Thanks to everyone who joined us for our World Online Piping & Drumming Championships for November 2013. We received 250 entries in 65 events, including solo piping, side drumming, tenor drumming, bass drumming, and pipe bands. Our competitors came from 17 countries on six continents. Competitors were judged by their competition video recordings, each competitor received a complete sheet of comments from our international panel of 16 world-class judges, and all of the competitor's videos have been posted for the world to see.
Congratulations to all of the prizewinners and well done to every competitor for your excellent efforts and superb videos!
Our pipe band events were judged by a panel of piping judges, drumming judges, and ensemble judges each selected for their expertise in one section of pipe bands – pipers, side drummers, bass drummers, and tenor drummers. We hope that the larger and more comprehensive panel will give the participating bands a final result with greater clarity and will provide more detailed and useful comments.
Posted below are the complete list of winners for each event, including the tunes and judge's comments for every competitor. To our knowledge, our competitions are the first and only piping or drumming competitions to publish a complete record of the entire competition for the entire world to see: a video of every performance, the complete list of tunes, and the judge's comments. We hope the videos and comments for our competitions will provide inspiration, motivation, and enjoyable listening for many years to come. Also, you'll find the winners of our special prizes:
- Overall Winners in Each Category
- P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge Scholarship
- Individual Champion with Most Points Overall
- Best Dress & Deportment
- Best Quality Video, Best Video Background
- Champion Pipe Band (or Team)
- Champion Association
- Champion Country
The World Online Piping & Drumming Championships for November 2013 were made possible through the generous support of our sponsors and supporters. Please visit our sponsors by using on the links below.
World Online Piping & Drumming Championships – November 2013 Official Results
Champion Pipe Band (or Team) with Most Points
The top ten bands or teams with the most combined points from solo and band events.
1. St Andrew's College - New Zealand (672 points)
2. St. Patrick's Battalion Pipe Band - Mexico (558 points)
3. Veterans Memorial Pipe Band - USA (420 points)
4. Scottish Society of New Zealand Pipe Band - New Zealand (369 points)
5. Keith Highlanders Pipe Band - USA (326 points)
6. Canberra Burns Club - Australia (295 points)
7. St. Laurence O'Toole Pipe Band - Eire (280 points)
8. Banda Gaites Ribeseya - Spain (270 points)
9. Highland Light Scottish Pipe Band - USA (264 points)
10. CDF Firefighters - USA (262 points)
Champion Country with Most Points
The top countries with the most combined points from solo and band events.
| 1. USA (3347 points) |
| 2. Australia (1197 points) |
| 3. New Zealand (1066 points) |
| 4. Canada (649 points) |
| 5. Mexico (574 points) |
| 6. Germany (542 points) |
| 7. Scotland (318 points) |
| 8. UK (295 points) |
| 9. Eire (280 points) |
| 10. Spain (270 points) |
| 11. Austria (262 points) |
| 12. England (214 points) |
| 13. Hong Kong (132 points) |
| 14. Wales (129 points) |
| 15. Singapore (41 points) |
| 16. South Africa (25 points) |
| 17. Russia (10 points) |
Champion Association with Most Points
The top piping or pipe band associations with the most combined points from solo and band events.
| 1. EUSPBA (1446 points) |
| 2. Bagpipe Association of Germany (542 points) |
| 3. Australian Pipe Band Association (480 points) |
| 4. WUSPBA (432 points) |
| 5. RSPBA (390 points) |
| 6. RNZPBA (345 points) |
| 7. Midwest Pipeband Association (342 points) |
| 8. NSW (295 points) |
| 9. IPBA (280 points) |
| 10. PPBSO (94 points) |
| 11. Qld PBA (88 points) |
| 12. AHPBA (76 points) |
| 13. Austrian Bagpipe Association (66 points) |
| 14. BC Pipers Association (56 points) |
| 15. Sask. Pipe Band Association (25 points) |
Individual Champion with Most Points Overall
The top ten overall individual winners across all categories.
