Hibiscus trionum (modesty): First bagpiping lesson with PM Stuart Liddell in Scotland, Th May 13 2021 ~ Scottish small pipes with singing * Any pipers here who might be interested in Stuart's Topical (group) Lessons beginning toward the end of the month (which I hope to participate in with private lessons as well)? Know of any pipers who might be interested? Stuart is the best ! :) * Regarding riffing with Yo-yo Ma's and Wynton Marsalis's 'Guidelines for Practicing a Musical Instrument':) ~ "Guidelines for practicing a musical instrument" ... http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingMusicalInstrument.htm (And, now for something completely different, - and how to explore with bagpiping, and Stuart's extraordinary piping in particular - "Guidelines for practicing loving bliss vis-à-vis practicing a musical instrument" ... http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingLovingBlissvavMusicalInstrument.htm ?) * * * Stuart Liddell Piping :) ... Topical (group) Lessons? ~ Inspiring too * Found the 4 beautiful Piobaireachd you mentioned, as either most lyrical or melodic among Piobaireachd pieces, - and enjoyed listening to them * * * * Tuesday, June 1, 20201 Transcription of most of my 'Scott MacLeod's first bagpiping lesson with PM Stuart Liddell in Scotland, Thursday May 13, 2021' ~

 

First bagpiping lesson with PM Stuart Liddell in Scotland

Scottish small pipes with singing

Ma, Sandy, Rees, Taylor, Pin, Ed, Tym, Matt, Peggy, friends, Cuttyhunkers, and Scots' esp.,

In the vein of a letter home to Mom: :)

Wow, I had my first lesson with PM Stuart Liddell in Scotland this morning, whom I think of as the greatest living GHB bagpiper, and he's very connectable in a great Scots' way, and humble too. (And due to the coronavirus pandemic, in Scotland, and no Worlds - World Pipe Band Competitions, in Glasgow - his Inveraray and District Pipe Band, which won The World's in 2019, won them by default in 2020 :) While Stuart is modest, he's also a Champion Piper, and keeps tabs on his trophies and winnings - https://www.stuartliddell.com/about - (which seems to have been great structure to focus his extraordinary playing over the decades too). Am appreciating his fundamental Scottishness, having lived 2 full years in Scotland.   

Amazing to be able to record the lesson too, - 

Scott MacLeod's first bagpiping lesson with PM Stuart Liddell in Scotland, Thursday May 13, 2021

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xDeuJtcwVu8i0ubW2sgDfey3zm5WtAEX/view - and am grateful that Stuart listened to me play the Urlar of "The Desperate Battle of the Birds" Piobaireachd, and was appreciative. 

Any pipers here who might be interested in Stuart's Topical (group) Lessons beginning toward the end of the month (which I hope to participate in with private lessons as well)? Know of any pipers who might be interested? Stuart is the best ! :)

More about Scottish small pipes and singing below. :) Will Stuart become my coach in a sense for my next album of Piobaireachd, and will he also give me feedback about my first album of Light Music, such that I might even re-record it, and play these tunes informed by his musical expressiveness? This could be great :) 

Am curious regarding the World Univ & Sch Music School - https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/World_University_Music_School - (planned in all 7139 known living languages, with ALL instruments, each a wiki subject page, to begin - and perhaps with utility being first a criterion for building these wiki pages for community engagement with machine learning - with echoes of Wikipedia's 300 languages and each of their communities and stewards even too - what role private tuition and instruction may play). May add something about these Stuart Liddell Topical group Lessons in the Agenda and News for open WUaS monthly business meeting on Saturday 5/15/21 - which are to come soon! You have an invitation to teach to (e.g. in video, or a myriad of other ways) and learn from wiki World Univ & Sch's Music Schools as they begin to grow :)

Thoughts about eliciting loving bliss neurophysiology a bit like playing a musical instrument? :) See some of these ideas below - and regarding riffing with Yo-yo Ma's and Wynton Marsalis's 'Guidelines for Practicing a Musical Instrument':). 

Musical cheers, 

Scott

http://scottmacleod.com/piping.htm

https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Scottish_smallpipes_and_borderpipes

Guidelines for practicing a musical instrument

http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingMusicalInstrument.htm

Thursday, May 13, 2021

Dear Stuart, 

Thanks so so much, Stuart, and very nice to meet you, and to learn from you.

Here's a recording of the lesson - 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xDeuJtcwVu8i0ubW2sgDfey3zm5WtAEX/view - for your reference. 

I look forward to hearing you play 'The Desperate Battle of the Birds' again, and learning from this further. And thanks for the positive Piobaireachd feedback! (Would you name melodic Piobaireachds differently from the lyrical ones you named, I wonder?)

