Bagpiping this year

When I decided to take up bagpiping, I never thought it would involve competitions, or trips all over the southeast. I just assumed I would play the bagpipes - just like other people play guitar or piano.

Heh.

This past year, I was upgraded to the next-to-highest amateur solo competition level (Grade 2). What does that mean? Well, I basically have to know (and have competition-ready), almost twice as much music as the previous level. And, as you probably guessed, there is a higher quality of playing expected.

So, over the past 3 seasons, we've been driving all over Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina (I probably forgot a state or two). Most of the competitions I went to were little ones, out in the middle of who-knows-where. At those competitions, there were usually only 3 or 4 other competitors in my level, almost all of whom I know. I also play in the same band as some of the others I compete against. We normally trade off who wins each competition; one competition I might play extremely well, but the next time, do an abysmal job. There are normally two or three types of music I compete in at every competition we go to. In layman's terms, they can be classified as:

1) Bouncy Music (Strathspeys and Reels, which is what Highland Dancers dance to)
2) Getting Around Music (Marches)
3) Boring, put-you-to-sleep music (Piobaireachd... don't try pronouncing it out loud if anybody else is in the same room with you)

While I don't really like play the Piobaireachd (some of the tunes go on for 15 minutes), I usually do the best in those competitions, followed by Strathspeys and Reels. I usually don't do so well in Marches, even though they are probably the easiest type of tunes to play. Maybe I try too hard...

Besides the really small competitions, there are some larger ones that have around 8 or 9 competitors in my level. Those are nice, because it not only gives me some variation to who I play against, but also lets me rack up more points toward the year end standings.

The larger competitions usually have band competitions at them, also. I play with the Atlanta Pipe Band, which has a Grade 3 level band (bands are classified, as are soloists, from Grade 5 being the lowest level, to Grade 1, which is the highest). We didn't do so well this past year in band competitions, and unfortunately, half of the drum corps just left, including the lead drummer, so we will have another rough year probably.

Right now its the off-season for competitions. Since there aren't any coming up any time soon, I'm learning more music, and bringing those tunes up to a competition quality, to replace some of the older tunes I have been playing.

And in February, the whole cycle starts again!