This performance report is over the “Side Show the Musical” which was presented by the students and teachers of University of Texas at Dallas at the University Theatre. While there were multiple performances from April 8th to April 17th this report will focus at the performance that happened at 8 pm on Friday April 16th.
Being a musical this play was mostly delivered in the form of quick tempo songs which the actors could dance to. This was done mainly by one or more of the actors acting out their role to the song they were singing while being supported by an orchestra that was located behind the curtain. While I was unable to get a good look at the orchestra it had a good assortment of instruments ranging from horns for the more jazzy numbers such as “The Devil You Know” to drums for the introduction of the cannibal king and applied a number of crescendos and ornamentations throughout the play. These drums however did overpower the singers from time to time. Also it should be noted that the actors needed some skill at holding still since parts required part the cast to freeze so that one of the lead characters could sing out what they were thinking in the form of a musical monolog.
Now being a play the performers were dressed in accordance to their parts. These costumes ranged from the well dressed Buddy and Terry to the shirtless ‘Cannibal King’ Jake. Also it should be noted that the performers could be split into the main characters (Daisy, Violet, Buddy, Terry, and Jack) and the side characters who usually took the roles of the supporting vocalists during the play. The orchestra seemed to be wearing dark formal clothes however as stated earlier I was unable to get a good look at what the orchestra members due the curtain in front of them and my seating location. Of the remaining performers the stage crew dressed in colors similar to the backgrounds they were moving in front of so that they would draw less attention while the light director and greeters were casually dressed.
During this performance the performers made use of a number of different props which ranged from boxes to mikes to even a cage. One may even consider the actors themselves as props since at moments during the play the actors would freeze to show that one of the main characters was thinking and the lighting director was able to create interesting effects with their shadows.
As for the audience it seemed that this performance attracted a full house. Based off what I saw it seems that 30% of the audience was comprised of parents and teachers while the remaining 70% were college students. This large proportion of students is likely due to fact that as this performance happened on a Friday evening. Since most evening classes are Tuesday and Thursday this performance was more accessible than the Thursday performance. Also since most students likely already had to be on campus on Friday for afternoon classes this made this much more accessible than the Saturday performance.
Prior the beginning of the performance while the orchestra was doing a final check on their instruments the audience was engaged in soft chatting amongst themselves and a few of the students in the audience seemed to passing the time playing hand held video games. Based off the games I saw the majority of these audience members were playing games of the Pokemon series which means there might have been some wireless interaction amongst the other video game players in the audience. Unlike my report on “Shakespeare in Song” it seemed to me that the majority of the students at this performance were here for scholastic reasons and not here to support friends on stage. Also the audience began to become slightly restless prior to the beginning of the play since the play began fifteen minutes late.
Based off my past life experiences of growing up in Texas musicals while not happening everyday are something one will experience time to time. Be it in a childhood cartoon or performed by a rogue group of singers at a local mall it is quite unlikely that a local audience member would have not heard a musical prior to attending this performance. So this performance was able to expect the audience to understand this culture more than someone new to musicals and thus was able to a darker play than they would have been able to do with an audience of members outside this music community. As such while I would say someone who had never seen a musical before could attend they would have come out of it with much less than the average audience member. Also this common knowledge among the audience members likely contributed to the large number of the audience members that gave standing applauds at the end of the show.
So in summary this performance, like any other musical, relied on songs to give the majority of its story to the audience. Now while this performance was less open due to its darker story the majority of the audience were native to the region and well versed with this culture. This knowledge led to a greater understanding and an excellent reaction at the end by the audience.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Blog 12: Progressive Rock
For this assignment I was to find one subgenre of rock and introduce its elements of music along with providing a listening guide. After some debating I’ve decided to go with the subgenre of progressive rock.
Now before I list what I believe to be the elements of progressive rock are I should say that in the process of looking for songs I began to realize that progressive rock seems to need to be split even further into more subgenres. The reason for this is that according to my research songs like Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield and Last Train To London by the Electric Light Orchestra are both classified as progressive rock however it seems to me that songs like these rely on different elements. So I’ve decided to focus more on the types similar to Electric Light Orchestra’s music.
