Pipering today/tomorrow

[Joseph E. Smith]

As per Rory's suggestion, what is or may be the 'trend' towards contemporary pipering? Is it quicker, slower, slicker than it has been? Or are we simply seeing (hearing) it continue to (re)evolve as it always has done?

[Eldarion]

The main trend as I see towards "contemporary piping", is the rhythmic even-ing of notes and changes in playing style to suit this rhythm. Its something that is not unique to piping and largely due to the proliferation of strummed guitar accompaniment in trad circles today, where melody evolves to be a bunch of notes meant to be fit within the progression of a chord to another. The strums of the guitar have become the driving force behind the rhythm in contemporary Irish music.

We can compare this to back when the music from melody instruments (eg. pipes) had to be phrased in an intrisically rhythmic manner, without the assistance of strummy guitars. You were expected to create a groove from an instrument which plays essentially only a single melodic line, that makes people want to dance. The shortening, lengthening and pauses between individual notes become more important to generate this internal rhythm, to create the feeling of lift and movement.

What we're seeing is certainly a musical evolution, and yes the music has always evolved. But I think as people who play the music we need to be aware of what these evolutions are, and what is their impact. For me, Irish dance music was deeply rhythmical because of phrasing and emphasis. When we flatten this out, an important part of Irish traditional music has been changed and to my ears it loses some artistry and becomes less sophisticated. Of course, it also becomes more accessible to ears who are more used to music guided by harmonic changes (e.g. pop music).

To add one final point about tempo, I don't think contemporised ITM is necessarily quicker or slower than what was played in the past, but maybe slicker as more practitioners idealise a performance oriented aesthetic - compared to when music was played as entertainment for yourself and your neighbours.

[brianholton]

On the button, Eldarion! I see this in Scotland, too, where the influence of the rhythm guitar, particularly on singers, has led to a great loss of rhythmic subtlety and variety. Many fiddlers and other instrumentalists are resisting this, of course, and many younger guitar players are managing to evolve a style which follows the lead instruments rather than dominating them, but as a guitar player myself, I'd say that an uninspired rhythm player (guitar, zouk, whatever) can do more damage than a bad bodhran player, because, as Eldarion points out, they are adding harmonic confusion to the rhythmic mess.

For the record, if I'm accompanying, I will either play the melody or a counter melody against a drone, or use broken chords and runs against a drone, in the same rhythm as the melody.

Tony MacManus would be the man to listen to, though Dick Gaughan's accompaniments to his ballads are well worth close attention, too. And the late Tony Cuffe was a man of great taste and delicate sensibility.

That said, a world-class drum corps is an astonishing thing to behold, and a rhythmic machine of great subtlety and drive. (One of the great US bandleaders in the 50s used to send his drummers to the College of Piping in Edinburgh to learn snare technique - who was that?) And a band like the Red Hot Chilli Pipers - bagpipe-led, but driven by pipe band-style drumming - they'll get me going too!

[brianholton]

Here's what I mean:
Drum corps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbYBfob5 ... re=related
Tony McManus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Fn4nEC5gE
Tony Cuffe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpQyW38bgQg
Dick Gaughan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJIrAkJnS1I
(What a performance, and what a singer! I heard him sing this first in the late '60s in Edinbugrh, but in all the long years I've never heard it better sung than here, and I'm from the Borders, where Flouers o the Forest belongs.)
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiFyxzGh ... re=related

Heeee-uch!
b

[NicoMoreno]

I like that Eldarion (hi, btw! haven't seen you post on here in forever) put quotes around "contemporary piping". It's good to point out that the things he talks about are present in contemporary pipers, but not all pipers, nor all young pipers, nor indeed all young musicians. I'm pretty sure I don't play like that, and I know several other excellent young pipers who don't either. As far as musicians go, I'm lucky to play with a fiddler who definitely does not just play in a way where the "melody evolves to be a bunch of notes meant to be fit within the progression of a chord to another", even though she regularly plays in a band and with guitar accompaniment. Maybe she's the exception, but her brother (accordion/concertina and also in the band) and all of the other young musicians in the area that I play with regularly (and can form an opinion about) play similarly, and nicely.