(I'll seek to let you know what my favorite tunes in the CoP Green Vol 1, and Blue Vol 3, Tutors are - lyrically and melody-wise - if that would be of help for your upcoming Topicals (as group lessons). Focus on one of these for one of the Topicals, as topic?) 

Warm regards, 

Scott

http://scottmacleod.com/piping.htm

http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingMusicalInstrument.htm

(And, now for something completely different, - and how to explore with bagpiping, and your extraordinary piping in particular - Guidelines for practicing loving bliss vis-à-vis practicing a musical instrument ... http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingLovingBlissvavMusicalInstrument.htm ?)

Dear Stuart, 

Thanks so much again for the excellent lesson, and your listening. 

Exploring some ideas and questions that have come up (as someone who asks questions, as a way of thinking too):

Is it the building on previous learning aspects of The College of Piping's Tutors (Vols 1-Green, 3-Blue, & 4-Yellow-Piobaireachd) that might make them interesting to your Topicals? And could choosing most lyrical or musical or melodic In what ways could this be made interesting to potential Topicals' students?  

Regarding, 

playing Scottish small pipes with singing (with bellows) ... am exploring the idea of musical voices 'leading,' and thanks to the bellows with SSP, where it's potentially possible to sing AND pipe at the same time, and make harmony. But when you said the bagpipe is the boss (and I think of you too, as Mr. Bagpipe ... you're a master of bagpiping, Stuart, - thank you!), I'm wanting to lead with my voice singing the melody and small pipes playing the harmony (so the bagpipe here - per your comment - would explicitly not be boss, rather my singing the melody would be, but this isn't entirely easy for me). I'd like to make my voice singing melody be the boss, with the small pipes being the 'lad' or "following accompaniment, or similar.  

So in thinking about how to do something as simple as lead, by singing the melody of say 'Amazing Grace, while playing harmony on the chanter of the Scottish Small Pipes - where I personally can get lost in the Scottish Small Pipes being 'boss' in playing the 2nds, I find the following Guidelines for Practicing again helpful for figuring out how to practice and learn this anew (and since I dabble on the keyboard too which helps, the piano can become the boss too a bit for learning :) ... I also take a kind of thinking approach to all of this (which I think you said something about otherwise), and which has to do even with the word 'mind' and these 'Guidelines... ' ... where thinking opens ways to a kind of beneficial analytic approach to playing (I think:). 

Re the 'mind' word in Ma and Marsalis's Guidelines - http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingMusicalInstrument.htm - 

as I've been exploring singing with playing harmony on Scottish Small Pipes - Amazing Grace - I find I want to, newly, hear the 1st part as I sing it in my mind regarding "Yo-yo Ma says, never make a sound without hearing it first; hear it in your mind" - http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingMusicalInstrument.htm - so that my singing voice 'leads' ... am seeking even to learn 'exercises' for this, for how to hear a line of music in my mind, that is ... (and being able to play both lines on the keyboard helps, because I can learn the 'structure' of some of both 1st and 2nd parts). Thoughts about exercises for this (if you've explored this from a virtuosic GHB bagpiping perspective, and not necessarily from virtuosic western classical cello or virtuosic jazz trumpet perspective?)

And then, I wonder further what Yo-yo means re mind here: 

 4 Concentrate when you practice.

Yo-yo says: join feelings into your music when you feel bad, to integrate your feelings with your mind and body.

which I could interpret, in one way, as playing light music I enjoy a lot in a way I enjoy (for the flow experience in part) ... when I'm feeling bad practicing a tune otherwise, for example. By changing tune to  play light music I enjoy I thus am able to integrate this in my mind (and body, with fingers playing) ... but there are many ways further to explore this. 

What do you do in concentrating when you practice (if you begin to feel bad ... and re the feelings word you mentioned in the lesson)?

Thoughts, ideas, questions, suggestions about all of this? 

Stuart might you also, experimentally, be interested in exploring singing or piping harmony at all with Scottish Small Pipes? (And regarding an experiment too with playing Amazing Grace in harmony over smartphones - https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2021/04/magnolia.html - wherein you'll also find Amazing Grace in 5 parts, and which sheet music I can share with you if interested). Or do you do this already? (I haven't seen you singing with piping on Youtube or Vimeo before:).