This genre relies on the use of a vocalist who is supported by electric guitars along with a drum kit. Also while it is not required many performers use unusual things to spice up their song such as recording techniques which plays back sounds a sound or unusual instruments. The lyrics tend to be focused more towards love and freedom.
Examples of this can be seen with Last Train To London.
00:00 – Song begins with electric guitar
00:06 – first example of recording technique
00:16 – Singer begins to sing
02:30 – keyboard solo (may be slightly improvised)
Now before I list what I believe to be the elements of progressive rock are I should say that in the process of looking for songs I began to realize that progressive rock seems to need to be split even further into more subgenres. The reason for this is that according to my research songs like Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield and Last Train To London by the Electric Light Orchestra are both classified as progressive rock however it seems to me that songs like these rely on different elements. So I’ve decided to focus more on the types similar to Electric Light Orchestra’s music.
This genre relies on the use of a vocalist who is supported by electric guitars along with a drum kit. Also while it is not required many performers use unusual things to spice up their song such as recording techniques which plays back sounds a sound or unusual instruments. The lyrics tend to be focused more towards love and freedom.
Examples of this can be seen with Last Train To London.
00:00 – Song begins with electric guitar
00:06 – first example of recording technique
00:16 – Singer begins to sing
02:30 – keyboard solo (may be slightly improvised)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Blog 11: Music culture of the Gullah
The Gullah culture originated from African slaves of the “Rice Coast” region who were brought over for their knowledge of working in rice fields. Due to their African descent their music culture shares some similarities with other music cultures native to the area. However it should also be noted that their culture has adopted some of the local customs into their culture.
Examples of their African descent can be seen in the reliance of drums during their music creation. Also these drums seem similar to the talking drums seen in our previous cultures. Another thing to note is the audience participation such as the random individuals coming out to dance (which reflects the African culture we viewed earlier where a possessed one would come out and dance).
On the other hand one can see the influences of Western ideas in their music culture by looking at culture that emerges from their beliefs such as ring shouting. While ring shouting had gone out of practice it can still serve as an example on how a native African custom (the forming of a ring and dancing around to drum beats) has been combined with an Western ideal (in this case Christianity).
So while the music culture of the Gullah is heavily influenced by their African roots, as seen by their use of instruments and the amount of audience participation, it should also be noted that there has been some Western influence within their culture.
Examples of their African descent can be seen in the reliance of drums during their music creation. Also these drums seem similar to the talking drums seen in our previous cultures. Another thing to note is the audience participation such as the random individuals coming out to dance (which reflects the African culture we viewed earlier where a possessed one would come out and dance).
On the other hand one can see the influences of Western ideas in their music culture by looking at culture that emerges from their beliefs such as ring shouting. While ring shouting had gone out of practice it can still serve as an example on how a native African custom (the forming of a ring and dancing around to drum beats) has been combined with an Western ideal (in this case Christianity).
So while the music culture of the Gullah is heavily influenced by their African roots, as seen by their use of instruments and the amount of audience participation, it should also be noted that there has been some Western influence within their culture.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Performance Report 1
This performance report is over the “Shakespeare in Song” performance which was presented by the UT Dallas Chamber Singers at the University of Texas at Dallas’ Jonsson Performance Hall. While there were multiple performances between the 26th and 27th of March this report will focus on the performance at 8 pm on Friday March 26th.
The music culture that was being represented in this performance relies on adaptations of the works of Shakespeare put to a melody to produce their music along with other textual parts that are read to set the mood. Also the performers need to have some degree of the ability to act as well since pieces and textual parts are usually reflective of certain emotions. Finally a pianist usual acts as an accompaniment to these performers.
