VALE LEWIS TURRELL M.B.E

VALE LEWIS TURRELL M.B.E

We have been informed of the passing of Lewis Turrell in Auckland, New Zealand on the 21st April 2011 after a long battle with lung cancer. A sad loss for piping in this part of the world. Lewis was a much loved character and friend to all he met. A pupil of William Kennedy, George McLennan and PM Donald McLeod M.B.E. Lewis rose to legendary status in 1958 when he won the Gold Medal at Inverness playing the "Rout of the MacPhees" (the first overseas competitor to do so). On that day he also won the Strathspeys and Reels, the Jig and was second in the March. He has been Pipe Major of the Invercargill and Wellington Pipe Bands and has made such a huge impact on piping in New Zealand. Lewis will be sadly missed by all.

Latest Bash at Kilt Wearers

Today's Advertiser Newspaper has a ridiculous comment from former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, that just highlights what a pompous, more "English than the English" prat he really is. Suggesting that Prince Charles eccentricities including his kilt wearing do not sit well with most Australians. Well I would suggest that any such comments regarding a national dress are out of place, and a former Foreign Minister should be sympathetic to such matters. The large percentage of Australian's who are proudly of Scottish descent may feel differently, and I am sure many other nationalities who are proud to wear their own national dress would be supportive as well.

Can you imagine suggesting that a Royal from any other nation was eccentric for wearing their own national dress and that "it didn't sit well with most Australians"?

Speak on your own behalf Sassenach there are many proud kilt wearers in Australia.

Bagpipe Instruction Manual Review

Bagpipe Instruction Manual Review by John Miner

“I recently had the opportunity of acquiring “The Bagpipe Instruction Manual “by Brett Tidswell. Not to be confused with the more comprehensive “Complete Piper’s Handbook”, this smaller, 32 page, manual was designed to provide as much useful information on bagpipe setup and maintenance as possible into a small, portable, booklet that can be thrown into the pipe case and reviewed at a moment’s notice.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a complete nut when it comes to bagpipe maintenance. I have always felt that there is a special relationship and connection between the piper and his/her instrument. The time and energy one invests in learning and caring for the pipe will be returned many times in the form of a pipe that sounds great and is reliable and dependable every time. I have long been a fan of Brett’s schoolofpiping.com site and have found it a great resource for anyone who is interested in bagpipe care and maintenance.

I was actually very surprised with how much information Brett was able to cram into so few pages. Although similar in appearance to the old classic “Piper’s Handbook” by Pipe Major John MacLellan, I found the “Bagpipe Instruction Manual” to cover more topics and to be much more in depth. There is no time spent covering history or other topics. The book is 100% focused on providing clear and helpful information. It also contains many helpful photos, including detailed instructions on tying hemp bridles for cane drone reeds, diagrams of how to alter chanter reeds, and many others.

I think this book will become required reading for all of my students. The bagpipe can be an intimidating beast for a new player. This book provides a clear list of all the “must haves” for your pipe box, instructions on drone cords, bags, bag covers, valves, moisture control, reed basics, and many other topics. All very helpful for the novice player. Having said this, the book also contains enough valuable information to make it very much worthwhile to the intermediate to advanced players. The largest portion of the book is dedicated solely to reed trouble shooting and manipulation, both for drones and chanter. Pretty much every possible problem is addressed, and simple, helpful solutions are provided for each. It certainly goes well beyond the basics and is probably the best I’ve seen in the form of a small, comprehensive maintenance and setup guide. Certainly a worthwhile resource to have available for any piper. There is also some mention of matters of refinement, pitch, tone, and tuning positions, but readers are referred to the “Complete Piper’s Handbook” for more in depth discussion on these issues.