Thanks so much for your great teaching, and piping, and I'm looking forward to learning further from you - perhaps next in a 'Topical' lesson. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Cheers, 

Scott

PS

as a follow up on this one idea, and possibly per your Topicals (but you're the greatest piper in the world, and I'm a learner here, listening to, and feeling ,what I like):

 

Favorite tunes (for me) in the CoP Green Vol. 1 Book: 

those in the 2nd half of the book in general 

Favorite tunes in the CoP Blue Vol. 3 Book: 

Slow Airs

My Home

Marches

Bonnie Dundee

Scotland the Brave

Dance Tunes

all 5

Competition MSR

some of them :)

Hornpipes & Jigs

all 4

PPS

I chose all these tunes for my album because I like, and like to return to, them (and ask myself what makes these lyrical or melodic, for me, comparatively; and what could make piping tunes lyrical or melodic or musical for a wide swath of pipes, compared with other tunes which a wide swath might agree are not lyrical ... and are these GHB "classic tunes," or "old favorites" - idea-wise? )

https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2020/02/western-honey-bee-re-my-upcoming-honey.html

http://scottmacleod.com/piping.htm

https://scottmacleodhoneyinthebagscottishsmallpipesbagpiping.bandcamp.com/

Looking forward to your next Topical, Stuart!

Thank you!

-- 

- Scott GK MacLeod  

Founder, President, CEO & Professor

World Univ & Sch (WUaS) - PO Box 442, Canyon, CA 94516 

1) non-profit World University and School - http://worlduniversityandschool.org  

2) for profit general stock company WUaS Corporation in CA - http://worlduniversityandschool.org/AcademicPress.html

(o) 415 480 4577 - sgkmacleod@worlduniversiryandschool.org 

(m) 412 478 0116 - sgkmacleod@gmail.com 

World Univ & Sch Innovation Research -  scottmacleod.com 

* * 

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Taylor, All,

Regarding further learning the Scottish small pipes, in new and beautiful and creative ways - 

exploring, I started to play my small pipes while singing some poems I've written, experimentally. (This exploring approach complements in a very freeing and different way Yo Yo Ma and Wynton Marsalis' guidelines for playing a musical instrument - http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingMusicalInstrument.htm )

So, in addition to small piping with a poem from June 2009 - http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2009/06/hills-are-brown-in-canyon-now.html ...

I tried, too, playing small pipes with the 3 poems I read at the MIT Open Mic last Thursday 4/29/21 ... https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2021/04/pagosa-hot-springs-southern-colorado.html ...

Then looked up 'scottish smallpipes singing' and found this treat -  

Judy Barker, voice and Scottish smallpipes - Maggie Lauder

https://youtu.be/sLk8XuadJco 

Liking the harmonies that emerge initially from the unison singing - it's an inspiration, and great to learn from. (What kind of song is this? Is it a Scottish 'song' of sorts? I think so).

The song is called Maggie Lauder, with words here - http://mysongbook.de/msb/songs/m/maggiela.html

(And one could explore this with two musicians initially - https://youtu.be/a8fUv6psT3Y - although I like the first Maggie Lauder better).


Then, on the keyboard, I thought of finding my Blues' piano book for learning in new ways with singing, and freely and improvisationally ... 

and then, playing keyboard, I turned to my Pink and Blue Scottish Country Dance books ... where voila, there are so many tunes like the above Youtube tune, to explore with ... and found "Rowan Tree" in the Blue Book p. 65 (right above The Flower of Quern - https://youtu.be/9vCoWzl2jVY - which we've begun to play on the D mix chanter) for example. 

Searched on words for "Rowan Tree" and found the words below ... and this is all so doable ... in a brand new way ... 

To write some poetry further in meter and verse, that would allow singing in new ways with the small pipes? 

Bellows' blown small pipes open up worlds in these regards

Seeking in this process of exploring Scottish small pipes with singing with poetry and song ... to potentially say something (rather than to perfect musical pieces), as in songs of the '60s, that is about peace, for example! :)

Happy Mother's Day to April (and to other Mother's here).

Scott

Oh rowan tree, oh rowan tree
Thou'lt aya be dear to thee
Entwined thou art wi' many ties
O'hame and infancy
Thy leaves were aye the first of spring
Thy flowers the summer's pride
There was nae sic a bonnie tree
In a' the country side
Oh rowan tree
How fair was thou in summer time
Wi' a'thy clusters white
How rich and gay thy autumn dress,
Wi' berries red and bright!
On thy fair stem were mony names
Which now nae mair I see
But they're engraven on my heart,
Forget they ne'er can be
Oh rowan tree
We sat aneath thy spreadin' shade
The bairnies round thee ran
They pu'd they bonnie berries red,
And necklaces they strang
My mither, oh! I see her still,
She smil'd our sports to see
Wi' little jeannie on her lap,
And jamie on her knee
Oh rowan tree
Oh there arose my father's pray'r
In holy ev'ning's calm
How sweet was them my mother's voice,
In the martyrs' psalm
Now a'are gane!
We meet nae mair aneath the rowan tree
But hallow'd thoughts around thee twine
O'hame and infancy
Oh rowan tree

