u/MatooMan

A really insightful piece showing how drone reeds can be made out of alternate, authentic materials:

https://pipingpress.com/2019/05/28/making-drone-reeds-that-the-maccrimmons-must-have-played/

Available here as a pdf file:

https://www.reelpipes.com/images/workshops/Piob_workshop.pdf

It features exercises, a few tunes and some canntaireachd too. Enjoy!

One of the beautiful things about piobaireachd is that it's all about the interplay between the chanter and the drones. It's the music that the instrument evolved to play.

The sound of the bagpipe is of paramount importance to the performance of piobaireachd - as a result it's a good idea to know how to get the best sound possible.

Some prefer darker tones produced by some pipe chanters, others favour particular brands of drone reeds for an enriching hum or a warm buzz. There are even people who try to play at frequencies like 466Hz (Bb) or 440Hz (concert A), believing it's closest to what would have been played 'back then'.

Tell us some of your tips and tricks here!

This contains the big three books, plus the Masters series and DM's tutorial CD's.

https://bagpipejourney.com/articles/piobaireachd-index.shtml

"Ed Neigh was a world-class performer, adjudicator and above all teacher of highland bagpipe music.  The mission of this website is to share the vast amount of instructional materials and recordings that Ed produced during his lifetime. His series of instructional piobaireachd recordings will be of particular interest to students of the classical music of the highland bagpipe as they are unlike any other instructional materials in existence for this style."

Accessible here:

https://edneighpiob.org/list-of-tunes

Not the band, but the man.

Here are some resources in that style:

https://pibroch.net/learning/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Extracts_of_Letters_from_and_about_Simon_Fraser.pdf

https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Comely_Tune_(Snow%2C_Jonathan)

https://imslp.org/wiki/Lament_for_the_Son_of_King_Aro_(Snow%2C_Jonathan)

https://imslp.org/wiki/The_Cave_of_Gold_(Snow%2C_Jonathan)

https://pibroch.net/learning/dr-barrie-orme-piobaireachd-exercises/

https://pibroch.net/learning/the-barrie-orme-tapes-of-the-simon-frasier-playing-style/

Looking at the very last link here, it suggests the Orme book is freely available in PDF format, if anyone can shed any light on this?

So while there a couple of formal versions of canntaireachd that have survived to the modern day - MacCrimmon and Nether Lorn being two - many pipers sing their own made up sounds rather than a formal system.

My question is:

1. Do you sing at all when teaching or learning?
2. Is it a consistent, formal system - or one of your own invention?

Has anyone got any favourites when it comes to modern piobaireachd? Or has anyone ever composed their own?

John MacLellan has a book of ceol mor out, so does Donald MacLeod. Other names like Bruce Gandy, Stuart Samson and Hugh MacCallum have all written some and there are a few modern books like the 20th Century Collection, Glenfiddich Ceol Mor, and the Shasta Collection.

Is it something you've ever tangled with?

Here's a little guide on how you could compose your own pieces:

https://www.piobaireachd.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Methods-of-Piobaireachd-Composition-by-John-Dew-Slides-without-musical-examples.pdf

Just a chance to share any general websites or pages of interest for piobaireachd. Post your own below that have helped you or could be useful for others.

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Robert Wallace's pages on piobaireachd:
https://pipingpress.com/piobaireachd-2/

This includes reviews, lists of gold medallists, thought pieces and more. His website also has recordings for sale and offers tutor books too.

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Wikipedia's definition and history on pibroch:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pibroch

This is wider ranging than you might think. Speaks to the harp tradition, modern performance and origins.

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The old 'alt pibroch club' content, folded into Barnaby Brown's site:
https://pibroch.net/

This includes all primary source manuscripts, discussion on
points of playing, and even a copy of the first five PS books before they started the series again.

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Archives @ NPC:
https://archives.thepipingcentre.co.uk/

This features old back issues of the piping times, international piper, piping today and others, as well as an oral history - noting the tradition.

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Piper's Persuasion:
https://www.piperspersuasion.com/

This features interviews with many names in piping, all available for free - products, prizes, styles, and so much more on offer in these discussions.

Hello

I've started a wee pibroch subreddit - would be happy to see any posts, topics, questions, discussions or comments added there:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CeolMorClub/

I'm planning on adding more resources, including a tune of the month there soon, and am looking for mods to help make it the place to discuss ceol mor online.

There's a thread I'd love everyone to contribute to here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CeolMorClub/comments/1sr7yt3/performance_and_interpretation_tips_tricks/

And another one here where you can introduce yourself:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CeolMorClub/comments/1spogr6/welcome_to_rceolmorclub_introduce_yourself_and/

See you there