I appreciate this book because it helps take a lot of the mystery and superstition out of bagpipe setup. Certainly some these techniques take time to master, but many other tips can be applied immediately and become a great help to the player. There is no reason in this day and age that pipers of any ability cannot have a well set up, reliable, and pleasant instrument to enjoy. For those looking for a compact, clear, and comprehensive guide to “de-mystifying” bagpipe setup and maintenance, or simply looking learning a few new tricks to have a better sounding bagpipe, this book is a must for the pipe case.”


The Manual is available from schoolofpiping.com

Whats on the Net!

Allan Hamilton of Strathclyde Police has developed a website called Pipers Persuasion that features interviews with prominent pipers. These are video interviews divided into segments. Allan obviously has a long history of interviewing people (probably not under the same circumstances) and gets his subjects feeling comfortable and talking about the topic they are all so passionate about. This is a site you can spend hours watching and is going to become a valuable historical resource.

Several new reviews have been posted at the School of Piping site, these include the new Bannatynes Bag, new Glass Fiber Crozier Drone Reeds, Bruce Gandy's new CD "Front Row Seat" and details on the new SoP publication "The Bagpipe Instruction Manual".

The Bagpipe Instruction Manual

Ever wonder why your bagpipes didn't come with an Instruction Manual and you had to fool around trying to make things work!

"THE BAGPIPE INSTRUCTION MANUAL" covers everything you need to know to set up a bagpipe and solve the most common problems. A concise, inexpensive A5 publication with 36 pages and demonstrative photographs. This is the perfect size to fit in your pipe case and help you when assistance is most needed.

Just like the manual for your TV or DVD player except easy to read and follow!!!!

Chapters include: What you will need, The Great Highland Bagpipe, Tying on Cords, The Bag and Cover, Blow stick, valve and mouthpiece, Joints, slides and hemping, Moisture Control, Drones (including set up and problem solving), Chanter (including set up and problem solving), Maintenance checklists, Caring for your Instrument. Everything you need to get you started and keep your instrument going well.

Available from www.schoolofpiping.com for only $19 + postage.

Teaching and Talent

There seems to be a lot of material being produced about how there is no such thing as talent. It seems in the modern era we do not like to suggest that some will naturally be better than others at a task for no apparent reason other than they are somehow gifted and naturally built for the task. Alternatively we have the Olympic coaches measuring kids up at school to see if they are naturally built to ride a bike or row a boat. Why is the bagpipe any different?

Over the years I have probably started hundreds of people off on the practice chanter. I have read a lot on this subject of talent and hours of practice, and like to think I am as open minded about these subjects as possible.

It does stand out to me though that there were a few people (only a very small number) who picked up the chanter and instantly looked comfortable and learned new lessons very quickly. There were others that were not so fortunate and seemed to struggle and take longer through the whole process (again a small number). A lot of this has to do with hand eye co-ordination and I am sure the same percentage would struggle to throw and catch a ball as well. The vast majority were similar in the rate at which they picked up new material and how much practice they did made a huge difference to their development.

The exceptional students (who could pick up lessons very quickly) also seemed to drop less in standard during the times when they were not playing. Some just seemed to have to always work hard at it.

Adult learners are another matter. I have taught many adult learners and the age at which you start makes a huge difference on the end result. As I get older, my hands (and brain) are not the same as they were 20 or 30 years ago. If I had to start again now, I would not progress at the same rate as I did when I was a child. However a good teacher and a realistic program can reap good results.

Now that I have spent many years teaching at seminars etc. I see a broad spectrum of students from a variety of teaching sources. I see many who are hampered by technical issues from being taught poorly or incorrectly.

Like any activity there are those with a natural ability for it. Some people just seem naturally co-ordinated. They will pick up new material very quickly, BUT they will not be the World champion pipers unless they put in the many hours of hard work needed and have good tuition. Likewise, those who struggle to pick up the lessons will have to work harder and probably will never be the next Worlds best piper (that is not to say that they will not become a good piper).

Realistically, there are those with a natural ability. There will also be those with less natural ability. Hard work and a good teacher will benefit both. The true champions are those with a natural ability who also put in the hard yards and have the quality guidance behind them of a good teacher.

