Apologies to the Scots, but...

[thermidorthelobster]

...I've got the radio on in the background and they have bagpipers playing at the Cenotaph.

By heck, what an awful racket.  The "drone" tone seems to be all over the place;  I presume somebody's hit a duff note and can't hear it over all the rest of the noise.  It's putting my teeth right on edge.  Whoever's in charge of it must be cringing.  It sounds like angry bees attacking a herd of camels.

I vote next year they replace the pipers with a primary school zither-recorder-and-drums band, with some monkeys playing violins to tone it up a bit.

[daveyravey]

Change the radio station then  :-({|=  :-({|=  :-({|=

[Eeyore]

I don't think it's a case that TheLobster is commenting on the radio station, but more about incompetant musicians at a national memorial event  

Cheers
 8)
Eeyore

[thermidorthelobster]

I was listening because I wanted to hear the remembrance service. It just struck me that for some reason the pipers weren't up to the high standards of the rest of the bands.  When they did Skye Boat Song they were fine, but later on things seemed to go downhill.

[daveyravey]

Sorry, I wasn't having a dig there.

There's good pipers & there's pipers, seems like they were the latter.

[Skibum346]

As an (ex)piper... I can agree... some are good and some are bad... the further away from Scotland... the bigger the chance of a dodgy one passing himself off!

Part of the trouble can be the weather. As the the reeds are just that... and absorb moisture, the tuning of the drones can change due to exposure to damp air. A good piper will always tune at the last minute, in the same "atmosphere" as the gig. For instance, outdoors for an outdoor parade.

As the three drones form a harmonic chord, it doesn't take much for it to sound awful. Sometimes, on large parades, pipers have no choice but to tune elsewhere and then wait a long time before they can actually play. They may have been transported on a hot bus, been made to wait inside a warm building... etc etc. This can knock off the tuning.

Some modern pipers have taken the extreme measure of trappin neighbourhood cats and using them instead as they at least are not affected by trhe prevailing weather conditions....    

[johnpirate]

At our parade the bugler who played the last post hit so many bum notes it was painful.One of the local brass bands led the music so you think they would have let one of their members play it.I know he was ex,military but its a sombre moment not helped by lots of people giggling at tuneless drone.He wasnt bad on Revellie

[hrh_dave]

Are you suggesting that they should do away with the pipers altogether? or replace them with higher caliber of players...????!!!!! If its the former you need to take a long hard look at yourselfand think that maybe the pipes and drums of the Brittish Services have been around a lot longer than you. There is nothing more haunting or poignant than the sound of pipes being played at any service......

[thermidorthelobster]

Yep, it sure was haunting.  The suggestion about the school kazoo band was a joke, actually;  I didn't really mean they should replace a military pipe band with a group of primary school children, as plausible as it may have sounded.

[hrh_dave]

Erm.... plausible I think not.

At a time where so many families are rembering lost loved ones whether it be from past or current conflicts, I feel jest is not called for in any such way.

[Silvery Thing]

As an (ex)piper... I can agree... some are good and some are bad... the further away from Scotland... the bigger the chance of a dodgy one passing himself off!

So you suggest that only Scotland has good pipers :? What a load of old rubbish :x  

I have listened to pipe bands for years and there are some really good pipers in England, Canada and the USA  :P

[datalas]

I think we should probably both take a step back and consider the point that I think was trying to be made and that is at any ceremony where some form of culturally significant service, order or right is enacted then it should be done with sufficient care and attention to not sound terrible.

I lived next door to a co-op for two years where there were pipers playing on rememberance day,  one was I'm sorry to say truly awful and it belittled or betrayed the sentiment of the occasion.

The second was very well done and correctly conveyed the mood and the sombre affair that was being commemorated.

Although I will say this,  I think the bagpipes are second only to the violin for being able to be played badly.

[johnpirate]

A friend of mine plays for Oldham pipe band.The guy is brilliant He is a world class piper.won trophies when he made the effort.He was the base operator at the taxi firm I worked at.He spent the day practicing on his chanter.It was good but always attracted some of the locals who thought it was asian music .It really used to wind him up :lol:

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

There was a lone piper playing at the Menin Gate when I was there. He was brilliant,  playing the Lament during the placing of the wreaths.
To hear the pipes played there was an experience I shall not forget.

[Skibum346]

As an (ex)piper... I can agree... some are good and some are bad... the further away from Scotland... the bigger the chance of a dodgy one passing himself off!

So you suggest that only Scotland has good pipers :? What a load of old rubbish :x  

I have listened to pipe bands for years and there are some really good pipers in England, Canada and the USA  :P

Methinks you have read far too much into my simple statement...

It's more of a comment on the audience...!  :lol:  :lol:  :lol: