The World Pipe Band Championships and Traditional Scottish Events, to give this 60-year-old Scottish legend its full official name, is one of the real landmarks in the annals of the piping community across Scotland and throughout the world. Performances by all participating Bands in each of eight specified Grades, from Novice Juvenile to Grade One, kick off at precisely 10 am Glasgow time, with the final results usually revealed around 6 pm late in the early evening. Novice Juvenile is the lowest Grade, as specified under the Rules of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association; whereas Grade One is, of course, reserved for the Masters of the (Piping) Universe!
When the Worlds was founded in 1947, one key reason for creating the competition was to "satisfy an inward craving for the music and pleasure of meeting kindred spirits, apart altogether from the ultimate joy of playing well together: intonation, integration and interpretation." That may be so in the vast majority o' pipin' circles, but in the case of yer auld Uncle Fergus, I meself had to spend my childhood and much of me adult life learning the Craft on me own --- alone. There are in fact many Pipers who often have had to undergo the same kind of learnin' experiences as I had had to all those many years ago; but truth be told, there be two basic things are always vital to the success of a really terrific pipe band: one, an appreciative audience; and two, proper knowledge of the ins and outs of competition!
Pipe Bands take competing in their field verra seriously indeed. In fact, the competition has been known to serve as a means whereby the musicians can discover new and often exciting ways to improve upon their technique. One good example of how they are able to do this can be found by simply observing the participants in the solo piping competition at the Clan MacDuff Scottish Games at Old Westbury, NY. Other than the Heavy, or Athletic, Events themselves, the solo piping competition is the only such legitimate contest held during these Games. But, like most events of this type, they serve as a proving ground of sorts for potential Pipe Majors and/or Leading Drummers --- in order to demonstrate to those who may be interested in learnin' either the pipes or the drums exactly what kind of musical situation they may be puttin' themselves in fer! (Heh-heh!)
Now, let me show ye exactly what the RSPBA's Adjudicators may be looking fer as far as determinin' what a great pipe band should sound like is concerned:
Each Piper must sound in together in the performance intro; moreover, the group of pipers must sound the first note of the initial melody with extreme precision. What the Adjudicators want here are good execution, expression, unison and a steady rhythmical flow, which would provide each piece with a rich, full tone.
The snare drummers must provide clean, crisp and close introductory rolls, which in turn must be well punctuated by the tenor and bass drummers --- and everything has to keep up the tempo of each ensuing piece. All the drummers must be as precise as the pipers on the first note of the initial melody; and they need to complement the the percussive score thereto. A steady, full, rich tempo is what listeners can expect here; the Adjudicators demand it!
The toughest thing any pipe band can provide to their listeners is a good solid 'attack'; and here, the Adjudicators are looking for a rock-solid balance of all instruments in all aspects: chanters to drones, snares to bass to tenors, pipes to drums in toto. Each tune to be played elegantly, and with a strong degree of 'sparkle.' And overall, they're looking for a tone that's bright, free and fully sonorous.
Now, let's be understandin' a few things regardin' piobaireachd, the classical music of the Great Highland Bagpipe. The word itself --- piobaireachd --- is the term referrin' to that species of music composed for and played strictly on the Great Highland Bagpipe.
By its nature, a piobaireachd consists of a theme, which most pipers call 'the Ground,' or, in Gaelic, the 'Urlar'. Urlar, in the ancient Gaelic tongue, literally means ground, or floor. The theme is followed by several variations in stereotyped form. Ye'll nae find each variation in every tune, no, but the usual rule is that each variation must begin simply, and then develop in complexity as the piece progresses. Some works of piobaireachd have been known to last as long as 20 to 30 minutes, dependin' upon the energy and whims of the piper him- or herself.
That's nae sayin', mind ye, that this complexity is confined to an ever-changin' stream o' notes. Oh, no indeed! At a certain moment in each tune, the Ground, or Urlar, will be restated. The main notes are embellished with clusters of what are known as grace notes. Increasingly complex, and at times, remarkably long, these grace notes are played immediately after the main, or theme, note. The impression one gets from the followin' variations is that of a limited number of long notes played in a definite sequence, followed by a cluster of grace notes so brilliantly executed that the component parts in and of themselves are virtually impossible for the listener to detect!
Even more difficult for a listener to detect is what is called the air, or thread, of the Ground. This is, basically, the very song of the piobaireachd tune itself; what makes it so difficult is the way whereby the notes of the Ground are stressed. Now, since you have to know how to properly master the Highland Pipes, when ye're talkin' about the nature of the instrument, you need to remember that ye have nae control over the volume or sound strength made by the instrument --- in other words, ye canna blow neither loud nor soft. Everything is both constant and continuous. There be but one means o' stressin' one particular note, and that's to prolong it, or to place one or more grace notes on it! In the usual amounts of Bagpipe Music --- namely, the marches, strathspeys and reels, etc. --- these grace notes come and go so quickly they never affect the flow of the music, thus allowin' the piper to play with a definite, recognizable tempo.
Now, there's a whole lot more I could tell ye about piobaireachd, but not enough to cover on an entire homepage, especially one like this! So, if ye click on me Highland Links segment, you can locate information on pipers and/or Pipe Bands that have far more detailed expertise on this subject than I would be havin' here.
But fer right now, ye can have a look at the Pipe Bands who, over the fifty-eight years that the World Pipe Band Championships have taken place, made themselves known as legends within the realm of piping now known as simply Grade One. These, then, are the Grade One World Pipe Band Champions:
And here be the list of finishers from Saturday, August 15th, 2009. For the sixth consecutive year, the Worlds was the centerpiece of a far larger piping event: the Glasgow International Piping Festival ("Piping Live!" fer short), where some 8000 Pipers and Drummers gathered together from all over the world. The hour-long highlights package, covering the Grade One Finals, will air on BBC 1 Scotland on September 6th, 2009. The names of each band, as written in bold typeface, indicate the first-place finishers; I'll leave ye to figure out the rest!