-- 

- Scott GK MacLeod  

Founder, President, CEO & Professor

World Univ & Sch (WUaS) - PO Box 442, Canyon, CA 94516 

1) non-profit World University and School - http://worlduniversityandschool.org  

2) for profit general stock company WUaS Corporation in CA - http://worlduniversityandschool.org/AcademicPress.html

(o) 415 480 4577 - sgkmacleod@worlduniversiryandschool.org 

(m) 412 478 0116 - sgkmacleod@gmail.com 

World Univ & Sch Innovation Research -  scottmacleod.com 

* * * 

W May 19, 2021

Stuart Liddell Piping :) ... Topical (group) Lessons?

found the 4 beautiful Piobaireachd you mentioned, as either most lyrical or melodic among Piobaireachd pieces, - and enjoyed listening to them

https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2021/05/hibiscus-trionum-modesty-first-lesson.html

Dear Stuart, 

Thanks for the 'magic' lesson the other day. It's inspired me further daily as I play my Scottish Small Pipes. I continue to listen to the video recording of the lesson and learn new things from you each time - which is really great, and fascinating too. (I'm seeking to write down a transcription of it - in order to learn more, and perhaps also somehow to 'riff' with some of the ideas).

Inspiring too: ... and big congratulations regarding the 3rd year of holding this title! ~ 

The World Pipe Band Championships are recorded by the BBC and are available at https://t.co/R7kvUEpMP4

https://twitter.com/BagpipeFacts/status/1393650545622192130?s=19

Inveraray and District - Medley

Performing at the 2019 World Pipe Band Championships.

Release date:17 August 2019

Duration:

8 minutes

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07ky8wp

I found the 4 beautiful Piobaireachd you mentioned, as either most lyrical or melodic among Piobaireachd pieces, - and enjoyed listening to "The Laird of Anapool’s Lament" and "The Flame of Wrath" last night in many ways. I only have Piobaireachd Society's books 3,4,&7, and Donald MacLeod has a Tutorial online for "Lament for the Children" only that I've found, so I may begin to explore learning this (after I learn further "The Little Spree" which I'm working on). I'm interested in recording these Piobaireachd  potentially for my upcoming Piobaireachd SSP album, - and thanks to you.  (I'm also interested in creating something new with Piobaireachd (Allman Bros in 1973, and with AI and machine learning? :)) - while remaining grounded in their beauty as you play them; I'm also interested in learning to play them in most beautiful ways - and what is beauty, what is beauty here with Piobaireachd ... and say, for example, with the CoP's Yellow Tutor Books' 4 Piobaireachd; you make so many tunes beautiful, fairly simple tunes too, when you play them, for ex., here - Stuart Liddell - Lunchtime Recital 2010: 1 of 8 . . . https://youtu.be/ZuvMePr82y8 (albeit not Piobaireachd here) - And what also is Piobaireachd energy or vision? And what is Piobaireachd beauty? I've explored 'what is Piobaireachd beauty?' this a little in words here - http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2020/09/monotropa-uniflora-piobaireachd.html) :)

Lyrical 

The Laird of Anapool’s Lament – Piobaireachd Society 9
Stuart Liddell plays Lament for the Laird of Anapool Piobaireachd at the Glenfiddich Piping Championship 2015
https://vimeo.com/143726072


Lament for the Children - Piobaireachd Society book 3
Pipe Major Donald MacLeod - Turotial
https://youtu.be/RAXW6jpgy04


Melodic

In Praise of Morag - Piobaireachd Society  book 1
Pipe Major Donald MacLeod
https://youtu.be/9VnDg0_babs

The Flame of Wrath - Piobaireachd Society  book 5
Flame of Wrath for Patrick Caogach Pibroch Piobaireachd Ceòl Mór
Pipe Major Donald MacLeod
https://youtu.be/L8HvAMB1Bv8

As I explore the idea of recording the tunes from my first SSP light music album "Honey in the Bag" again (perhaps with shorter hair as well :), learning from you - https://scottmacleodhoneyinthebagscottishsmallpipesbagpiping.bandcamp.com/ - I wonder too what your thoughts are about making these very beautiful - either lyrically or melodically (which words we haven't talked about yet too much). Are these tempos in this blog post - https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2020/02/western-honey-bee-re-my-upcoming-honey.html - good to aim for as well ? I think it's also creating 'flow' experiences with fingering esp. that I'm interested in in creating a kind of optimal experience in listeners (and in me) when I perform - and here's one aspect of flow the psychology of optimal experience - http://scottmacleod.com/EudaimoniaFlow.htm - and here's a related blog label in my daily blog - https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/search/label/flow%20the%20psychology%20of%20optimal%20experience - but much based on a book by long-time Univ of Chicago psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi called "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" - with fascinating research, as well as analytical thinking about this. Your piping, Stuart, is very rich for me as flow experiences :)

As I write the Minutes for the open World Univ & Sch Monthly Business Meeting (https://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2021/05/bengal-tigers-in-water.html - loosely conducted in the manner of un-programmed Quakers), I'm curious to make further connections with piping, Light Music and Piobaireachd (re http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingMusicalInstrument.htm and even possibly -http://scottmacleod.com/GuidelinesPracticingLovingBlissvavMusicalInstrument.htm). Welcoming your thoughts about this too. 

How might the Topical group lesson be taking shape as we approach the end of this month? (I haven't seen anything in your News' section so far - https://www.stuartliddell.com/news). Am welcoming your thinking about all of the above :)

Thank you so so much, Stuart! 

Best regards, Scott

http://scottmacleod.com/piping.htm

PS

Is this the piece and pianist and conductor - beautiful recording/performance esp - you're referring to - re its middle movement? ~

Krystian Zimerman 

Chopin E minor

https://youtu.be/gnkNiA_AOIY

Thank you, Stuart! 

* * * * 

Tuesday, June 1, 20201

Transcription of lesson's video recording ... 

Transcription of most of my  

'Scott MacLeod's first bagpiping lesson with PM Stuart Liddell in Scotland, Thursday May 13, 2021' ~ 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xDeuJtcwVu8i0ubW2sgDfey3zm5WtAEX/view !

Regarding creating Piobaireachd albums - 

4:40 I ask about learning further as favorite piece - 

The Desperate Battle of the Birds

Feedback about the album I made

5:10

In terms of structure, I do make it up as I go along, and in my 

... and the in the band ... 

5:20

It was really just achieving small goals as they approached us ... 

It's a good idea to have a structure ... everybody 

dramatic, lyrical

6:20

One of my favorites would be lament for the Laird of  

Lyrical 

The Laird of Anapool’s Lament – Piobaireachd Society 9
Stuart Liddell plays Lament for the Laird of Anapool Piobaireachd at the Glenfiddich Piping Championship 2015
https://vimeo.com/143726072

very dramatic piece

Lament for the Children - Piobaireachd Society book 3
Pipe Major Donald MacLeod - Tutorial
https://youtu.be/RAXW6jpgy04

full of emotion

Melodic

In Praise of Morag - Piobaireachd Society  book 1
Pipe Major Donald MacLeod
https://youtu.be/9VnDg0_babs

The Flame of Wrath - Piobaireachd Society  book 5
Flame of Wrath for Patrick Caogach Pibroch Piobaireachd Ceòl Mór
Pipe Major Donald MacLeod
https://youtu.be/L8HvAMB1Bv8

more dramatic 

I appreciate you (Scott) signing up and 

9:12

ways of approaching a new tune ... 

10

Do you fancy playing a little of The Desperate Battle of the Birds

10:35

The beauty of music is that these great pieces you can make your own, by little subtle differences, and how you feel and hear the music yourself, so it's nice to have guides from these great players  

But you know, you're trying to present music through your own feeling, again ... 

11:45 

living in a safe house

12:00

called the police a couple of times 

14

I begin to play The Desperate Battle of the Birds

16:15

...

You have a good understanding of 

weight, pace, field

I enjoyed that a lot

You've obviously listened greatly to these great players

17:00

The weight you have on that second pulse

humms

You've just got it right - 

nice, flowing, beautiful, maximized the amount of times on the notes

You couldn't go any longer, and not shorter 

I was kind of taken back by that, 

wasn't expecting that 

17:30

Now, how much do you play on the big pipe, the Great Highland ?

17:40

Scott

Thanks for your feedback, 

I can be critical of how I play this tune too

I stopped playing the Highland Pipes about 5 years ago

'eustachian tube dysfunction' - make the middle ear click a little bit 

It might have even started in a swimming program in a Yale swimming program in New Haven, Connecticut, in the late 1960s

18:00

Doing the bellows is very fun, but it's not that sound of the bagpipe that you do so wonderfully and amazingly ...

Stuart, 

Oh thank you

Scott: 

1820

With your ear and your remarkable skills, it would be interesting to bring the Scottish Small PIpes up a notch, sound-wise  

18:35

Stuart

Yea, ok, if there's anything I can say that might help, I can suggest that you've got to make sure that the bagpipe that you're playing is 

18:45

the boss

it's quite interesting to note that 

say in a circumstance when you're in an area where there are many pipers having lots of 18:55 beverage shall we say, and the pipes are out and we're having lots of great tunes and 1900 they maybe pass the pipe around 

It's interesting to see and watch how people handle the same instrument 

very, very differently

you can tell the ones that can read the instrument 

purely by what they hear and how they feel it

19:20

LISTENING and FEELING are the two main attributes to being a great musician 

especially on the pipes - you've got to feel what the instrument's like, know its limits, listen to the sound, and read, read the instrument 

19:30

So you can tell which ones can get the best sound out of the instrument, and you can the ones which are of the opposite thinking, and who think the instrument should be playing to them, that they're the boss, not the pipes, you know? :)

19:55

You can tell the pipes will resist this, and drones will stop, and chanters will squeak and all that kind of stuff, so basically to summarize:

20:00 

read the instrument 

make sure you know the instrument is the boss

as you tune your ear into the sound, you know, closing your eyes when you play is a great thing, because you really are getting into the world of sound, and an in-depth understanding of it, and you'll hear little wobbles here and there, maybe stability of blowing, and that is not a thinking thing, but will be a natural thing as your muscles adjust, until you can find where the right pressures will be to get the right sound effect that pleases you the most. 

20:45

That's a bit of a long-winded answer there, sorry :) 

Ok there's lots of gimmicks out there that can help that can enhance that . . . you've got the visual water tube thing that (holding his hands up at the same height, slightly oscillating) ... it's a secondary backup -

21:00

just the way sheet music is a secondary backup to the real music 

Scott

I have a few bosses - I have a baritone drone, that's a combination drone, and I have a B flat chanter and a D chanter 

that complicates the matter a bit

Stuart

Aye

but the benefit of the bellows - that takes away the issue of moisture - so you don't have to think about that at all

and it also means you can play for long long periods of time, and absolutely no effect on the sound - it STAYS

so yea, the time you spend on it, the longer you spend on it, the more you get to know t

2200

he instrument, and what makes it work better, and what makes it not work so good, and just learning hands' on learning how to manipulate your reeds so they are the most efficient - efficiently set up - basically just spending time on them, you know

Scott

22:20

So if you were to make one change to one reed, or one tuning either of the bass drone (pointing), or this tenor drone (pointing in video recording), or this chanter - those were the three drones and chanter that were working - would you ... does something come to mind from your 3000 or 4000 miles away? (we both laugh a little) 

Stuart: 

22:50

Um, it's hard to get a true sound reflection on what's coming over the internet, but

2300

the chanter balance sounds good

I think the drones could be tidier together (interlocking his fingers) closer together - but not unpleasant

(I strike up to start to play a bit again so Stuart can hear again)

Stuart: it sounds like the low A to your drone pitch is LOWER - it sounds like the low A is FLATTER to what you've set the drones to at this point, so the drones need to be flattened ever so slightly 

Scott

so pull them out

Stuart

yea, make them longer, very slightly, you know, 

Scott

but the range from the low A to the high A . . . 

I use a tuner fairly frequently  . . . 

but would I also bellows harder

Stuart

23:49

Yea, that's a good point, if I can reflect on ... when I'm tuning the bagpipe, I'm quite conscious of the pressure, as I bring it right in ... I'm making sure that the 

24:00

pressure is as I was playing (presumably a tune . . . ) as a performance 

which is actually 

I tend to lean into the bagpipe - not overly - but lean into it so the reed gets caught, and doesn't go anywhere, it just stays put, you know. You've just got to find the right pressure where the reed will react that way, like that - 

24:25

the reed will tell you 

the reed will squeak if it's too much, or ... 

Scott

so these are Walsh small pipes made by the pipe maker 

in Antigonish in Nova Scotia 

Stuart

Oh, yes

Scott 

it's a plastic (not cane!) chanter reed too 

Stuart

lovely

Scott

it's a plastic chanter reed too 

So, leaning in, - does that mean more pressure?

Stuart

Well, I'm not sure with the small pipes where the threshold will be for that 

Again, it's a feeling, it's a real feeling, and it depends on the reed itself

You'll know, you'll know - what you want is to 

25:00

get the best STABILITY of your reed, which I think you're doing

The blowing sounds really fine actually 

very pleasant

You see, when you get the drones in perfect harmony, you just don't want to leave that

you'll protect it

you'll ear will be ablaze in so much enjoyment, like - it's like yes, this is great, that you'll do everything you can to hold it there (Stuart smiling as he says this :)

25:27

so close your eyes, keep listening, 

and just enjoy, you know - in the search for that, yea there's a lot of manipulation needed  

there's no thinking required - none 

it's just a feeling 

Scott

Great - I have two questions (holding up 2 fingers)

1 I'm wondering if we're thinking in terms of 30 minute lesson here, and 

2 whether I could you play the urlar of "The Desperate Battle of the Birds"

26:00

3

then 3rd question is LIGHT NON-MENSURALITY - it's a word Ian Whitelaw has used - and I think of light non-mensurality, slightly more rhythmic Piobarieachd, and HEAVY NON-MENSURALITY, John D Burgess playing "The Desperate Battle of the Birds"

so those are 3 questions before we close, maybe even, but tell me . . . 