There is information on teaching and lots of advice for pipers at www.schoolofpiping.com

Australian Pipe Band Association Summer School 2011

We have just seen the first week long Australian Pipe Band Association Summer School come and go! A lot of work was undertaken by the organizers and they should be commended for their efforts and the way it ran without hiccup apart from some post holiday issues with the University accommodation. Not a huge drama, but a small delay on the first day.

Piping instructors were: Jack Lee (Simon Fraser University Pipe Band), Brett Tidswell (APBA Piping Principal, Strathclyde Police Pipe Band, City of Adelaide Pipe Band), Ian Lyons (Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band, Clayton and Victoria Police Pipe Band) and Robert Crozier (Victoria Police Pipe Band). It was a great pleasure working with all of the instructors.

Drumming Instructors were: Reid Maxwell (SFU), Tyler Fry (Shotts), Dean Hall (Band Club), Nick MacLeod (Warrnambool), assited by Rob Bennet (Rats of Tobruk) and Greg Bassani (APBA Principal of Drumming).

Admin was undertaken by Greg and Christine Gordon.

A very professional group but also capable of tremendous humour!

During a session on bagpipe set up, one tutor commented that he sets his 'high A' 20 - 30 cents lower than the octave and later, when demonstrating one of the other tutors stated that it sounded more like a dollar! Any comment on tone invariably resulted in some truly impressive Ian MacLellan impersonations!

Overall there were 92 students, all of whom demonstrated a commitment and enthusiasm for learning. Piping was broken into 4 groups and personally I found that each one was a pleasure to teach. The range of students went from those who could only play a handful of tunes through to a reasonable Intermediate standard.

Each day had a full program of lessons starting at 8.30am and went through to an evening class finishing at 8.30 - 9.00 pm. Chanters could be heard in the accommodation block as students worked on material for the following day and the end of school performances.

It was great to see all states represented and also students who travelled from as far as Singapore to attend the event. Each state branch of the Association had given scholarships to outstanding candidates, and this all bodes well for a great future for the event.

I tremendously enjoyed the opportunity to assist in presenting a two night ensemble discussion along with Reid Maxwell and Tyler Fry. Some of us were not always on the 'same page' as to tenor drum tuning and numbers, but that is what makes these discussions so valuable.

The final Friday saw students present some pieces they had worked on as ensembles with the drummers. This seemed to go down very well and it was good to see that so many had learned a considerable amount of new music in the week. That night we moved on to the LaTrobe University theater and a recital was put on by the instructors. Brett Tidswell opened the show with Ian Lyons and Jack Lee also performing solo. Reid Maxwell and Tyler Fry also performed and later were joined by Alby Copeland, Robert Crozier and the other pipers for a full performance scraped together virtually the day before with no chance to rehearse or tune at all!

A number of prizes were awarded for tune composition which were donated by McCallum Bagpipes. The winning tune by Donna Stemberger was a very pleasant 3 part air. Second prize went to Matthew Gervasoni for a very nice Hornpipe.

Piping scholarships for next year were given to Fergus Barry-Corderoy and Alexandra Culver. All instructors thought these students showed talent and outstanding enthusiasm. A separate scholarship was awarded to Ong Wei Shi to attend the Canadian Summer School.

The schoolofpiping.com awarded Brett Tidswell's CDs and The Complete Pipers Handbook to students that we considered were enthusiastic and deserved commendation.

Lyons Highland Supplies also donated Crozier Drone Reeds as prizes for students.

It is hoped that students will continue with the material taught at the school and it will provide some first class tuition and broaden their musical view point. This has the potential to greatly improve piping throughout Australia. I look forward to seeing everyone again next year. I am sure everyone not only had a rewarding learning experience but also made friendships that will last a lifetime.

Further learning material, reviews, photo albums, sound files and other entertaining material can be found at the School of Piping website. This is an online piping workshop that can be accessed anytime!