Modern Pipe Band Drums

[OC Richard]

(quotes from TheOfficialBren in italics)

Probably only in a pipe band (okay, or an orchestra) will you see an instrument on the other side of a century still being played vigourously and regularly! That is a testament to masterful craftsmanship!

Yes indeed! My c1900 pipes simply work better and sound better than any pipes I've ever owned. The mystery is that a modern craftsman can precisely copy the specs of an old set, yet not get the same sound. The wood? Probably. And who knows what else!

How have the tuning scale and volume changed and why did they change?

The overall pitch of the chanters has been steadily increasing from "low A" being around 466 cycles in the early 1970s to 480-484 cycles today. In other words, "low A" has gone from being Concert B Flat to being around halfway between B Flat and B.

The changes in bore and reed design that pushed up the pitch also increased the volume and changed the timbre. A new 480 chanter is far louder than an old 466 chanter, and also has a brighter, clearer timbre. Old chanters sound fat, woody, dark, and tubby in comparison. Interesting that the old drones, designed to play at the old low pitch, sound great when reeded to play at the new high pitch.

Why did the pitch rise steadily beginning in the late 1970s? Conventional wisdom is that, at a large competition where the judges have to listen to 14-20 bands in a row, a band playing a hair sharper than the rest will catch the ear of the judges, and sound brighter and clearer than the rest. Don't know if it's true.

About the tuning of the scale, the traditional tuning (which can be heard on early recordings) is a strange mix of Just Intonation and Equal Temperament with a Neutral interval (high G) and an inexplicable interval (D) thrown in for good measure. These still persisted when I started playing in the mid-1970s but one by one all the intervals were brought into line with Just Intonation.

Do these changes affect how you approach different playing applications (solo gigs in various venue types, recording studio, ceilidh bands, funerals, etc)?

Serious competition pipers usually maintain two chanters, their band chanter and their solo chanter. The band chanter is 'set up' by the band's 'tonemeister' and is extremely loud, bright, and sharp (perhaps around 482-484) and can have a stiff reed. The solo chanter is set up by the player and is usually at a slightly lower pitch, lower volume, and warmer darker timbre (perhaps around 478-480).

Most pipers will play either one of these chanters for their usual sort of gigs (weddings funerals etc) at which they're playing solo.

Obviously these chanters can't be played with 'normal' instruments and pipers who play gigs with pipe organs, brass ensembles, orchestras, folk-rock bands, etc will have to maintain a chanter that plays at Concert Pitch (466). Pipers usually keep their 466 chanters tuned to the same "Just" intervals as their other chanters.

Scottish military pipe bands often maintain two entire sets of matched chanters, one at modern pipe band pitch for competition, one at Concert Pitch for playing along with brass bands.

Do you see these changes as the natural ebb and flow of musical evolution or does it feel like it is forced into being?

The rise in pitch is usually thought of as being forced upon the piping world by the tastes of the judges. The whole thing is winning.

Do any pipe bands (not just marching ensembles) ever incorporate electronics in their rigs?

I've never seen that.

Back to drumming, here's the 2013 Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and at 3:36 you can hear the drum corps, interesting to compare to the 1968 Tattoo I linked to above

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBYVmnMFMtA