Back to the source

Piper and Border music activist Matt Seattle explains the thinking, and the arguments, behind a series of articles he is writing on key tunes from the Lowland and Border pipe repertoire, and which will appear on the LBPS website

FOLLOWING a suggestion I made at the LBPS 2007 AGM, a number of members approached me with positive comments, so I then made a formal proposal for consideration by the LBPS Committee, from which the following is taken: “Sources of Lowland and Border Pipe Music is the provisional title of a series of monographs which will examine important tunes in the Lowland and Border repertoire. Tunes will be selected on the basis that they have a strong connection with the tradition of the Lowland and Border pipes and that there is at least one good pipe setting available, balancing thoroughgoing research with the need for a supply of excellent tunes for playing, the analytical with the practical.

Only connect: Matt Seattle

“The series will present settings from authentic sources along with a discussion of the histories of the tunes and the character of the various settings. I envisage a pamphlet style publication which would be distributed to members along with Common Stock and which over time would build into a valuable resource.

“Naturally costs would be incurred but I believe they would be justified in that all members, including those overseas, would receive something, whereas at present subsidies from the whole membership only benefit those attending LBPS events, which are of course run on a not-for-profit basis. A little income would also be generated from sales to non- members through the LBPS website.

“At a time when the LBPS is forging links with other piping societies it is vital that we do not come to the table empty-handed. We have the potential of a distinctive musical identity of which we can be proud, and the proposed series is one step which can be taken to strengthen this identity.”

The proposal was taken seriously, but when discussions on publication, format and cost seemed to be getting in the way of anything actually happening, it occurred to me, as I remembered for a split second that I was in the 21st and not the 18th century, that a way forward would be to put the articles on the LBPS website. This would eliminate printing costs and would also make the articles available to all, members or not, thus offering a service which would also raise the Society's profile. This was agreed, and the first issue should be on www.lbps.net by the time you read this.

During discussions, I learnt that there were questions, too, about “the readability of what might be described as esoterica”, to which I replied: “The aim is not to produce esoterica but to increase knowledge and understanding and circulate a choice of good settings.” This remains the aim. My own knowledge and understanding grew as I researched and wrote the first article, on Rattlin Roarin Willie, which turned out to be a longer and much more fascinating journey than I had imagined, largely thanks to someone who had been there well before me, but whose findings had been tucked away in relative obscurity.

As for esoterica, here we go: piping, as an activity, involves a three-fold relationship between piper, pipes and music, a formulation which I owe to fellow piper Chris Ormston. We can't say that any one of piper, pipes or music is more important than the other, because there is simply no piping without all three, but we all tend to have our own area of interest or expertise through which our experience of piping is filtered. If the activity of piping is also a performance, some of the audience will focus more on the technique and expression of the player, some on the tone and tuning of the instrument, and some on what music is being played, to the extent that everyone actually experiences a different performance from everyone else, which is why competition results are frequently contentious.

So, it all depends on your point of view. My point of view, and this will be no surprise, is conditioned by my own area of interest and expertise, the music. If I know and understand a tune, and I hear a seriously garbled version of it when I know there are perfectly good versions available, I suffer: no matter how good the player or the instrument, for me that performance is a wasted opportunity.

Hence the aim of the proposed series of articles is to make available “a choice of good settings”, because most of the good tunes have more than one good setting, from song air to dance tune to variation extravaganza, suiting all tastes and requirements. The associated lore and lyrics bring us into contact with the flesh-and-blood history of the tunes in the hands, hearts and minds of singers, players and poets, while the musical analysis, if we take the time and make the effort, brings us into dialogue with eternal patterns of musical meaning.

Enjoy your piping.