PHSD CAMP-DAY 5 (LAST DAY)
Up at 8:00 and begin to get packed. I must be down to Town Hall for the last meeting at 9:30 followed by massed band. The massed band is just that, a giant band made up of all of the pipers and drummers in camp. Massed bands usually play standard tunes like Scotland The Brave and Green Hills of Tyrol. I don’t know these but I will fake it. We will also be playing a tune Jack Lee picked out, Heights of Delgai. I have been working hard on this tune all week, though it is a little above my skill level.
We gather in the parking lot for the massed band. We strike up our pipes and form a circle around Jack Lee, playing Green Hills of Tyrol while several instructors go around and tune each student’s drones. Next we form 8 rows of perhaps 10 pipers each. I deliberately place myself in the middle of the band since I will not actually be playing many of the tunes. More experienced pipers tell me to simply put enough pressure in my bag to make the drones sound, but not enough pressure to make the chanter play. It is a trick everyone uses at massed bands when they don’t know the tune. This way, I can drone on and on without disrupting the music. I will play both the Heights of Delgai and Amazing Grace.
The pipe major controls the tempo and movements of the band. Ours has us perform a right face and we begin marching into town playing Green Hills of Tyrol. Once into town we play the other tunes. I don’t like not knowing any common piping tunes and I am going to make it a point to talk to Jori about learning some standards.
The week has come to an end. It has been a week of firsts: First camp, first time playing with other pipers, first time in a band, first performance, first strasthbey/reel/hornpipe. I wish I had the opportunity to go to camp once every couple of months instead of once a year.
If one has the funds, bagpipe camp is a great way to learn allot quickly. It is not the most relaxing vacation I have every taken, but perhaps it is the most fulfilling. My calendar is already filled in for next year’s camp.
We gather in the parking lot for the massed band. We strike up our pipes and form a circle around Jack Lee, playing Green Hills of Tyrol while several instructors go around and tune each student’s drones. Next we form 8 rows of perhaps 10 pipers each. I deliberately place myself in the middle of the band since I will not actually be playing many of the tunes. More experienced pipers tell me to simply put enough pressure in my bag to make the drones sound, but not enough pressure to make the chanter play. It is a trick everyone uses at massed bands when they don’t know the tune. This way, I can drone on and on without disrupting the music. I will play both the Heights of Delgai and Amazing Grace.
The pipe major controls the tempo and movements of the band. Ours has us perform a right face and we begin marching into town playing Green Hills of Tyrol. Once into town we play the other tunes. I don’t like not knowing any common piping tunes and I am going to make it a point to talk to Jori about learning some standards.
The week has come to an end. It has been a week of firsts: First camp, first time playing with other pipers, first time in a band, first performance, first strasthbey/reel/hornpipe. I wish I had the opportunity to go to camp once every couple of months instead of once a year.
If one has the funds, bagpipe camp is a great way to learn allot quickly. It is not the most relaxing vacation I have every taken, but perhaps it is the most fulfilling. My calendar is already filled in for next year’s camp.
posted by Viceroy De Los Osos at 4:42 PM
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