fiddlehead said:
Thanks very much! I always like to back my winning arguments with testimony from the experts ;D
Does a bagpipe use the same scale as other instruments, i.e. A to G ?
Yes, but the pipes have an extra Low G and High A.
Here's some more info
Here's some more
The simplest way to figure out the pipes is;
There are no sharps or flats written into the music, just notes and grace notes (notes played quickly between the melody notes). This is just a rough generalization, but you'll never find a # or ♭ in written pipe music... but you can tune notes to sharp or flat.
There is no volume; just loud and off (with the exception of the drones)
What makes playing the pipes so hard? (especially with only 9 notes).
- Playing the notes... there is some odd fingering technique; it's not like a Recorder.
- Co-ordination; Playing a tune, breathing, squeezing, strike-ups, cut-offs, rhythm and pace and drill (if you're in a military band)... not to mention paying attention to Mace and drum commands.
- Fast fingers; some tunes are easy, but the good ones are very complicated, just in the melody notes; lots of switches between top and bottom hand and awkward notes.
- Grace notes; These are notes played between notes... very quickly, but clearly. Some are simple single notes... some are complicated clusters. Here's an example of some easy grace notes;
They only get more complicated from there.
- No music while playing; You have to memorize every tune you're going to play. There is no where to carry sheet music while playing.
- Maintenance; The pipes have a lot of parts, made of various materials... Newer pipes require less maintenance, but they still need to be cared for regularly... and you have to know what you're doing or you can make a mess of your horns.
Combine all this, throw in Dress, drill and parade format and you have and entire trade in the CF (musician)...
fiddlehead said:
Maybe I should take lessons!
If you're interested in learning; I would strongly advise that you seek a competent instructor and definitely take lessons. There's a lot of technique you can't learn from a book.