For the love of pipes

I played the bagpipes in my high school and it ended when I left school. That was more than 15 years ago. It is really uncommon to play bagpipes here in Malaysia. Recently, I have a friend who asked me to play for his wedding and I went agreed. So, I borrowed a bagpipe from a friend and played. from there, I got requests to play for more weddings...and funerals... I am just loving it, the way the sound of just a bagpipe fills the the air and surrounds the environment with grace.

The pipes got my inner love for the sound of bagpipe revived again. Bought a bagpipe recently (have to purchase from overseas!) and now embarking to rediscover this beautiful instrument. There are many kinds of bagpipes, but I am talking about the Great Highland Bagpipe, or easier known as the GHB.

After looking for resources in the internet about playing the bagpipes, I am still far from being a true GHB player. The sound of the bagpipe can only be appreciated if properly played. Mind you, this is a very loud instrument and if not tuned and played properly, it can be one of the most annoying musical instruments).

The GHB can be easy to play but difficult to master. Like the old saying goes "it takes seven years and seven generations to make a piper". But I think learning to play can be really shorter because of the Internet. Yes, thanks to the internet, now I have a lot of opportunity to see talented GHB players and there are many resources about how to play the bagpipe.

Without having a Pipe Major (here in Kuala Lumpur, it is almost impossible to find a qualified Pipe Major) to teach me, I am going to learn from the Internet and books.

I am using this blog for my bagpipe journey with two purposes:
- Learn from other bagpipers.
- Share with those who are playing and wants to play this fine instrument.

So, now it's time to build the stamina again to play this wonderful instrument (you have to have good "breathing power"), appreciate the tunes (some people say memorizing the tunes but I believe that only if you appreciate it, then you can remember it better), strengthen the finger coordination and embellishments. And of course, tune the pipes (drones and chanter).

PIPES UP!

Here are some tunes you can listen to appreciate the GHB.

1. Nice slow music (The Highland Cathedral).
2. Powerful band performance (A medley by one of the best pipe bands in the world, the SFU).
3. Another nice slow one (The Gael, a tune from the movie "The last of the Mohicans".
4. Thundering solo performance by one of the greatest pipers of our time, Stuart Liddell.
5. My Idol, Gordon Duncan in one of his solo recital in 1993.