The repertoire of this performance mainly focused on the chamber singers performing as a group (being split up into sopranos, altos, tenors, and baritones/basses) however it should be noted that a small number of the pieces were solos. The tempo of each piece changed depending on the current mood such as the beats per second of the sorrowful Act IV Scene 5 of Hamlet was considerably slower than Act IV Scene 3 of A Winter’s Tale which represents a more humors part. Interestingly due to the nature of these songs it can be difficult to understand the lyrics of certain parts therefore the performers usually read textual parts prior to each piece. Also for the group pieces the piano seems to give the starting note to the chamber singers right before the beginning of each piece.
Now even though this performance was very casual with its dressing requirements all of the performers performed in Renaissance attire. The performers themselves could be broken into three groups: the director, the pianist, and the chamber singers. Also the chamber singers could be divided into four different groups (as stated earlier) depending on the vocal range they sang and these divisions could be noticed as there were visual gaps between where each group stood. During the text reading and the solos the individuals who were performing moved in front of the chamber singers to perform.
Finally it should be noted that there seems to have been a number of people behind the scenes and while they might not be what first comes to mind as performers they played a significant role in the performance. The roles I was able to notice were that of the greeters at the doors along with the costume coordinator. Also they had a technical consultant who worked a projector which displayed current song’s name to audience.
While I do not have the exact numbers for this performance I would guess that the audience was at the size of around 50 to 75 individuals. Students however made the majority of the audience with a population of around 69.34% of the audience. It should be noted though that the student body can be divided into two groups based on their reason for attending this performance. One group would be the students who were attending this performance to obtain data for their music class while the other group was attending so that they might support their friends.
Now even though the reasons for attendance might differ as the majority of the audience’s population was comprised of students one can surmise that this music culture is open to outsiders. This is because while students may have some introduction to the culture being a student denotes that one is learning and thus not truly a complete member of the community yet. Also as the majority of the audience were not members of the society there wasn’t much interaction between the audience and performers beyond cues for applauds by the director and laughter at the performer’s jokes.
The audience’s reaction to the performance was what I would call average. On one hand everyone (with the exception of a few people who had to answer their cell phones) stayed for the entire performance and applauded for each piece (and perhaps sometimes when they weren’t suppose to) on the other hand the majority audience refused to stand at the end during their applauds.
The reason for this reaction is best explained by a further look at the time and place of the performance. As it was on a Friday the crowd consisted mainly of students attempting to get their research school work done while they were still on campus before going home for the weekend. So while they likely enjoyed the concert the fact that they had to take notes probably was of greater concern than applauds.
So in summary this performance was based in the culture of putting melodies to the play lyrics of Shakespeare. Due to the open nature of this performance and the fact that this performance was the most accessible to students the majority of the audience was comprised of students using it as class material. This resulted in an average audience reaction at the end since these students were not experts in this culture and needed to collect data.
Works Cited
Shakespeare In Song. By Author/Composer First then Last Name. Dir. Kathryn Evans. Perf. UT Dallas Chamber Singers, Michael McVay. Jonsson Performance Hall, Richardson. March 26, 2010.
Evans, Kathryn. Program notes. Shakespeare In Song. March 26, 2010. Richardson: Jonsson Performance Hall. (Evans).
The music culture that was being represented in this performance relies on adaptations of the works of Shakespeare put to a melody to produce their music along with other textual parts that are read to set the mood. Also the performers need to have some degree of the ability to act as well since pieces and textual parts are usually reflective of certain emotions. Finally a pianist usual acts as an accompaniment to these performers.
The repertoire of this performance mainly focused on the chamber singers performing as a group (being split up into sopranos, altos, tenors, and baritones/basses) however it should be noted that a small number of the pieces were solos. The tempo of each piece changed depending on the current mood such as the beats per second of the sorrowful Act IV Scene 5 of Hamlet was considerably slower than Act IV Scene 3 of A Winter’s Tale which represents a more humors part. Interestingly due to the nature of these songs it can be difficult to understand the lyrics of certain parts therefore the performers usually read textual parts prior to each piece. Also for the group pieces the piano seems to give the starting note to the chamber singers right before the beginning of each piece.