1. Eileen Howe (440 points)
2. Josh Whitson (420 points)
3. Ernesto Góngora (376 points)
4. Max Middleton (369 points)
5. Ray Morrison (342 points)
6. Graham Durant-Law (295 points)
7. Edmund Boland (280 points)
8. Matthew Fleek (270 points)
9. Mark Pasquantonio (264 points)
10. Charlie Martin (262 points)
Overall Winners in Each Category
The top overall individual winners in each categories.
Piping Grade 1
1. Ernesto Góngora - Mexico (288 points)
2. Ben Gibbons - UK (201 points)
3. Andrew Chun Kit Yu - Hong Kong (132 points)
4. Bill Peters - Canada (94 points)
5. Peter Purvis - USA (88 points)
6. William Shropshire - USA (56 points)
Piping Grade 2
1. Graham Durant-Law - Australia (270 points)
2. Jan Belak - Germany (239 points)
3. Charlie Martin - USA (222 points)
4. Tripp Bishop - USA (88 points)
5. J David Hester - USA (88 points)
6. Edward Stansfeld - Scotland (56 points)
Piping Grade 3
1. Edmund Boland - Eire (280 points)
2. Max Middleton - New Zealand (256 points)
3. John Campbell - Wales (129 points)
4. Peter Hurwood - Australia (88 points)
5. Huber Karina - Austria (66 points)
6. Harold Cummingw - USA (64 points)
Piping Grade 4
1. Josh Whitson - USA (344 points)
2. Matthew Fleek - USA (270 points)
3. Christian Haerinck - Canada (173 points)
4. Noah Clarke - New Zealand (88 points)
5. Dagmar Pesta - Germany (73 points)
6. Ewan Lawson - New Zealand (63 points)
Piping Grade 5
1. Ray Morrison - USA (304 points)
2. Tom Torda - Austria (126 points)
3. Nigel Gibbons - UK (94 points)
4. Rebecca Capon - Australia (88 points)
5. Ewan Lawson - New Zealand (88 points)
6. Tim Riddle - USA (56 points)
Piping Beginner
1. Eileen Howe - USA (440 points)
2. Adam Maldonado - USA (112 points)
Side Drum Grade 1
1. Oliver Bernhardt - Germany (182 points)
2. Eoin Aitken - Australia (176 points)
3. Graham Young - USA (94 points)
Side Drum Grade 2
1. Raúl Tronco Lafranchi - Spain (126 points)
2. David Spotswood - Australia (94 points)
3. Adrien Guy - Canada (88 points)
4. Borja Cayado Venta - Spain (56 points)
Side Drum Grade 3
1. Michael Theriault - Canada (150 points)
2. Jacob Chalk - Australia (144 points)
3. Nicholas Shropshire - USA (88 points)
4. Miguel Vega - Mexico (88 points)
Side Drum Grade 4
1. Lucy MacLean - Scotland (176 points)
2. Michael Theriaut - Canada (88 points)
3. Graham Mummery - Australia (76 points)
4. Santiago Khoury - Mexico (56 points)
5. Michael Theriault - Canada (56 points)
Side Drum Grade 5
1. Anael Hester - USA (200 points)
2. Connor Blakely - New Zealand (144 points)
3. Fraser Bishop - Scotland (88 points)
4. Ben McDonald - New Zealand (76 points)
Side Drum Beginner
1. Paul Connolly - England (214 points)
2. Ben McDonald - New Zealand (144 points)
3. Connor Blakely - New Zealand (94 points)
Tenor Drum Grade 4
1. Jean Russell - USA (88 points)
Bass Drum Advanced
1. Mark Pasquantonio - USA (88 points)
Bass Drum Intermediate
1. Mark Pasquantonio - USA (88 points)
Bass Drum Beginner
1. Mark Pasquantonio - USA (88 points)
Pipe Band Ungraded
1. Banda Gaites Ribeseya - Spain (88 points)
P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March Age Group Winners
1. Max Middleton - New Zealand (age 13 to 14 years)
1. Andrew Coulter - USA (age 18 to 20 years)
1. Ernesto Góngora - Mexico (age 21 and older)
P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March Overall Champion and Scholarship Winner
Andrew Coulter - USA
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Best Dress & Deportment: Matt Hart - USA
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Best Quality Video: Ben Gibbons - UK
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Best Video Background: Graham Durant-Law - Australia
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Individual and Band Event Competitors with Videos and Judge's Comments
Solo Piping Events:
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Event 01. Beginner Piping (practice chanter) - Slow Air (at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Eileen Howe - USA Tunes: Scots Wha Have Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade Nice rhythm throughout tune and nice clean gracenotes. Watch the accuracy of your throw on D. Overall a very muscial performance which I enjoyed. Well done Eileen.
