by Drive-by Piper — published on July 9th, 2007
I have just finished reading “A Certain Slant of Light“, a novel by Cynthia A. Thayer.
The novel hits close to home for me for several reasons, not least of which is the central role played by piping. Without giving away too much, the protagonist is a retired piper, living a somewhat hermetic life near the coast of Maine. Circumstances throw him together with a young, pregnant women on the run from her church and husband.
You won’t get any more plot spoilers from me, but an interesting feature of the book is that to each chapter is attached the first line of a pipe tune, many of them piobaireachd. Included are: Too Long in this Condition, The Daughter’s Lament, The Unjust Incarceration, Lament for the Children, The Sound of the Waves Against the Castle at Duntroon, and (I was pleased to see) I Am Proud to Play a Pipe.
Although Ms. Thayer acknowledges Andy Rogers and Bob Worrall (both pipers of note from Eastern Canada), it struck me from reading the novel that she must also be a piper; she writes about piping, and the finer points of piobaireachd, with the air of a performer, and even includes a piobaireachd she has written. Maybe I will try to contact her and get the scoop.
The book was enjoyable, gripping even, and I will be recommending it to my literary piping friends.
by Drive-by Piper — published on July 7th, 2007
Today was the Payson Scottish Festival - a smalltown highland games, with a lot of stuff packed into a small space. The park where the festival is held is full of mature trees, which provide much-needed shade for the participants. This shade was especially welcome today, since the temperatures have been in the 100’s for the last few days.
This was my second time competing solo (and with the band) so I had an opportunity to put into practice the lessons learned from the Salt Lake Games a month earlier. At Salt Lake I had shot myself in the foot somewhat by choosing a 2/4 march that was way too hard. I decided, as an experiment, to change to very easy tune (The High Road to Gairloch) and this proved successful. I did not place in the solo events, but I felt I gave a much better account of myself, and garnered some encouraging remarks from the judges in both the 2/4 and the slow march.
It is clear to me now that the lack of regular, critical feedback is an issue. Despite my good intentions, I still have yet to schedule a regular personal lesson with an experienced piper. Currently I am piping blind, as far as technique is concerned. I will have to remedy this situation if I want to improve.
I was a lot less nervous about the band competition than I had been a month earlier at Salt Lake. I’ve practiced with the band plenty, and play the tunes quite confidently, so I could focus on our Pipe Major and making sure I kept my blowing steady. One of the solo judges in the morning had given me a heads-up: he told me I was moving around a lot and this was a sign of unsteady blowing. He told me he always looked for the waving drones in band competitions and stood behind those pipers. I tried my utmost to remain motionless during our set - I think I did OK!
Well, that’s my last outing competing this year - my band plays in California and Ontario before the season ends, but I am traveling to neither, so it’s time to plan for the Fall and for next year.