Now even though this performance was very casual with its dressing requirements all of the performers performed in Renaissance attire. The performers themselves could be broken into three groups: the director, the pianist, and the chamber singers. Also the chamber singers could be divided into four different groups (as stated earlier) depending on the vocal range they sang and these divisions could be noticed as there were visual gaps between where each group stood. During the text reading and the solos the individuals who were performing moved in front of the chamber singers to perform.
Finally it should be noted that there seems to have been a number of people behind the scenes and while they might not be what first comes to mind as performers they played a significant role in the performance. The roles I was able to notice were that of the greeters at the doors along with the costume coordinator. Also they had a technical consultant who worked a projector which displayed current song’s name to audience.
While I do not have the exact numbers for this performance I would guess that the audience was at the size of around 50 to 75 individuals. Students however made the majority of the audience with a population of around 69.34% of the audience. It should be noted though that the student body can be divided into two groups based on their reason for attending this performance. One group would be the students who were attending this performance to obtain data for their music class while the other group was attending so that they might support their friends.
Now even though the reasons for attendance might differ as the majority of the audience’s population was comprised of students one can surmise that this music culture is open to outsiders. This is because while students may have some introduction to the culture being a student denotes that one is learning and thus not truly a complete member of the community yet. Also as the majority of the audience were not members of the society there wasn’t much interaction between the audience and performers beyond cues for applauds by the director and laughter at the performer’s jokes.
The audience’s reaction to the performance was what I would call average. On one hand everyone (with the exception of a few people who had to answer their cell phones) stayed for the entire performance and applauded for each piece (and perhaps sometimes when they weren’t suppose to) on the other hand the majority audience refused to stand at the end during their applauds.
The reason for this reaction is best explained by a further look at the time and place of the performance. As it was on a Friday the crowd consisted mainly of students attempting to get their research school work done while they were still on campus before going home for the weekend. So while they likely enjoyed the concert the fact that they had to take notes probably was of greater concern than applauds.
So in summary this performance was based in the culture of putting melodies to the play lyrics of Shakespeare. Due to the open nature of this performance and the fact that this performance was the most accessible to students the majority of the audience was comprised of students using it as class material. This resulted in an average audience reaction at the end since these students were not experts in this culture and needed to collect data.
Works Cited
Shakespeare In Song. By Author/Composer First then Last Name. Dir. Kathryn Evans. Perf. UT Dallas Chamber Singers, Michael McVay. Jonsson Performance Hall, Richardson. March 26, 2010.
Evans, Kathryn. Program notes. Shakespeare In Song. March 26, 2010. Richardson: Jonsson Performance Hall. (Evans).
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Opera – Verdi’s I Lombardi
For this blog assignment I was tasked to find an opera clip from one of the works of the composers from our readings and then discuss the music and performers of said clip. Now since my knowledge of opera consists solely of our latest readings and the exclamations my mother usually made (which went along the line of “I can’t believe your father just slept through xxx again!”) I decided to go with one of the more common names from our readings, Verdi. After a bit of searching I decided on the clip from I Lombardi’s death scene.
This death scene was played by three actors who I would guess fall under the voice classifications of bass, baritone, and alto. Also it seems that while ornamentation could be found throughout certain actors refrained from using it at certain parts (such as priest before administering the medicine). On a side note I was quite surprised that the vocalists managed to overpower the orchestra on numerous occasions (which makes me curious how much dB both the orchestra and the vocalists were producing).
The music relies on heavily on chordophones with some membranophones and aerophones showing up for a few moments during the clip (most noticeably at the end). While this part was more difficult due to the power of the vocalists it seemed that the music swapped between acting as an accompaniment and sharing the main stage with the vocalists (the orchestra might do a solo during some moments and at other parts it did crescendos and decrescendos along with the vocalists). As to rhythm I was unable to set a specific beat down since it seems there were multiple movements during this clip.
