The next few rehearsals we worked on marching.  Unlike my marching band days, there is no stylized step, not high knee, no rolling foot.  It’s really just walking in syncopation, which is fine with me. 

Boston Police Pipes and Drums arrived on July 19^th.  There was a joint practice on July 20^th, which I was unable to attend.

July 21^st was our first parade – the West Seattle Hi-Yu parade.  It was to be the beginning of a pretty intense bagpipe week…

We marched ahead of Boston.  In the course of our practices, it was decided we could only effectively march to the 4/4’s.  For some reason the ¾ marches were throwing people off.  So we played Minstrel Boy/Rowan tree over, and over, and over, and over…….

Boston marched behind us.  We played our two tunes, then Boston would play 3 or four tunes, they’d we’d play our two tunes again.  Much to my surprise, my lips held out for nearly the entire parade.  There were only one or two sets where I had to just sound my drones, because I couldn’t get enough air to set the chanter.

Following the parade, we had lunch at Terrible Beauty in West Seattle.  Boston’s drum major presented our band with an inscribed Paul Revere bowl.  It was promptly filled with Guinness and passed around.  I don’t know if it was intended to mirror a Quaich ceremony, but that’s what it was.  It was all very heartfelt.   We went to Seattle University where the Delta Police Pipes and Drums had just arrived.  There was a group photo of all three bands, and about half the group went off to The Chieftain Irish pub to keep drinking.  Myself, I went back to headquarters to get some downtime, water and put some more hemp on my drones.

Around 1600 or so, we all met at the decommissioned Pier 62.  The plan was to march up the sidewalk to Paddy Coynes for the Department Social.  That was the plan.  Delta decided “the hell with it,” and took over all the north bound lanes!  What could we do?  We gave them about a 10 minute lead, and then Boston went off with us behind them, traffic be damned.

When we got to the pub and marched in, it felt like a hero’s welcome.  Between the three bands, there had to have been over 50 pipers and nearly as many drummers.  It was a sight to be sure.  Great guys, great fun!  One of the Boston pipers (Steve McLaughin) was so happy to be there, he exchanged lapel pins with me.

Sunday was the Big Event.  We met at Seattle University and started setting up for the concert.  Like any performance event, there was a tremendous amount of “hurry up and wait.”  But we did get off the ground at 6:00 p.m.  The finale was an In Memoriam video of the fallen from all three departments, while we played Amazing Grace.  There may have been some dry eyes in the audience, but I didn’t see them. (Delta PD was kind enough to post an edited version of the concert on YouTube.  The link is here: Seattle Police Inaugural Concert

I know quite a few of the band members went out for celebratory drinks, but I personally had had enough over the last few days, and was quite happy to spend the rest of the evening at home with my wife.

Monday Delta P.D. had to go home, and some of our band mates treated Boston Pipes and Drums to a tour of the Space Needle.  With the assistance of Guardian One, they were able to get photos of both bands on top of the needle!  Me, I had to work.  Besides, I dislike heights…

Tuesday we were back at it.  We met at 9 to do a walk-through of Safeco Field, where we would be playing that night.  

Afterwards, we marched to the Police Guild BBQ and played there.  Several of the band members were content to hang out in our drum major’s R.V.  But the rest of us managed to get rides back to our cars.  I got home for an hour or two with my boots off, and some general cooling down.

At about 1600, we met again and went to F.X. McRory’s.  We met Boston there and we all played at the bar.  Then we marched to Safeco Field, playing through the Aisle of Vendors.

A last minute tuning, then we took the field at about a quarter to seven.  Again, we did our 4/4’s and Boston did their set.  Once the game started (Mariners vs. Yankees) Safeco management was kind enough to give us a place to stash our instruments and buy us each a beer.  The rest of the game we had people (especially women) chatting us up, thanking us for being cops and commenting on our kilts.

Unfortunately, Steve said he caught hell about giving his lapel pin away and needed it back.  I told him he could keep my pin, as I could easily replace it.  He was kind enough to give me a challenge coin in return.  I think I got the better part of that bargain.

Following the game we marched back to F.X. McRory’s.  Half way there, both bands stopped to play a few sets.  It had a nice “duel” feel to it.  A shame we knew so few tunes!

We finally dismissed, and eventually made it to our respective cars and back home.

The capper to this madness was July 28^th; The Torchlight Parade.  Our instructor laughed at us that we were doing it so soon in our career.  He said it’s a little like training for a marathon by running a marathon.  But we were feeling pretty cock sure after all the practice we’d gotten in the previous week.  The short version is we made it through.  Personally, I was able to play nearly every time, except the last two sets.  My lips just weren’t there.

