<-- -->

Free Web Hosting : Free Hosting : Troubled Teens : Report Abuse

The Small Print; these are my own ideas about repertoire, and do not necessarily reflect what our band does. One of the perks of being webmaster is that I get to decide the content of the site.

Building a Band Repertoire

Some Basic Sets

I should start out by pointing out a personal prejudice. Despite the fact that everybody seems to think a parade set has to consist of at least three tunes, I consider that to be a ridiculous fad. Two tunes will do quite nicely, besides which it's much easier to find two tunes which work well together than it is to find three.

I happen to think that a set needs to be coherent, whatever that means. I like to see a similarity in the rhythm and melody, - something that tells me "These tunes will work together." Let's say the band shouldn't have to change gears as they go from one tune to the other.

With that, a few examples. This one used to be the basic get-the-band-on-the-street set; nice tunes, quick and easy to learn - Corriechoillie's and Teribus

Another 2/4 set; more work, but worth it. Piper's Cave and Jenny's Bawbee (Piper's Cave in particular is a real crowd-pleaser.)

a couple of 6/8 sets -Steamboat and Top of Ben Lomond. and Midlothian Pipe Band and Bugle Horn

4/4 sets - Murdo's Wedding and Flett from Flotta, and Scotland the Brave and 51st Highland Division

And the standard 3/4 set - Green Hills and The Battle's O'er

4-Part Tunes

Many bands seem to shy away from learning anything but 2-part tunes. I have always suspected that this is because the pipe-major was frightened by The Barren Rocks of Aden, and decided that the first two parts of any tune was enough to play. I have also heard that 4-part tunes are harder to learn. To me, that only works if you haven't done it. It may certainly be harder than learning one two-part tune, but it's probably easier than learning two, which after all is the equivalent. By sticking to the two-parters, you're cutting yourself off from a lot of great music. Granted, you have to be choosy with 2/4's -a lot of them get pretty tricky toward the end - but there are some quite suitable ones around, such as Battle of Killiekrankie,

My Native Highland Home,

and Major Norman Orr-Ewing.

On the other hand, there are very few 6/8's around that will get your fingers all tangled up (although, for some reason Ballochyle does it to me.) 6/8's tend to be the poor relation, because they aren't played in competitions. That's a shame, because they're great tunes to march to. A parade band can't have too many of them. A couple of my current favourites are Daft Donald and Lady Dorothea Stewart Murray. Two classics you can't go wrong with are Dovecote Park and Farewell to the Creeks If you want one that's really easy to learn (lots of repetitions) by way of getting your feet wet with four-parters, try Atholl Highlanders or Portree Bay.

Slow Marches

Every band should have a slow march or two in their repertoire (and Please, God, not Skye Boat Song!). If you don't have one, you should be able to knock off Loch Rannoch or Leaving Lismore pretty quickly. They're both nice tunes.

There are some very nice 2/4 slow marches. Don't be scared off by all those black marks; remember, these are slow marches, so there's lots of time to get everything in. Jessie Chisholm and Skye Gathering are a couple of my favourites. For a formal occasion, Garb of Old Gaul can be used almost anywhere that a brass band would play Pomp and Circumstance.

Strathspeys and Reels

These can make a nice addition to a performance set. If you haven't played a strathspey before, Louden's Bonnie Woods and Braes makes for a good introdution to the technique of playing them. Rose Among the Heather is a great tune, and not too difficult.

For a reel, The Piper of Drummond or Miss Girdle should be quite manageable.

Home

The tunes (GIF images)

Some Hints on Learning Tunes

Some Notes on Drone Reeds

What it takes to learn piping