4

and more the business aspects also . . . of the lesson - is a 4th question

Stuart 

26:25

Right, right, so - ask me again will you? (smiling:)

one at a time, go ... 

Scott

Would it be possible to hear you play the Urlar of "The Desperate Battle of the Birds"?

26:45

Stuart

Yes 

Let me do it right now, absolutely . . . which actually I prefer your version 

You have a lot more sensitivity to it 

I don't play it very often, so I haven't delved deeply into the actual

27:00

depths of the tune 

I really enjoy what your playing, honestly, it really is good

Stuart plays "The Desperate Battle of the Birds"

(with very OPEN doublings)

28:10

I know there's a thumb variation that comes up 

Scott

Beautiful

Stuart

Thank you.

Scott

That was really beautiful 

Stuart

I believe you were going to play it ... 

I have heard it ... 

29;35

Scott

I liked your Cantaireachd 

Stuart

Choosing a really good high quality recordings 

Scott

Super ...

if I were to play it as you played it

30:20

it's hard to internally hear what I would have learned  ... and know for sure ... 

and I appreciate you saying it's an interpretation

 

Stuart 

Yes

Sott

Before maybe we close ... 

Having non-mensurality . 

Stuart

How do you say it?

Scott

non-mensurality .

Stuart 

Yes, that's right, I would say that's right 

It adds much more interest to a lot of tunes 

Give me an example 

31:10

Scott

All Piobaireachds don't have this regular 4 beats to a bar, 3 beats to a bar, and

it's the stretching the notes within the bar structure, 

that John D Burgess 

stretches the immensely

there's ... so it's not measured, 

31:35

Stuart 

Yes, that's what makes it your personal music 

because there's that scope to make it exactly yours, 

it's the same notes 

Let me give you an example 

I don't know if you listen to classical music very much

Scott

a little bit

Stuart

Chopin - an amazing composer

I remember coming across a recording of one of his concertos and it's the middle piece of the concerto 

in E flat minor

Scott

You play the piano too

Stuart

dabble on it - I pretend

Scott

I wonder whether the playing of the piano adds to the beauty of your piping 

Stuart

I think listening and feeling would be the number 1 thing - the 2 senses I would rely on purely 

just really getting into the music, and when you ... 

And when you play for people - it's amazing what the people . . . 

can sense that by listening to it as well 

33:00

it's an emotion that can be communicated through . . .

I think it's powerful, and it's really great ... 

33:20

So, this is Chopin's concerto #1 in E minor, it's opus 11

(Frédéric Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 e-minor (Olga Scheps live)

https://youtu.be/2bFo65szAP0 - 22 minutes is the 'Romance' )

it's the Largetto ... when I first heard this, I was absolutely gobsmacked by it, and it was played by the Polish National Orchestra Christian Zimerman - pianist and conductor

Scott

what you do with the chanter, he does with the piano 

34:40

battered through it

35:

And I see Piobaireachd exactly the same way ... it's not one way at all ... why should it be?

it should be absolutely open to the individual who is producing the sounds, COMING FROM WITHIN, to the listener 

35:25

and that's where you can really attach yourself to the INNER soul - whatever you want to talk about - soul, or whatever ... 

Right ... so that's where I see Piobaireachd the ultimate in our piping music that we play 

Scott

Thank you for . . . 

35:40

Stuart

Aye  . . . a bit deep there, sorry :)

Scott

No, no - it's super 

In one of your Glen Fiddich performances, I see you - my interpretation - almost meditating 

You're very calm - {serene even} - and it's almost like the drones (and the chanter) have fedback to your brain even

Stuart

Yes

Scott

to create this lovely stillness 

and I get much feeling, and more great feeling in your music, than ... and thank you for tuning into that

(there's a Finlay Johnston winning of the Glen Fiddich recording and he's more ... the feeling isn't there for me)

Stuart

You're very kind 

very kind

Scott

Can you teach that? Can I learn that from you?

36:30

Stuart

Umm ... Yea ... sounds like you're teaching yourself . . . it sounds like you're switched on ... it's more of a - you mentioned MEDITATION - it is actually like that 

I think it's more a connection within ... but listening - and you'll pick that up from your recordings of John D Burgess, of . . . you'll catch all the differences, and understand them, and then 

you'll want to decide how you want to do it yourself 

37

you'll know when you've hit it right, and people come up 

and say, say it to you, ah - you play really well, I enjoyed that, you know 

It's important to keep all the physical aspects of your performance, you know, the tuning, the steadiness, the INTACTNESS, no mistakes, or little slips or anything, you've got to keep it absolutely intact and flowing, without any interruption, because ... [a blip} ... kind of spoils the effect, in a way  

So that side of it has to at good level, and that's what you work towards when you practice a lot to try and achieve that consistency ... but yea 

Scott

Great 

Stuart, 

Yea, och, good chatting to you about that ... 

absolutely brilliant

so hopefully I'll get a wee chance to click on some of these links you've sent from your album - I look forward to that

-  https://scottmacleodhoneyinthebagscottishsmallpipesbagpiping.bandcamp.com/ - 

Scott

You're the best {bagpiper} in the world; I'm a beginner here 

38:00

so thank you 

Stuart 

Yea, - it's no problem, 

If you have any thoughts on - once I get this up and running - the Topical - what I fell I'll be doing topically is what I mentioned before, just going through, just going through basics of learning {piping} I think, so it's just to cover . .. just to give people a bit of a chance, you know ... 

If you have any thoughts about Topicals, just fire an email over, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can with it

Scott

Have any other students signed up for the Topicals? 

Is there a group you can target?

  38:50

Stuart

Yes, well the idea was to announce it in the News' part of the web site

and therefore get people the information to people about what's coming up, and then  ... I've kind of just ... it's my own fault, - someone else got in touch already ... 

39:00

even though there's nothing announced yet, so I'll need to actually get my finger out and get organized, so please do let me know if there's anything that will be of benefit to yourself ... maybe it will balance it out ... for everyone  

Scott

Great

Super

I'm curious about the topicals for the group aspects

Mason's Apron in the CoP Blue book Vol3

you play it so brilliantly 

but that's slightly more advanced than The Brown Haired Maiden 

Scott

How do you teach that {The Mason's Apron} - you will do it well 

40:00

Stuart

Yea, - well there's not an awful lot of SPACE in there; see

to INPUT instructions into the brain - there are many different methods - to do that, and I think the most used method purely by EAR TRAINING, listening, and copying back, parrot-fashion 

I think you skip out a lot of things when you do that, a lot of BS, if you pardon my language

It's just DIRECT TO THE MUSIC

because when you listen to a good performance, you get everything you need, all the information you need - 

You've got TONE, you've got the PHRASING, you've got the NOTES, you've got everything, and it's 

and especially nowadays with video, you've got visuals, if you need backup, you can watch 

- if you don't know what's happening, you can watch the fingers in slow motion ... you've got EVERYTHING YOU NEED!

Sheet music, couldn't be any further from music, it's really just a secondary piece of information to point you in the right direction 

People will read the music, but they have absolutely no connection with the actual music - it's all eyes reading from a page, and that's purely all it is, and is very passive, and then they turn around and say, well why am I not getting this tune? Well because you're looking in the wrong direction. 

Well, once you get good though, and you've got the essence of what you play, - and then you can connect to see what it looks like on the page, and you'll make a better understanding 

therefore, when you look at (sheet) music in the future, you'll have a more direct connection 

O aye - I know that pattern, it sounds like this ... 

41:48

You know what I mean? 

Scott

Great!

Stuart

So ... how do you get Mason's Apron into the noggin?  Well, slow it down and just copy it back parrot fashion, bar by bar, or 2 or 3 notes at a time, 

and build it up, slowly at first, you know 

But then you can balance off the CONTINUAL FLOW with the CEILING OF TEMPO

to try to get the best of everything in that you can - up on the pipes as soon as you can 

Away from practice chanter to (GHB) pipes as soon as you can

Anyway, that's what I would suggest

Scott

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Can we do a half hour lesson - occasionally? 

Stuart

Yea sure, absolutely 

Scott

what's the arrangement for this from your perspective? 

Stuart

I'm fine with it - absolutely - no problem 

Let me get something sorted with the - on the News

Now you've recorded it, it's fact ... within the next week or two, I'll make an announcement about  

43

a Topical Zoom group session

And after that give me an email and we'll sort something out

Scott

Super 

Thank you Stuart, (namaste hands to Stuart) I'm very grateful

You're astounding 

And I thank you so much

43:27

Stuart

Thank you (namaste hands to Scott)

Thanks for getting in touch, Scott

Scott

Thank you, have a good day, evening, weekend. Thank you bye

Stuart

Thank you, bye!

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