Although Boston was gone, The Seattle Fire Pipes and Drums met us at the end of the parade, and we all re-convened at F.X. McRory’s for more piping.  The word came down that if we were going to drink, we needed to remove our badges and secure our weapons.  It was sensible advice, to be sure.  Unfortunately there really wasn’t anywhere to secure our weapons.  Apparently someone found someplace, because I saw about half the band enjoying a pint or two.  Me, I stuck with water.

I managed to hang with the group through the beginning of another set, but then my lips were done for good.  While some of the band talked about heading up to Fado Irish Pub, I told the pipe major I had nothing left and was heading home.  I found out later I wasn’t the only one, so I don’t feel so bad about that.

It was an incredible experience, but great inspiration to learn more tunes.  (I am SO SICK of Minstrel Boy and Rowan tree…………!)

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.

Enumclaw games

Saturday I was drafted to work the Torchlight parade.  I only post it here because the Seattle Fire Pipes and Drums marched in it.  While the skirl of their pipes was heard way in advance of their presence, they didn't actually play while passing my post.  A bit disappointing.  Nevertheless, I couldn't help thinking that if things go right, we'll be marching in the parade as well next year.

Yesterday I was able to get away for a few hours and scoot on down to the Enumclaw Highland Games.  These are the biggest games of the region and are almost like an frontier-style "Rendezvous" for all things Scottish.  (And Renaissance Pirates apparently.  Don't ask, because I don't get it either.)

The important thing was I got to see my piping idol, Aaron Shaw of The Wicked Tinkers.

Aaron getting out with the crowd

They started out with Amazing Grace which was perfect, because I know the fingering on that and was able to follow what he did.
That segued into Scotland the Brave and then straight in to Black Bear, which I love.

I don't know what his reputation is amongst other pipers, but I always enjoy seeing him.  Watching his finger-work was really impressive.  He's very fast and very smooth.  I couldn't follow even half the grace notes he was playing.  Plus he does this very cool slide from one note to the next.  Yes, I'm sure in the future I'll find that it's some sort of common technique and not that impressive to most pipers, but right here - right now - it seems pretty damn impressive to me.

He played with two sets of bagpipes.  Both were linked to the speakers.  (Who'd have thought that bagpipes needed to be amplified?)

But the second set was linked to a wah-wah pedal.  VERY cool sounds from that one.  For one set he ran it through some sort of effect which really made them sound more like small pipes than the Great Highland Bagpipes.

My regret was that I wasn't able to stay longer and see the next set.

Afterward I wandered around to where the bands were practicing.  I'd wanted to see Simon Frasier University playing, but they weren't doing much of anything while I was there.
I did get to see Dowco Triumph Street Pipe band practicing.
Pipe Major David Hilder was giving the group what for on one of their pieces, stabbing the air with his finger and shouting "Tah, dah BURL! Tah, dah BURL!"  It was my first glimpse of what the Pipe Major actually does.

Skagit Valley Games

Yesterday I went to the Skagit Valley Highland Games.
This is a smaller venue than the Big Enumclaw one at the end of the month, but it's closer and a little more intimate.
I've been going there the last several years, but this is the first time I've been to the games since I've started lessons.
I've got to say, it was almost like going to the games for the first time.
I spent most of the morning wandering around the solo-piper competition, watching to see what the "pros" were doing.  I may have been the only spectator in that section who wasn't competing, or supporting someone who was competing.  In fact, I may have made some of the pipers nervous.  I definitely got the "who the hell is this guy" vibe from a couple of them.  No matter.  I watched some of the grade 2 and grade 1 performers (grade 1 is top level) as they performed hornpipes, jigs and pibrochs.
I actually found myself getting excited that, at least half the time, I could follow what they were doing with their fingers.  That's a far cry from being able to do it myself, but it was exciting for me nevertheless.

Later I watched as a few of the band competitions.  In that setting, it became easier to hear which bands were  truly in sync with each other.  All it takes is one or two pipers to come in a half beat late, or hold a flourish a hair too long to muddy the overall sound a bit.

I did run into Jeff Mudd, Ryan Gallagher and Karla Cockbain.  I also saw Scott our drum instructor.
We started talking about why you don't see Fire or Police pipe bands competing at these games.  Ryan said he asked Scott that very question and was told that, quite frankly, fire and pipe bands aren't good enough. The pipers competing here have been doing it since they were kids.  Firemen and Policemen just don't put in nearly as many hours practicing.