This death scene was played by three actors who I would guess fall under the voice classifications of bass, baritone, and alto. Also it seems that while ornamentation could be found throughout certain actors refrained from using it at certain parts (such as priest before administering the medicine). On a side note I was quite surprised that the vocalists managed to overpower the orchestra on numerous occasions (which makes me curious how much dB both the orchestra and the vocalists were producing).
The music relies on heavily on chordophones with some membranophones and aerophones showing up for a few moments during the clip (most noticeably at the end). While this part was more difficult due to the power of the vocalists it seemed that the music swapped between acting as an accompaniment and sharing the main stage with the vocalists (the orchestra might do a solo during some moments and at other parts it did crescendos and decrescendos along with the vocalists). As to rhythm I was unable to set a specific beat down since it seems there were multiple movements during this clip.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Music Culture of Avatar
Based off my less then legal acquisition of the sound track for the movie Avatar I would have to say that the difference between the film score and the actual music of the Na’Vi’s music would be the inclusion of vocals and the increase of African tribal instruments (it seems that aerophones also appeared quite often during these parts). The actual film score on the other hand used orchestrated numbers with more classical western instruments such as the piano. Now it should be mentioned that these two cultures tend to mix with each other quite well and that the tracks may start off as a film score change to Na’Vi music and finally return to being a film score before the track has finished.
Also while this may a bit off the topic question I noticed myself being reminded of the opening track to Myst IV while listening to some of the tracks from this film (such as Gathering All The Na'Vi Clans For Battle). Of course after listening to them back to back it is quite obvious that they rely on different devices however I can’t shake the fact that these two music cultures (well I don’t know if an intro can be called a culture) seem to share some roots.
Also while this may a bit off the topic question I noticed myself being reminded of the opening track to Myst IV while listening to some of the tracks from this film (such as Gathering All The Na'Vi Clans For Battle). Of course after listening to them back to back it is quite obvious that they rely on different devices however I can’t shake the fact that these two music cultures (well I don’t know if an intro can be called a culture) seem to share some roots.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Ethnography on the Culture of Scottish Pipe and Drum Bands
Introduction
This paper’s goal is to describe the music culture of the Scottish pipe and drum bands. It will accomplish this by first covering how I obtained my information followed by a discussion on the different musical elements of this culture. These elements of music will be discussed first starting with the ideas about this music culture along with the activities involving this music and how it is being preserved. Finally the material culture and the repertoires of this music culture will be explained.
Methodology
The research done on this paper was for the most part unconsciously done over the past fourteen years. This is because the small private school I attended from kindergarten to senior year of high school was world renown for its juvenile Scottish pipe and drum bands. Thus I was saturated with music from a young age and later came to be a competitive Scottish snare drummer who competed in multiple competitions ranging from grade five to grade three. There was also some required Scottish dancing performances but I’d rather not talk about those (dancing is not one of my strong points). So with this base knowledge my sources mainly were for exact numbers, historical facts, and other details that one would not pick up from hearing and performing this music. For this I mainly used sources such as the RSPBA rules and the historical info of bands such as The London Scottish Regiment.
Aspects of the Music Culture
The first record of a pipe and drum band was in the records of military officers. However as these records only made passing reference to the bands they employed I was unable to find any further details on this music cultures beginnings. As such it wasn’t till around 1860 and the creation of local nonmilitary bands that this music form begins to be heavily documented.
Now with the increase of nonmilitary pipe and drum bands the community began holding competitions (as nonmilitary bands weren’t going to be tasked with the tasks as the official bands). Over time these competitions began to overtake the military use of pipe bands till in World War I piping in the trenches was banned. As such most modern pipe and drum bands focus on preparing numbers to perform at local, national, and maybe even world competitions.