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Event 02. Beginner Piping (practice chanter) - 3/4 or 4/4 March (2 or 4 parts) Placing: 1. Eileen Howe - USA Tunes: Flett from Flotta Judge: James MacHattie Very well done, Eileen! A steady tempo maintained well all through, and appropriate for the level. Your timing is very good, though I have two minor suggestions: be careful about the odd E doubling which comes a little ahead of the beat (bar 2) - and the final birl of the tune was everso slightly early. Your technique is clear and fairly precise. One suggestion to help clarify your technique even further - I find your gracenotes themselves a bit big. You need some height to get projection of gracenotes but you also need crispness, achieved by concentrating on snapping the finger back down onto the chanter (hopefully without creating tension!). This will stop gracenotes from overlapping in doublings (esp E doublings). Overall a solid tune!
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Event 02. Beginner Piping (practice chanter) - 3/4 or 4/4 March (2 or 4 parts) Placing: 2. Adam Maldonado - USA Tunes: Jimmy Findlader Judge: James MacHattie Well done, Adam! A very steady and appropriate tempo start to finish. Just a few places to be careful in timing - at end of lines you come to the final note just a bit ahead of the beat at times - so that would be the B doubling at the end of the first lines, and your birl is starting consistently a little early at the end of parts. Your fingering is quite clear - but be careful in two places for crossing noises - the C to High A in part one, and the D to high A in part 3. And one final suggestion to help clarify your technique even further - I find your gracenotes themselves a bit big. You need some height to get projection of gracenotes but you also need crispness, achieved by concentrating on snapping the finger back down onto the chanter (hopefully without creating tension!). This will stop gracenotes from overlapping in doublings and will stop the D gracenote in grips/taorluaths from gobbling up the low G. Overall a solid tune!
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Event 03. Beginner Piping (practice chanter) - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Eileen Howe - USA Tunes: The Sprig of Ivy Judge: Iain MacDonald Very nice start to the tune and a good tempo. In the first part there are a couple of places where the dot/cut rhythms are a little rounded. Also a very slight cross note on the hand change. I really like the definition of your taorluath movement--great gracenotes and really well-sounded low Gs. Nice job with the tachums and cuttings in 2nd part. They are clear, and the next thing is to really work on the speed so that you get get a bit more snap into them. In the 3rd part, and slightly clearer C would be good in the tachums. You are maybe starting the gracenote (D) a shade early. The cuttings in the 4th part were a little less clear than the previous parts, but pretty good. You are playing clearly and with the start of a very good technique pattern. What would help is working the various movements to increase the speed and fluency so that you can put them into the tune without altering the natural flow and rhythm of the piece. Well played!
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Event 03. Beginner Piping (practice chanter) - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Adam Maldonado - USA Tunes: The Atholl and Breadalbane Gathering Judge: Iain MacDonald The very first grip needs to have more Low G sounding. The natural beat needs to be emphasized more to get the most out of this tune. Try to really focus on a strong 2 beats in every bar. It will give the tune more swing right off the top. C doublings aren't always played correctly. Sometimes you have played 2 D gracenotes instead of a G and a D. The B to B taorluaths need to be cleaner, and have both Low G notes sounded. I feel that you are playing inappropriate gracenotes at times…leading with a D when it should be a G, and so on. Maybe review the music to make sure you are on track there. Not getting 100% expression of dot/cut notes in the 3rd/4th parts. There is some even playing over them. Nice E doublings in 4th! You have lots of good things going here, and what will really help the overall;l picture is for you to focus on playing accurate movements, and organizing the tune to be exactly on the beat. At times, you stray from the beat and within some sections alter the timings, and this throws off the overall melodic flow. Mark the beats on the page, use a metronome to help you line them up, and then work the technical stuff separately too, so that you can be more accurate when putting it into the tune. Reading back, this looks like a lot of "negative" but the picture is not really bad at all, it's just that there are some really clear things that you could do to improve your performance. Thanks for the tune!
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Event 04. Beginner Piping (practice chanter) - 6/8 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Eileen Howe - USA Tunes: The Glendaruel Highlanders Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Very well done! You have a very good foundation it appears and your timing for a beginner is solid. Tempo was appropriate and consistent except some "jumping" to doublings in 2nd part. Give yourself all the time you need as generally when you jump to something you tend to miss or not play clearly. Your gracenotes are a bit big causing some to be on top of one another as in C & E doublings and tacchums in tune. Make them smaller (not tighter!!) to allow the appropriate rhythm and articulation. Nice loose hands will take care of some slight crossing noises heard in the second part. You are on the right track and everything mentioned above are normal aspects of development with this instrument. Keep up the great work!
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Event 05. Beginner Piping (practice chanter) - Piobaireachd (Ground Only) Placing: 1. Eileen Howe - USA Tunes: The Company's Lament Judge: James P. Troy Very good pacing overall for this ground. On the 'grip' movements from C to Low A with the B gracenote, try to get just a bit more clarity by ensuring that you're getting to the first Low G cleanly initially. Then, the whole movement is a bit more 'solid'. Try to match the clarity you're getting on the 'normal' grips. Where you have the double echoes on E and F, you can just spend a little less time on the second echo in general. These are just a gentle touch down to either the Low A or E. You've got a great feel for this tune and if these two small details are tidied up, it will be even better! Really well done Eileen-keep up the great playing!
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Event 06. Grade 5 Piping - Slow Air (at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Tom Torda - Austria Tunes: The Pipe Song by Robert Watt Judge: Matt Turnbull You have a good feel for this tune, which became more evident as you progressed into a better rhythmical flow. I liked your use of syncopation that is so key to this piece. You do have the common habit of blowing your chanter sharp. This is not a terrible thing, and many pipers have approached this propensity by just reeding up with a stronger reed. A more practical solution would be to listen for this effect, which will be evident when the drones go out of tune. One needn't always squeeze hard, and a lighter touch with the bag and chanter can actually put you more in touch with your music. Great music!
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Event 06. Grade 5 Piping - Slow Air (at least 2 parts) Placing: 2. Tim Riddle - USA Tunes: The Mountains of Pomeroy Judge: Matt Turnbull You presented a nice flowing pace to this tune. You had some sharpness to the top hand, and I found your tempo rise a bit in the second part. This led you to wander slightly from your meter. The major problem you face is a propensity for false fingering; not getting your pinkie down on the bottom hand on the requisite note and when tumbling down from high A to high G to F leaving your ring (E) finger down. That aside, a very musical performance!
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Event 06. Grade 5 Piping - Slow Air (at least 2 parts) Placing: 3. Nigel Gibbons - UK Tunes: The Georgia Whaling Song Judge: Matt Turnbull A very mature interpretation, it is evident from your use of phrasing that you understand the essence of music; note (phrase) patterns, agogic accenting, and tasteful rhythmic groupings. The technique of the instrument hampers your interpretation back somewhat. These include; loose toarluath movements, some crossing noises, and doublings that are taking an inordinate amount of time which then impedes the fluid progression of your melodic line. Also, the tone of your instrument is directly related to the movements of your arm and body. If you aggressively jerk or move your appendages quickly, the bag will respond just as a dressage horse would. So, the take home message is to approach the pipe delicately, and while your fingers and mind may be moving with alacrity, you are caressing the instrument like a foundling. I think you'll find your bagpipe sound will soften and become mellifluous. Good music, very enjoyable, and I liked that melody!
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Event 06. Grade 5 Piping - Slow Air (at least 2 parts) Placing: 4. Max Paeck - Austria Tunes: Bonnie Black Isle Judge: Matt Turnbull A very moving air, with a good pace. I found your overlong treatment of key notes impeded your flow detracting from your presentation. Some execution issues; the throw on D not clear, crossing noises, and wobbly blowing which was most noticed on the long notes - think both blowing and maintaining enough pressure to remove this effect. This is referred to as blowing through the note. A good effort.