He may be right, but I think it's a goal to shoot for.  If we're going to all this trouble to make a pipe band, shouldn't we strive to be the best?

Ah well.  Easy enough for me to say, but Lord knows talk is cheap.

Oh, I did learn a valuable lesson.  If you leave your practice chanter in the car on a hot day, it will probably ruin the reed.  Found out the hard way on that one.  Fortunately I picked up a replacement reed before I left the games...

"That" song

Yesterday we started working on THE song.  You know which one.  The big one.  The raison d’être for most pipe bands.  The single most recognized song for bagpipes in the world.  I refer, of course, to Amazing Grace.

From a technical standpoint, it’s not really that difficult.  By that I mean there aren’t a lot of complicated flourishes or finger patterns. 

But the fact is, this is the one that has to be perfect.  Each and every time, it must be perfect.  Even more than the fingering, the timing must be impeccable.  All the pipers must be in sync.  For unlike most other songs played on the pipes, this one will invariably carry emotional significance. 

Granted, the average person who hears it won’t know if a grace note or a D-throw are a little off, but for a band it must have that crisp uniformity – that cleanliness of sound that comes from everyone being in exact time with each other.  That (in my opinion) is what helps give this piece it’s gravitas.

Given the purpose of our band, this is the one song I feel we must absolutely get right. 

Onoir Do Na Marbh.

Honor to the Dead.

Recognition

Driving in to work today I was listening to Aaron Shaw of the Wicked Tinkers playing a hornpipe set.  I really liked the Tinkers before, but now that I'm taking lessons I really have a new appreciation of how impressive his playing really is.

Doublings

Well, I've got my new Korg TM-40 Tuner/Metronome, just like Neil's.  But that's the only positive right now.
These doublings are killing me.  We're punching through the A,B,C and G doubling exercises which should be easy.  I mean the left hand fingerings are essentially identical for each of them.  But I can't seem to make it click.  Intellectually I think I understand them, but I can't get my fingers to cooperate.  I know it's just muscle memory, so I'm drilling it more and more.  But the other thing is the rhythm.  I pick up the patter okay in class, but it seems to fly out of my head when I'm at home.   I know I'm supposed to be able to read the rhythm in the notes on the page, but it's still not connecting with a sound in my head.

I've gotten lax on my practice and it shows.  Time to buckle down a little more.

As far as tunes, we're using Barnyards of Delgady as a memorized warm up and are now working on memorized Scots Wha Hae.  I'm actually feeling pretty comfortable with this, it's just those damn doubling exercises.....

Good news!

I just received notification that I've been selected for the Advanced Bagpiper class!

As you may know, we have quite a few beginning pipers.  Each class has about a dozen at a time.  However, I've noticed that there seems to be a core group (in my class anyway) of about 5 or 6 who are almost always at the rehearsal.  The other 6 or 7 seem to come and go on a rotating basis.

We're far enough along now that it's becoming easier to see differing skill levels....or at least who's not practicing as much as others.

At our last lesson there were a couple people who were having enough problems during group play that I couldn't hear whether or not I was hitting the right notes myself.  It ended up being a pretty frustrating rehearsal for me.

So Neil has divided the two hour lesson into two, one hour lessons.  The students who are "exceeding expectations" and progressing "ahead of schedule" will come in for the first hour and the others will come in the second hour.

I'm pleased and flattered that I've been chosen to join the first group.
From the email:
"...This class is intended for those of you who are exceeding expectations and looking to challenge yourself more. My expectations are that you learn at a pace that will challenge you and propel you into getting your bagpipes much earlier than if we stayed with our current schedule. There will be a pretty strict guideline put in place by Neil before you will be able to move on to your pipes. This test will be administered by Neil and the details of this test will be explained to you by Neil at practice. Now that you have been selected to be in this class you will be expected to keep up with the majority of your classmates and communicate when you feel things are progressing too quickly or too slow. Our goal, although a very big goal, is to have you ready to play this St. Patrick's Day 2012 so we have a lot of work ahead of us...."


I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about the challenge.

Doublings and throws

So the last couple of weeks we've been working on F Doubling.  Personally, I do all right (not good, mind you.  Just "all right") until I get to the E.  I seem to be having a mental block making the pattern jump past the F to the G and then high A.  Yesterday in class I thought I had it, but trying today it seems to have slipped back away from me.
Maybe part of the problem is my hands are cold.  Or dry.  Or cold and dry.  Whatever the reason is, I can't seem to get a good seal with my right fingers, which throws the whole sound off.