As for the original question: The "trend" in contemporary piping is to have musicians who play slower, quicker, slicker, with nice subtle rhythm and phrasing, evenly, swung, on concert pitch pipes, on flat pitch pipes, etc etc etc. In other words, I don't think you can generalize to *all* contemporary pipers, as I hear as much variation in playing styles as ever, (even if maybe some playing styles, like Tommy Reck's, are less common) including from players in bands, or who play with accompaniment, or who play without accompaniment, solo, in duets or trios (none of which are at all mutually exclusive).

[PJ]

Well said Eldarion.

My own view is that for many years there was a move away from "music for dancers" towards "music for listeners". The popularity of sessions has a large role in this but also groups like Planxty, the Bothy Band, etc.

However, I think that in recent years, there has been renewed interest in playing (not just piping) in a style/rhythm which suits dancers. Mick O'Brien & Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh's collaborations would be the best example of this which comes to mind.

[TheSilverSpear]

It depends on who you listen to or play with and where you live, doesn't it?

Loads of people here still play for dancers. I also know "young people" who play with swing, listen to the old players, blah, blah blah. I personally try to play with lots of swing.

While I like slagging "modern, trendy, and cool" players as much as anyone and while it is even more fun to slag modern tunes that try to be cool by having lots of arpeggios and syncopation, I have to say that style actually can't be generalised so easily.

[bogman]

Nicely put TSS. (how are you? big stranger!) The Scottish (ceol beag) piping styles can't really be compared to the past because the military intervention has shaped most of it since before recording times. Traditional piping is what you make it and I think it's fair to say that it's stronger and more diverse than at any other time in living memory. (most likely ever)

[NicoMoreno]

TSS was just more succinct than me.

We all play for dancers here, too.

[Brazenkane]

The degree to which the "modern" apporach is found in a musician's traditional music, greatly depends on the impact that popular music has had on that person!!! Either that, or the modern stylist is parroting someone who was affected by popular music.

[bogman]

That's probably true Brazenkane, though modern players seem too often to be judged on stage performances rather than on when they're 'actually' playing traditional music - maybe at dances, sessions etc. Just because McGoldrick, for example, uses a popular band format on a big stage doesn't necessarily mean that's how he sees traditional music.

[TheSilverSpear]

I need to get back your way for some tunes, bogman. It's been feckin' ages.

While quite a lot of "modern music" is judged on recording outputs, I still think a lot of trad amongst the relatively small subset of people who play it is still heard and understood in a live context. Many players, especially those who play for fun and aren't needing to make a living out of it, play what they like and could not give a toss how it fits into popular culture or taste.

Like bogman said, the scene is incredibly diverse. Loads of people playing and exploring different aspects of the music. And what people choose to do on recordings is not what they do in a session. Anyway, good players have control over their style, depending on context and what they feel is necessary at the time. Even I can play a tune fast, straight, and driving and play the same tune laid back, bouncy, and swingy, and I'm pretty average.

[highland-piper]

This is a topic I've been thinking of wrt Scottish Highland piping. I don't think Highland and Irish influence each other a huge amount, but with e.g. Eric Reigler composing for both instruments, and Irishman Terry Tully leading the current World Champion Pipe Band there's bound to be some influence (both ways).

I'm curious how much of what I've seen in Highland is also seen in Irish:

I notice that modern tunes tend to have three features more than older tunes --

1) more arpeggios
2) more syncopation -- especially holding across a bar line.
3) more non-melodic, non-harmonic notes. Notes that would seem wrong, but sound good, on account of being funky.

Examples include Eric Reigler's Walking the Plank and RS MacDonald's Good Drying.

Most Highland Piping occurs within our traditional venue, competition.

[bensdad]

Depends on how you define "modern."
I think syncopation has been around in Highland piping for half a century at least.
Murdo MacKenzie was composed when? in the Fifties?

The only mainstream ITM reel I can think of of that vintage with any trace of syncopation is Ríl Mhór Bhaile an Chalaidh, which Ceoltóirí Cualann recorded in the 1960s. Though I have heard Willie Clancy converting a bar of 6/8 into 3/4 (another supposedly "modern" trick).

I'm discounting all that tuneless low whistle shight from the last twenty years of course, and good riddance to it.