The Metronome

[Pip01]

Just a Quick Bit of an Add-On... Re... Playing The Bass Drum... :-)
(I've made mention of this long before... but with our newer
Members... perhaps Time... for a resurrection. :-)

Now these Donkey's Years Past... one Saturday evening... I
wandered... stumbled into... a bar... and there was a pipe band
playing!!... and I was "Home!!" :-)

Saturday nights thereafter... found me sitting at the end of the
bar... and closest to where the band played... and I was there
until closing.

After some months... and becoming the well acquainted with
the band... late night... and just before the last set... the bass
drummer... who was a truly grand old piper... and was just
"standing in" for the evening...comes up... and says to me...

"Here!! You take this and play it... I'm tired... "
and I said... I don't know how to play the bass drum."
and he said... "You can tap your foot... can't ya?"
and I said "Well... yes."...
and he said...
"Good!! Every time you tap your foot... hit th' friggin' drum!!" :-)

And so... my Life... took a very pivotal turn... and not having made
a bollix of it... I was sent for tuition with a truly grand bass drummer...
and I became the band's regular bass drummer... and about a year
later... and after yet another long Saturday night... the same fellow
says to me...

"What are you doing Thursday night next?"
And I said ... "Nothing in particular."
And he said... "Good. Come by the house about 7."
And when I arrived... he had the old original CoP book... and a pc
waiting for me... and so... my Great Waltz About... with our Great
Beast... then began... :-)

And I know... that it is True... of and for... many... many others of us...
that Piping... has carried us... many places... that we would not have
normally gone... and has made for us... really good friends... that we
would not have met... and has given us... many lovely... and grand
memories... that we shall re-visit... and re-enjoy...as we... and later
on... sit by the fire... :-)

Regards... and Best Wishes... to All,

Pip01

[Pip01]

Pip the eternal optimist...

Greetings to All,

Well... certainly... and eternally... Hopeful. ... and as
the Old Saw (but with New Teeth) goes... "We can only
live in Hope."

That being said... being able to hear... the PM... or the
bass drum... is but one small matter... but being able to
listen... and to be guided by them... is entirely another.

Which is the eternal Why... of our going... to practice.

Being but able... to put ourselves aside... and being able
to follow... is sometimes... as much of a talent... as being
able... to play The Great Beast... as it should be played.

And... the Harmony... available... from our Best Efforts...
redounds (good word, that) to our playing... and to the
enjoyment... of those who hear us.

Trusting that these several and seemingly divergent matters...
can... still and all... Come 'Round Right...

With Regards,

Pip01


With a quick after thought...
Well and of course... it's a "struggle" for drummers!!
Doing it Right!!... is a "struggle"... for all of us!!
Which is why... we practice... practice... practice!!

[Pablopicasso420]

Pip the eternal optimist...A really good bass forsooth!. For some reason I'm reminded of Shakespeare. A Bass! A BASS! My Kingdom for a Bass! Unfortunately, at the lower levels, it's usually not the strongest player. The younger drummers want to be on snare. The weight of the drum disqualifies a lot of players. I try to write some interesting scores for the bass and keep them interested but it's just a hard sale. We had a new one the other day that was struggling with the roll offs. Watch my foot! 1....2....3 NO! The struggle (for drummers) is real.

[Margaret]

A good bass drummer is essential for a number of things beyond just tempo (e.g., idiom). However, that doesn't keep some timing-challenged pipers from jumping the gun, rounding pointed tunes, etc.

I have a pipe major who was frustrated to hear a piper in our old band consistently (and obviously) ignore the bass drummer - and when questioned, he nonchalantly said he never listened, and was confused at why she was constantly stopping us to ask the pipe corps to LISTEN TO THE BASS ... He was an idiot, so it explained a lot...didn't last long in our band.

[EquusRacer]

And... in the midst... of all of this...
perhaps... and just perhaps...
a really good bass drummer...
would aid to eschew... most of
these difficulties... pitfalls...
and... discombobulations... :-)

Just a thought...

A good bass drummer is essential for a number of things beyond just tempo (e.g., idiom). However, that doesn't keep some timing-challenged pipers from jumping the gun, rounding pointed tunes, etc.

[Pip01]

And... in the midst... of all of this...
perhaps... and just perhaps...
a really good bass drummer...
would aid to eschew... most of
these difficulties... pitfalls...
and... discombobulations... :-)

Just a thought...

[Pablopicasso420]

and either rude or a fault of organizers

Talk about hitting the nail on the head! The organizer of the competitions was playing in the other band!! Far from happy indeed!

[EquusRacer]

Pipe major had the metronome in his sporran- at the line. Forgot to use it but had a good pace, another band cranked up nearby, timing was...off. So Close!

That was unfortunate (and either rude or a fault of organizers); but we had the same experience. We were just marching on (competition was on the infield), when a competing band came playing down the track. It threw out drummers off, which, in turn, threw the pipers off (given that we work hard to get pipers to listen to the drummers). Needless to say, we were far from happy.

[Pablopicasso420]

Pipe major had the metronome in his sporran- at the line. Forgot to use it but had a good pace, another band cranked up nearby, timing was...off. So Close!

[EquusRacer]

Another thought: If you're metronome challenged, you could switch to piobaireachd!

[John McCain]

If you are a metronome user, it can be revealing to record yourself and see if you are actually playing on the click. Among the many challenges of playing the bagpipes competently, the execution of the gracing and embellishments can add to the complexity of playing rhythmically.

If you're dancing, or tapping your toe, or clapping along, or marching...what's more important, the note, the embellishment, or the beat?

[Raibeart]

I remember a PM giving a workshop and saying that when he started using a metronome, he was initially convinced that it was broken and couldn't keep a proper beat . . .

Andrew

I've yet to find a metronome that keeps steady time, and I've tried dozens! ;-)

[Andrew Lenz]

I remember a PM giving a workshop and saying that when he started using a metronome, he was initially convinced that it was broken and couldn't keep a proper beat . . .

Andrew

[Pip01]

A Very Partial

... a metronome during new tune chanter practice for the pipers around a table
is pretty illuminating...
...on how many struggle.... to stay within the same zip code... of the beat.

Ah... "within the same zip code of the beat." :-)

Marvelous turn of phrase!! :-)

Thank you!!... Margaret!! :-)

[Pablopicasso420]

My pipers often crank up with Highland Cathedral without the drums while we continue in the kitchen (where else do you put drummers?) on the pads and try to play along. It is AMAZING how bad the timing can be- nearly impossible to play the standard " tap- tapitty tap- tapitty tap-tapitty tapitty tapitty tap" setting everyone knows for that piece There are just too many long notes for the pipers to stay steady on their own.

After a workshop with a Grade 1 Texas piper, the pipe major has recently started using the metronome during chanter practice which seems to help although several pipers complain of it's distraction.