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It's a sad day when people feel they have to make their music
'respectable'. The result is corny classical 'interpretations'
of traditional tunes, inappropriate clumpy piano accompaniments, and
the Chieftains playing with the likes of James Galway.
Things work both ways however; around the fifteenth century the
French upper crust developed the bellows blown bagpipe (arguably an
influence on the development of the Uillean pipes) because it was
considered indelicate for a gentlemen or lady to be seen huffing and
puffing into a mouthpiece !
John
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Certainly is a change since I went there in the early 70's. The Kiltie
band and it's director were trying to get rid of the pipers since they
weren't 'professional enough'.
Originally the Kiltie band was made up of the Engineering students, and
the music majors in general shunned it since it was a marching band not
an orchestra. Then they hired a professional 'musician' as a full time
director who wanted it to become a serious band. So there was more and
more sit-down band concerts and less marching. Also more and more music
majors in the band. Admittedly the music was better but much of the
spirit seemed missing.
Most of the pipers learned to pipe at the school (I did) very few knew
the pipes before, and most were not music majors. As a consequence most
of us were not very good - although we got better as time went on - and
most of us did not have the time to practice extensively.
About '71, the director refused to take the pipers on any of the band
concerts, and wouldn't allow them to march with the band either - which
really cut down on recruiting. By '73 the pipers were about dead.
I understand in the intervening years, piping came back, I believe in
part due to the influence of the McDonald Pipers who tended to be Tech
alumni.
/jim
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