We did start on D throws yesterday as well.  I think I'm going to be able to pick those up a wee bit better.  Probably because they don't change depending on the entering note.

On the Uniform front, I finally got around to putting together a bit of a primer on Irish style band uniforms for Dave Sweeny.  I also suggested we might want to look at the Canadian Police doublet, as opposed to a variation of the Police Beat Blouse that Boston Pipes & Drums wears.  Personally, I think it looks sharp, and this is our opportunity to set our tone (pardon the pun) for the look of our band.

Finally, we've got our first big fundraiser coming up!  May 18th, 2011.  Several of the local pipe bands will be there, and I'm anxious to see what sort of turn-out we get...

Our first big fundraiser!

Paddy Coynes

Last night we had our first "social" gathering of the band.  Mike Solan put out the email and we descended on Paddy Coynes in South Lake Union.
I would estimate about 30-40 bandmembers and assorted spouses/significant others were there.  It was nice to get a chance to meet the pipers from the Monday rehearsal, as well as some of the drummers.  I sense a friendly rivalry brewing there...
Plus a few lads from the Seattle Fire Dept. Pipe Band stopped in to support us.

I talked with Carla quite a bit about where we are for fundraising, and got a chance to meet with Mike about the Uniform committee.  While there was the inevitable talk about business, a Guinness or two loosened the group up.

All in all it was good craic!

A couple catch up items

Well, we had no rehearsal on St. Patrick's day, but we did get together last week.  We're through the scales and skip notes, and have started on grace notes (G and E).  Plus we've started on our first song - the Barnyards of Delgady.

The shirts, patches and challenge coins have come in, and they look great!  I'm going to have to pick up a few more challenge coins as gifts, I think.

Finally, this article made the news this week:

Seattle Police form pipe band to honor their own - and the community

Credit: Lauren Hill

The band is the great equalizer, with officers who are brand new to the department on up to lieutenants and captains turning out.

by SUSAN WYATT / KING 5 News

Posted on March 27, 2011 at 12:31 PM

Updated yesterday at 7:12 PM

Gallery

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SEATTLE – Pipe bands have a long tradition in fire departments around the Puget Sound region, but there are no police department bands. That's about to change.

Dozens of Seattle Police officers have joined forces to form the Seattle Police Pipes & Drums. They had their first official practice on Feb. 24.

Officer Ryan Gallagher, the band's founding member, said he was inspired to form a band when he saw the Seattle Fire Department Pipes & Drums play at Officer Tim Brenton's memorial service in 2009.

"They did an amazing job. I was just blown away with how they presented themselves," said Gallagher, who works out of the East Precinct. "When I saw them leading the family I instantly thought 'What a great way to honor somebody, but why aren't we doing this?'"

In East Coast cities such as New York and Boston, police bands are common, but not so much in the West, Gallagher said.

"If you 'YouTube' New York City Police pipes and drums you can watch video of a hundred pipers and drummers come down the road. It's amazing," he said.

After months of research and consulting with the Seattle Firefighters Pipes & Drums, as well as the Boston Police Department's bagpipe band,Gallagher came up with a plan and put out the call for recruits.

"We started with 30 people and within a couple of days it grew to 72," said Gallagher.

"It's exciting, just thinking about what it could be – what it could represent, the department could take pride in it."

Band members meet once a week for instruction with a professional piper and drummer. Gallagher says about half the members have played an instrument before but many haven't played in years, and only a few have experience with pipes or drums.

The learning process will likely take up to a year. Pipers learn on a practice chanter, similar to a recorder, and drummers start out on a practice pad. It will be months before they transition to the actual pipes and drums.

"We accept the fact that there are going to be people who are frustrated with this," said Gallagher. "There could be a mass exodus but everyone that's there now is fully committed."

The band is the great equalizer, with officers who are brand new to the department on up to lieutenants and captains turning out.

"And we have people from about age 25 up to 60," said Gallagher.

The band gets no funding from the Police Department.

"This is all police officers doing this on their own," said Gallagher.

He says he hopes the band will allow people to see police officers in a different light.

"I'd like to think that when the community sees the Seattle Police Pipes & Drums marching in, let's say, the Seafair Parade, that they're able to see beyond the badge and see a large group of men and women who care very deeply about this community and being involved in it," he said.

"We eventually hope to represent the City of Seattle and everyone who lives here."