These competitions while possibly just competitions at their beginning have evolved into more of a local festival. As with the Houston Highland Games and Salado Clan Gathering and Highland games these events while still being heavily focused on the band and single competitions have shown an influx of vendors selling everything from Scottish apparel and weaponry to really good kettle corn. As such many of the visitors treat them more as a cheerful bazaar/festival/competition than a serious event.
Now this culture has not only managed to survive all these years but has managed to spread to the point that North American bands are able to compete competitively and win against with native grown Scottish bands in the worlds as seen with the 78th Fraser Highlanders. The reasons for this, as stated above, are each band’s drive to be the best and the festive nature of the competitions. The festive nature of these competitions naturally attracts visitors from outside the normal sphere of the music culture who then get pulled into the music culture (or at least return for later competitions). The bands on the other hand are always looking to better themselves. This is usually done by constant weekly practice and local performances (ranging from stage performances to marching in parades such as the Saint Patrick’s Day parade). Pipe and drum bands (depending on their size and skill) also occasionally hold workshops aiming at teaching others how to play the instruments involved in this music culture. Also it should be noted that as there are no real max size rules for a pipe and drum band it is unlikely that someone will be turned away from a band if they can play at that band’s level of skill.
Now this level of skill is determined by a number of things however first and foremost is your control over your instrument. Depending on which section of the band you are in your instrument will either be the bagpipe, the snare drum, the tenor drum, or the bass drum. As such the skills needed to play each instrument differ significantly. Bagpipers need to under go lung training so that they are able to keep their bag constantly inflated and also need to master the ability of keeping a constant flow of air so that they don’t have to pause mid-song to catch their breath. Tenor drummers on the other hand need to focus more on stick control as many of their moves involve intricate stick twirling and other crowd pleasing tactics (also it is quite hard to play a song when your sticks fly out from your hands). Snare drummers focus a lot more in pure technique and most have to go through multiple practice scores before they can attempt their first music piece (for example I had to master over twelve different concepts before I was ready to attempt my first piece while pipers and tenor drummers only had around four different preparatory pages). Finally the biggest thing a bass drummer has to get over is the fact that they can not see the road in front of them. Now while this may seem like a small matter compared to the rest consider the fact that most pipe and drum bands tend to march during the entrance and exit of their competitions and a bass drummer must put the utmost faith in the people ahead of him and that the ground is flat (as he/she can see neither).
After ones skill with their instrument the next object that is judged is the band’s ability to keep itself in time. To accomplish this the band uses a multitude of tricks and techniques. The first of these is the bass drummer. As the bass drummer’s notes usually happen only on the beat he/she tends to act as the timing anchor for the band. Also to note is that the bass drummer plays a special set of notes at the end of some songs signaling to the band to be prepared for the ending. After the bass drummer comes the pipe sergeant’s foot. The pipe sergeant will always stomp his/her foot to the beat that is currently being played. Finally if neither of those are working one should watch the snare and tenor drummers to try to decipher the beat.
Finally the last major thing that is judged is the repertoire of the band. Most competitions require that the band plays a medley or an MSR during their time in the circle (judging arena). A MSR, which by name is comprised of a march (a steady marching song which the band usually marches in playing) followed by a strathpeys (a more hornpipe sounding type of song) and ending with a reel (a quick passed song), generally are the rarer of the two. A medley on the hand beginnings with a march and has a slow air (as the name implies this song’s tempo is quite slow) in it somewhere. The rest of a medley however can be anything from more marches to jigs, strathpeys, and reels. The judges then consider the difficulty of the songs along with the bands ability to change between the different tempos to determine their skill.
Also while on the topic of judging the judges in a competition will take note of ones attire and how one presents themselves upon entering and during the competition. Most competitions require a performer to wear a kilt, sporran (a sort of purse worn around the waist), high wool socks (which also are often used by snare drummers to house spare sticks) with flashes attached to the sock, black shoes, and a jacket, vest plus tie, or some traditional top garment. The band also must march in a respectable manner when entering and exiting the arena. This marching is usually lead by a pipe major who can be identified by the large cane he is carrying.