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Event 06. Grade 5 Piping - Slow Air (at least 2 parts) Placing: 5. Ray Morrison - USA Tunes: Passchendaele Judge: Matt Turnbull You have a good flow to this tune. Your instrument was nicely balanced with a good chanter sound. That said, there were some technical issues. I found the crossing noises (when passing from the top to bottom hands) to be the major fault with your tune. A possible solution would be to lift your fingers ever so slightly higher before you change to the next hand. This was a very solid effort to a not often heard, good tune!
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Event 06. Grade 5 Piping - Slow Air (at least 2 parts) Placing: 6. Matthew Hart - USA Tunes: Loch Rannoch Judge: Matt Turnbull A good steady flow to this tune. Some inconsistencies with your blowing (you can listen for this when the chanter sounds out of tune). Some doublings a bit close, that is I wasn't hearing both beating grace notes. You are playing an innovative E doubling (not the standard grace note pattern). And, your tone was suspect on F & high G. A robust effort.
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Event 07. Grade 5 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Ray Morrison - USA Tunes: Captain Norman Orr-Ewing Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Very much enjoyed your performance of this tune. It was played brightly at a confident tempo with good musical expression. Watch out for the D throws at the end of the lines which are being played a bit 'light' and require more sounding of the gracenotes. Good birls throughout. 3rd part requires a bit of attention with the B doublings and some crossing noises creeping in. Very nice sounding bagpipe with drones and chanter nicely balanced. Well done!
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Event 08. Grade 5 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Ray Morrison - USA Tunes: John D. Burgess Judge: James MacHattie Well played - what a great choice, too! Well maintained tempo all through with lots of control. There are just a few passages to isolate and work on which will make this settle into the compount time rhythm all through - the second beat is round, for one. Hold the high G, and don't be afraid to cut the F before the E. The same goes for the second beat of bar 7 - hold the high A, but cut the low A. Bars 3 and 4 are consistently very good. There's a technical issue in the ending phrase - in the first beat of bar 7 the connecting D between the low A and F is coming out like a C - your D finger is not coming up. Make sure it does, otherwise you're changing the key of the tune! Same thing in part three when that note combination happens again. Overall, though, a very enjoyable performance.
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Event 08. Grade 5 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 2. Nigel Gibbons - UK Tunes: Bonnie Dundee Judge: James MacHattie An enjoyable performance. Careful and precise timing in part one in particular. Slowing a little bit in the second part - rhythm possibly disrupted by the groupings of two and all the bottom hand technique. Try to be aware of the third eighth note in all groupings - if you can place that in the same position within a beat each time you will find it far easier to be consistent in timing, even if the technique is difficult. With a reserved tempo you have time to open up your taorluaths - listen for two distinct and equal low Gs. Your D throw could be more consistent - there is nothing consistently incorrect about them, but they're just not yet all the same. Well set pipe, fairly well blown. Nicely done!
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Event 08. Grade 5 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 3. Matthew Hart - USA Tunes: The Braes of Kintallen Judge: James MacHattie Well done, Matthew. A steady tempo all through, and appropriate for the level. There are a few places where it felt like the rhythm wasn't quite locked in - first time through the first part (though I thought it sounded very settled for the repeat!), and the beginning of the second part. I would suggest going over bars 1 and 2 of part two a bit more to make sure you're absolutely clear where the beats land and that'll help stabilize it. With a reserved tempo you have time to open up your taorluaths - listen for two distinct and equal low Gs. Also look out for open Cs on some of the connecting passages between longer notes. Pipe fairly well set, though top hand a bit on the sharp side. Overall well played.
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Event 09. Grade 5 Piping - Jig (at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Rebecca Capon - Australia Tunes: Kenneth MacDonalds Jig Judge: Robert Mathieson Good bagpipe. Clean fingerwork and technically precise but a little behind the beat at times. Your D throw is laboured and drawn out too much for jig idiom. Watch the timing of the pick up notes going into the second part especially 2nd time. You have a tendancy to lift the fingers too high off the chanter. Technically this is excellent you just need to compress the embelishments when necessary to fit into the jig dance idiom. Many of your doublings are too big and clumsy which makes the melody rhythmically lacking in light and shade. Good tone overall but HighA flat. Try and not blow flat in the fade-out of the last note.
