Magazine’s features usher in spring 2009

pipes|drums today started the first of several features exclusive to subscribers with the start of “Building harmony,” a series by leading pipe-majors on arranging and creating richer content for pipe bands.

 

Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe-Major Richard Parkes kicks of the sequence of three articles with “Where to place harmony in a medley,” an in-depth look at the process he and his band go through to select the places in a medley to include harmony and counterpoint for the best effect. Complete with audio sound files to bring text to life, Parkes illustrates some of the techniques that FMM uses to put together a medley.

 

As part of the series, Pipe-Major Bill Livingstone of the Scottish Lion-78th Fraser Highlanders will tackle the complex issue of how to create harmonies, delving into the richness and depth of sound that his band has been able to achieve over the years.

 

House of Edgar-Shotts & Dykehead Pipe Major Robert Mathieson will then collaborate with his band’s mid-section leader, Tyler Fry, to discuss how to build more effective harmonic arrangements between pipe- and mid-sections, perhaps the most rapidly changing aspect of pipe bands today.

 

Also coming soon exclusively for pipes|drums subscribers is an exclusive interview with Willie McCallum, one of the greatest competition solo pipers in history. McCallum will share myriad insights and secrets from his vast experience and knowledge in a four-part interview that follows the current 1989 archive interview with the late great Donald Shaw Ramsay.

 

Also this spring, Dr. William Donaldson returns with his 2009 Set Tunes Series, continuing his ongoing exclusive project with pipes|drums, which now numbers more than 100 piobaireachds, free to all readers. The Set Tunes Series has emerged as one of the greatest resources available to piobaireachd players and enthusiasts.

 

We hope that you enjoy current and upcoming pipe|drums content.