Conclusion
So as I have explained above while pipe and drum bands began as a part of the military due to the evolution of war they eventually became a competitive citizen form of music. To also further the longevity of this music culture the competitions have become festivals of sorts. However these competitions, while being lively, have many rules ranging from the music that is needed to how one needs to dress and require many hours of practice beforehand.
Works Citied
Economic expert.com. Pipe band. Thurs. 11 March 2010. http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Pipe:band.htm
The 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band. Thurs. 11 March 2010. http://www.78thfrasers.net/index.asp
The London Scottish Regiment. The Pipes and Drums of the London Scottish. Thurs. 11 March 2010. http://www.londonscottishregt.org/band.cfm
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association . Rules and Constitution of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association. Thurs. 11 March 2010. http://www.rspba.org/html/rules.php
(performances and competitions attended not counting practice sessions I don’t have dates)
Houston Highland Games
Saint Thomas Episcopal Scottish Festival
Salado Clan Gathering and Highland games
(some of my instructors and a roommate)
Bert Barr
Blair Brown
Erik Lee
Gordon Sampson
Mike Cusack
This paper’s goal is to describe the music culture of the Scottish pipe and drum bands. It will accomplish this by first covering how I obtained my information followed by a discussion on the different musical elements of this culture. These elements of music will be discussed first starting with the ideas about this music culture along with the activities involving this music and how it is being preserved. Finally the material culture and the repertoires of this music culture will be explained.
Methodology
The research done on this paper was for the most part unconsciously done over the past fourteen years. This is because the small private school I attended from kindergarten to senior year of high school was world renown for its juvenile Scottish pipe and drum bands. Thus I was saturated with music from a young age and later came to be a competitive Scottish snare drummer who competed in multiple competitions ranging from grade five to grade three. There was also some required Scottish dancing performances but I’d rather not talk about those (dancing is not one of my strong points). So with this base knowledge my sources mainly were for exact numbers, historical facts, and other details that one would not pick up from hearing and performing this music. For this I mainly used sources such as the RSPBA rules and the historical info of bands such as The London Scottish Regiment.
Aspects of the Music Culture
The first record of a pipe and drum band was in the records of military officers. However as these records only made passing reference to the bands they employed I was unable to find any further details on this music cultures beginnings. As such it wasn’t till around 1860 and the creation of local nonmilitary bands that this music form begins to be heavily documented.
Now with the increase of nonmilitary pipe and drum bands the community began holding competitions (as nonmilitary bands weren’t going to be tasked with the tasks as the official bands). Over time these competitions began to overtake the military use of pipe bands till in World War I piping in the trenches was banned. As such most modern pipe and drum bands focus on preparing numbers to perform at local, national, and maybe even world competitions.
These competitions while possibly just competitions at their beginning have evolved into more of a local festival. As with the Houston Highland Games and Salado Clan Gathering and Highland games these events while still being heavily focused on the band and single competitions have shown an influx of vendors selling everything from Scottish apparel and weaponry to really good kettle corn. As such many of the visitors treat them more as a cheerful bazaar/festival/competition than a serious event.
Now this culture has not only managed to survive all these years but has managed to spread to the point that North American bands are able to compete competitively and win against with native grown Scottish bands in the worlds as seen with the 78th Fraser Highlanders. The reasons for this, as stated above, are each band’s drive to be the best and the festive nature of the competitions. The festive nature of these competitions naturally attracts visitors from outside the normal sphere of the music culture who then get pulled into the music culture (or at least return for later competitions). The bands on the other hand are always looking to better themselves. This is usually done by constant weekly practice and local performances (ranging from stage performances to marching in parades such as the Saint Patrick’s Day parade). Pipe and drum bands (depending on their size and skill) also occasionally hold workshops aiming at teaching others how to play the instruments involved in this music culture. Also it should be noted that as there are no real max size rules for a pipe and drum band it is unlikely that someone will be turned away from a band if they can play at that band’s level of skill.
