Happy New Year Goodbye 2007, Hello 2008

2007 was a good year for piping. I purchased a new set of pipes: David Naill DN4. I can't say enough about these pipes. Their tone and quality of sound are miles beyond most of the other pipes out there. As I've stated elsewhere, and I've heard other people say it too, the sound of pipes goes right through you. These pipes go through you and reverberate in ways that sets your soul to singing. After playing them you feel changed, realigned, expanded, invigorated and calm. I'm keeping the pipes my father gave me, but I can't see going back to them.

Bagpipes Hartford New Years Party

Busking is not common in Hartford. It may be due to a lack of impoverished musicians. It may be due to municipal hostility. It may be due to lack of tradition. It may be due to lack of generous, willing, giving and knowledgeable audience. It may be due to lack of readership and information. I once saw an elderly man sitting on an amp, playing guitar on the street corner between Max Downtown and the Goodwin. He also had a voice microphone. He played blues. I was surprised he was there. Then I was disappointed by the number of people making a show of ignoring him. Most walked past looking at the sky or something far ahead. The thousand mile stare. Meanwhile, all these songs about bad luck, bad habits, crummy insights, hollow wishes, fractured embraces, decaying remembrances and bad relationships poured out over the streets. I gave him all the cash I had in my wallet: fourteen bucks. He looked at me like I was a dead man.

If you enjoyed the movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks, you probably have a soft spot in your heart for buskers. I plan on attending the 6pm fireworks in Bushnell Park. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the park were covered with buskers. Or a crowd of them in front of the statue of the guy who invented anesthesia.

Connecticut Bagpiper Glastonbury Bagpipes

Connecticut has its own Poet Laureate. It has a State flower and a State insect. Should the subject ever come up at the Legislative Office Building, I'd like to put my name in the hopper for State Piper. I've written several tunes commemorating the State: The Witch Hazel Jig, I-84 Lament, and Twain's Reel.

If not me, then someone. Please! The State needs a Piper!

Should someone else occupy the State position, I'll attempt a town appointment in Glastonbury, which sorely needs good piping and cheaper coffee.

Gordon Duncan, RIP (1964-2005)

Gordon Duncan committed suicide on the 14th December, 2005 at his home in Edradour, Pitlochry, Perthshire.

I can still remember exactly where I was when I learned of the death of the piping genius virtuoso Gordon Duncan. I was sitting, chanter in hand, ready to get going on a new tune across the table from John Menzies of Edinburgh, when he suddenly said, "By the way, did you hear Gordon Duncan died?"

What a loss. A loss of music, teaching and innovation. Please buy and listen to his music as a tribute to his greatness.

Birthday Bagpipes

I recently played the bagpipes at a birthday. It was a surprise. The wife of the birthday boy had me begin playing outside and slowly approach the house, so the music began as barely preceptible inside the house. As I got nearer, it became clearer, and then she saw the realization dawn on her husband's face. A bagpiper!

There's nothing like being surprised by a piper, unless you're the opposing army.

Earth Resonance Frequency

There is a very low tone that surrounds everything we do. It is created by friction produced by magnetic fields surrounding the earth. There is a theory that the soundwaves from the bagpipes can lock into the earth resonance frequency, thereby plugging the listener into that massive and ancient power turbine. The power to heal. The power to change one's life. The power to touch the departed. All of these are within reach of the music.

Christmas Tunes

I love playing Christmas music on the pipes. Many tunes, however, do not translate well to the limited range of the piping scale. The ones that fit, though, sound beautiful, especially in the snowy woods from far away in the shadowy moonlight. They sound great on a street corner too, but the opportunities for busking are limited these days with rigidly enforced State and Municipal ordinances. If you do happen to trot past a busker, please throw in an extra shilling. It's a silent way of saying, "Music is good and pure and worth something. A pox on Toys R Them, Bergdork Goodman and Slacks Fifth Ave!"

Towns I've Piped In

My goal is to pipe in every town in Connecticut, but I've got a long way to go. So far I've played bagpipes in every County: Litchfield, Hartford, Tolland, Windham, New London, Middlesex, New Haven and Fairfield. The towns where I pipe most frequently are: Hartford, Manchester, Glastonbury, Middletown, Portland, New London, Norwich, East Hampton, East Haddam, East Hartford, Farmington, Avon, Simsbury, Chester, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Southport, Bridgeport and Whigville. Now that gas prices are soaring, I'm trying to stay within Hartford and Middlesex counties.

Being Scottish

There is no need to be of Scottish descent. You can have a piper at your event no matter what your background.

Greek Orthodox

Last Sunday I played while people exited the church after a Greek Orthodox wedding. I was lucky enough to see some of the ceremony, which was very beautiful and very solemn. I don't know if I was the first piper to play at that church, but the people seemed to enjoy it very much, proving once again that pipe music is universal. I received a request for "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," and I was happy to play it, several times. I also played, The Wearing Of The Green, Danny Boy, and A Nation Once Again. The Greeks are certainly no strangers to Irish themes, and vice versa. I know this, thanks to James Joyce, I think.

Church Music

I recently played in a very large, old church in Northeastern Connecticut. Pillars throughout the church reached up to a very high, arched ceiling. There was no organ music, only the bagpipe. I played at the beginning, during and at the end of the ceremony. Candles flickered behind the altar, sending smoke to plume up within the vacant space below the ceiling, lost beyond the lights. The entire ceremony seemed to be removed from time and circumstance and transported to a sacred realm. The bagpipes, which operate as a result of air flowing rapidly through long and short spaces, are similar in concept to a pipe organ. Human ingenuity, trial and error, a love of beauty and a sense of awe have worked together to produce instruments perfectly suited for holy moments.

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend weather cooperated with all the bagpiping events despite the weatherman's midweek gloom and doom. I played at a wonderful wedding along the Connecticut River and the conditions were perfect. It's great to see the boats gather for the pipes. Many people had parties and, of course, we honored our fallen. There is nothing like timing the cutoff to Amazing Grace just as the jets fly over!

Locations

A small airport is the location of the next wedding I will play, and I am excited to play for that event. I am keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that we receive fine weather on the day. New England weddings have always got unstable weather to throw into the mix as a possible wedding reality. You can bet that the superstition of hanging a rosary from the close line to insure good weather did not originate in the Caribbean. Bagpipes will carry on rain or shine, however, and can even be used to entertain while waiting for the weather to change.

Mothers' Day

My mother lives on an island off the coast of France, so I was happy to have her in the States for Mothers' Day today. I played some of her favorite tunes, especially, Cumha Raonuill Mhic Ailein oig. We had scones and enjoyed the fine weather.

Cemeteries

The word "cemetery" comes from a Greek word meaning "sleeping place", which is a perfect way to describe these peaceful, landscaped parks of commemoration. I have always been a fan of cemeteries, and Connecticut has many beautiful spots where history and wit are carved in marble and the sunlight falls quietly on the lawns.

I have played at many funerals. Bagpipes and funerals are linked by tradition, but there is more to it than tradition alone. The sound of a bagpipe, playing the proper tune, is a perfected distillation of the soul intoning the unspeakable anguish of mourning. The instrument was developed over centuries by increadibly sensitive and gifted people who wanted a sound to accompany two facts of life: War & Death. That it also became useful for celebrations was a happy byproduct. I still cannot play without being caught in the grip of something more than just music. The vibrations of the instrument go through your entire body and stir something that otherwise lies dormant. I have heard some pipers speak of feeling transported or lost when playing, and it is true that the music can tranport you to another place.

Playing for the Governor

I have played for former Governor Rowland and for Governor Rell. It is always a special occasion, and the bagpipes are recognized as adding a hightened sense of importance to the event. I like to think I was hired because of my special talents, but I learned differently at the last function I played with Governor Rell. The function was at the Connecticut Convention Center, and it began with a cocktail hour for the participants. There were about 500 guests enjoying 3 or 4 open bars outside the ballroom, waiting for Governor Rell to arrive. I was hired to play upon the arrival of the Governor and parade her into the ballroom where the event was to take place. Just before the Governor Rell arrived, the event co-ordinator said she hired me because they needed something loud to get people's attention to let them know the Governor was entering the room. Well it worked! And I might add that the Governor's approval ratings have never been higher!

Amazing Grace at Weddings

Amazing Grace is a wonderful tune that I never tire of playing. It is probably the most often requested tune at any event. Traditionally it is considered a funeral tune, however, and therefore it is generally discouraged from being played at weddings. Weddings are celebrations, and some guests at the wedding may have very sad memories triggered by the tune. Whenever this tune is played for a large crowd, invariably there are people in tears. That being said, I will always play it if the Bride requests it. The Bride is the ruler of the wedding, and I can't agree with those pipers who flat out refuse to play it.

Keeping In Touch

The best way to get in touch with me is through email. There is a link on my website at www.ctpiper.com for email, or you can email me directly at shax2020@yahoo.com , which I check daily.

My summer is filling with bagpipe events, so please contact me as soon as you know you'll need a piper.