Aimed at people outside piping who want to find out more without too much expenditure of time and money, this is an introductory guide to what pipers do and why, showing how "tradition", often thought of as a vague and anonymous process, is in fact compiled by a whole succession of brilliantly gifted individual teachers, players and composers. This book focuses on the players themselves with a wide range of historical sources and anecdotes to provide a fresh account of this key musical cohort.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
William Donaldson is a teacher at Open University and the author of Highland Pipe and Scottish Society.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly informative and an excellent read! Not to be missed!,
This review is from: Pipers: A Guide to the Players And Music of the Highland Bagpipe (Paperback)
This book is an education for anyone interested in traditional music. It is packed with information on pipers but it what I particularly like is how much it explains - how pipers learn the instrument, how they teach and how the music has been passed down, sometimes well, sometimes not. There are accounts of the great pipers of the last 250 years with over 40 photographs, including the earliest known photo of a piper taken by Octavius Hill in 1847. The sections on composition in the light music (which began, the writer says, as a 'cheerful hotch potch' of songs and fiddle tunes picked up and richly developed by pipers) and also how piobaireachd is composed are a relevation. Donaldson also explains 'canntaireachd' and 'oral tradition' and gives the first sensible account I have seen of where the pipe band came from.
The writer is a piper and a composer and his love of the music comes across but in a way which is accessible for the non piper. It demystifies much and brings the highland bagpipes back into the arena of traditional music. This book is a great read and an essential starting point for any enqury into traditional music.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A missed opportunity,
This review is from: Pipers: A Guide to the Players And Music of the Highland Bagpipe (Paperback)
Reliable information on the Highland Bagpipe is hard to come by. This unique and fascinating instrument, with its wonderful scale and five centuries of classical music has become buried underneath popular misconceptions based on pipe bands playing out of tune versions of simple melodies. Donaldson does a sterling job of providing much valuable information, but his perception of the flawed (according to him) performance of the Piobaireachd Society in the 20th century in attempting to preserve and standardise the music is a definite distraction. One is left with the feeling that he has remained on the outskirts of the piping world - an observer who is not quite one of the inner group. He has an obsession with the faults of Archibald Campbell, the editor of most of the Society's publications, which obscures the truth that , in piobaireachd music, the printed score is nothing but a rough guide. The music needs a competent teacher to bring it to life.
The book is probably too technical for non- pipers, and too trivial for experienced players.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A tiresome rant,
By RS (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Pipers: A Guide to the Players And Music of the Highland Bagpipe (Paperback)
It is not a terrible book, it does contain some information. But much of that book is spent on an battle that by now is of little relevance (the early years of the Piobaireachd Society and their edits) and the presentation is outdated to the extent of being plain false (all the comments about availability of alternative texts).
The big turnoff is the negativity throughout (not humerous, even if that is the intention) and dubious opinions. With the presentation and writing style, it is hard to pick out facts. I much prefer the more objective and much clearer presentation in Cannon's book. I reread Cannon's book and enjoyed it; but here it was a chore to make it through once. The two books do not cover exactly the same ground, Donaldson's book has some additional detail on tunes and specific players. Here is a sentence to give you an idea of what additional detail you get and whether this is what you want: "After MacPhee's death in December 1880, MacColl continued his lessons with Pipe-Major Ronald MacKenzie (died March 1911, a Skyeman, ex-pipe-major, Black Watch; prize pipe, Invernes, 1873 and gold medal, 1875 - not to be confused with the other Ronald MacKenzie, 1842-1916, pipe-major of the 78th and nephew of John Bin) with whom he worked as a pipe for Neil M. MacDonald, grandson of Niel MacLeod of Gesto, at Dunach a little south of Oban".
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