Now this level of skill is determined by a number of things however first and foremost is your control over your instrument. Depending on which section of the band you are in your instrument will either be the bagpipe, the snare drum, the tenor drum, or the bass drum. As such the skills needed to play each instrument differ significantly. Bagpipers need to under go lung training so that they are able to keep their bag constantly inflated and also need to master the ability of keeping a constant flow of air so that they don’t have to pause mid-song to catch their breath. Tenor drummers on the other hand need to focus more on stick control as many of their moves involve intricate stick twirling and other crowd pleasing tactics (also it is quite hard to play a song when your sticks fly out from your hands). Snare drummers focus a lot more in pure technique and most have to go through multiple practice scores before they can attempt their first music piece (for example I had to master over twelve different concepts before I was ready to attempt my first piece while pipers and tenor drummers only had around four different preparatory pages). Finally the biggest thing a bass drummer has to get over is the fact that they can not see the road in front of them. Now while this may seem like a small matter compared to the rest consider the fact that most pipe and drum bands tend to march during the entrance and exit of their competitions and a bass drummer must put the utmost faith in the people ahead of him and that the ground is flat (as he/she can see neither).
After ones skill with their instrument the next object that is judged is the band’s ability to keep itself in time. To accomplish this the band uses a multitude of tricks and techniques. The first of these is the bass drummer. As the bass drummer’s notes usually happen only on the beat he/she tends to act as the timing anchor for the band. Also to note is that the bass drummer plays a special set of notes at the end of some songs signaling to the band to be prepared for the ending. After the bass drummer comes the pipe sergeant’s foot. The pipe sergeant will always stomp his/her foot to the beat that is currently being played. Finally if neither of those are working one should watch the snare and tenor drummers to try to decipher the beat.
Finally the last major thing that is judged is the repertoire of the band. Most competitions require that the band plays a medley or an MSR during their time in the circle (judging arena). A MSR, which by name is comprised of a march (a steady marching song which the band usually marches in playing) followed by a strathpeys (a more hornpipe sounding type of song) and ending with a reel (a quick passed song), generally are the rarer of the two. A medley on the hand beginnings with a march and has a slow air (as the name implies this song’s tempo is quite slow) in it somewhere. The rest of a medley however can be anything from more marches to jigs, strathpeys, and reels. The judges then consider the difficulty of the songs along with the bands ability to change between the different tempos to determine their skill.
Also while on the topic of judging the judges in a competition will take note of ones attire and how one presents themselves upon entering and during the competition. Most competitions require a performer to wear a kilt, sporran (a sort of purse worn around the waist), high wool socks (which also are often used by snare drummers to house spare sticks) with flashes attached to the sock, black shoes, and a jacket, vest plus tie, or some traditional top garment. The band also must march in a respectable manner when entering and exiting the arena. This marching is usually lead by a pipe major who can be identified by the large cane he is carrying.
Conclusion
So as I have explained above while pipe and drum bands began as a part of the military due to the evolution of war they eventually became a competitive citizen form of music. To also further the longevity of this music culture the competitions have become festivals of sorts. However these competitions, while being lively, have many rules ranging from the music that is needed to how one needs to dress and require many hours of practice beforehand.
Works Citied
Economic expert.com. Pipe band. Thurs. 11 March 2010. http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Pipe:band.htm
The 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band. Thurs. 11 March 2010. http://www.78thfrasers.net/index.asp
The London Scottish Regiment. The Pipes and Drums of the London Scottish. Thurs. 11 March 2010. http://www.londonscottishregt.org/band.cfm
The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association . Rules and Constitution of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association. Thurs. 11 March 2010. http://www.rspba.org/html/rules.php
(performances and competitions attended not counting practice sessions I don’t have dates)
Houston Highland Games
Saint Thomas Episcopal Scottish Festival
Salado Clan Gathering and Highland games
(some of my instructors and a roommate)
Bert Barr
Blair Brown
Erik Lee
Gordon Sampson
Mike Cusack
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