I’m currently instructing Celtic Nations Pipe Band and last night was our regular Tuesday night band practice. PM Ken, SJ, and I arrived early and set up. Ken plugged a speaker his metronome. Tables were set up in a horseshoe with Ken and myself in the center. People arrived and we started formal practice five minutes early. I love being early and loath being late.

We set the metronome at 76 beats per minute. Not a very quick tempo, but “tempo” wasn’t the goal. Ken and I sat in the middle of a horseshoe of about 20 pipers. We took the first two measures of “One Hundred Pipers” and went around the room. I played it first, waited for two clicks, and then the whole band played it. Two clicks and then the first piper to my left played it. Two clicks and the whole band played it, and around the room we went, one-by-one. It came back to me and we went around again. When it got back to me the second time, without stopping, I went into the first two measures of “Onapping Falls”. I watched and listened as we went around the room. Although the two tunes are very similar (first phrase) pipers struggled to make the adjustment to “Onaping”. After we finished that round, we went back into “Hundred Pipers”. Again, no stopping.

We kept this up for a solid half-hour before shutting off the metronome and talking about the exercise. First of all, it was recognized that repetitions are critical to timing, phrasing, and technique. How many repetitions? As many as it takes.

We also talked about technique. If you gloss over something, you’re doing yourself no good. If your technique is incorrect, you’re cementing these issues into your hands. The more you do this, the more bad technique or timing will bake into your playing and impact your product.

We then shifted our attention to the 2020 QMM at 84 BPM and focused on a few problematic phrases. Nobody was criticized. Chanter practice lasted one hour before getting out the pipes and playing for another hour. It was a solid and constructive practice.

Everyone benefits from a practice that is planned, organized, and executed properly. There were no wasted moments. There was no triteness. Everyone went home feeling good about the time they invested. Most of all, I learned so much about the individuals in the band. I can now point to some specifics and guide individuals and the group toward greater technical and musical proficiency. The journey begins in earnest.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about one of the makers. Not sure which one yet. After that I want to focus on tunes for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s not too early to start working on them.