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Event 09. Grade 5 Piping - Jig (at least 2 parts) Placing: 2. Ray Morrison - USA Tunes: Cork Hill Judge: Robert Mathieson Your G,D,E gracings are lacking in defined rhythmic control. You need to get more into the jig groove. C strikes not clean and sometimes slurring your D throw shows little or no low G. These technical issues are interrupting the melodic flow. In the 3rd part the E to C hand changes lack clarity and produce crossing noises. Similar false fingerring in the 4th part escpecially the High A to C strike I can hear a definite short low A that should not be there. Pipes slightly unsteady in blowing and the E is sharp.
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Event 10. Grade 5 Piping - Piobaireachd (Ground Only) Placing: 1. Ewan Lawson - New Zealand Tunes: Glen Garry's Lament. Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade Nice pipe, well tuned, watch consistency of blowing though. Tune a little on the slow side but fingering accurate, cadences perhaps a little on the open side. Would like to hear those F's a little more cut for musical interest. Nice complete performance - well done!
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Event 10. Grade 5 Piping - Piobaireachd (Ground Only) Placing: 2. Ray Morrison - USA Tunes: The Middling Spree Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade Good tune Ray - muscially interesting and kept the phrasing nicely throughout. Pipe was pretty good too. Just distracted at times by the accuracy of the grip to C and also a few catches to B. Well done overall.
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Event 10. Grade 5 Piping - Piobaireachd (Ground Only) Placing: 3. Tom Torda - Austria Tunes: Glengarrys Lament Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade You have the musciall understanding of this tune. It flowed well and you showed clear phrasing throughout. Things that distracted me were the sharp C/E/F notes, drones werent quite in tune from the start. Cadences on B a little inconsistent but overall a solid performance.
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Event 11. Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Noah Clarke - New Zealand Tunes: The taking of Belmont hamel Judge: Matt Turnbull A steady, albeit slow presentation. While very properly fingered, your birls tended not to get their full due (not well-sounded). A good interpretation that tended to the square especially on run-down phrases & in the 3rd part. You could also be a bit more sympathetic with your high A's in the last part, and could eek out a bit more on your melodic accents (notes), throughout. You crushed some doublings & had a slight stick. Well done, keep up the good work!
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Event 11. Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Josh Whitson - USA Tunes: South Hall Judge: Matt Turnbull A good steady march, played on a steady pipe. You had some hesitation here and there, ever minor blemishes. I found this presentation had a heavy feel. Perhaps if you thought more of your phrase ends instead of such heavy left foot treatment of your lead accents it may yield more flow. Your execution was sluggish when working the bottom hand; tachums, and C to E. Your blowing/squeezing was a bit erratic causing a wobbly sound to the instrument. I also found your emendation to this tune detracted from the composer's rhythmical intent. Besides, your hands can handle the work. A Good Tune, Nicely done!
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Event 11. Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Matthew Fleek - USA Tunes: Donald McClean's Farewell to Oban Judge: Matt Turnbull A nice sound and a good tempo to this tune! You tend to be a bit square with your interpretation. I think this may stem from inattention to your lead-ins (pick-ups). And, also your weighty treatment of the rhythmic accent (pushing 1st notes excessively). You had some blowing issues, missing gracings throughout and slowed down slightly in the 3rd part. The 4th part was your best, you should try playing this part and then one of your other parts and compare the differences. A good tune, Nicely Done!
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Event 11. Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Ewan Lawson - New Zealand Tunes: John MacColl's March to Kilbowie Cottage. Judge: Matt Turnbull A bright tempo to a very difficult tune. You have very nice technique, though I am not hearing the B's before your C throws (grips). You are squaring off your timing in bar 7, at the end of parts. For me, I tend to hang on the 2nd F ever so slightly giving a bit of punctuation before the next phrase. This lack of attention to key notes is also noticeable in the 2nd part, causing that lack of swell on your major themes. Your tune was getting slightly ahead of your technique in the 3rd & 4th part, so not all of your grace-notes are getting clearly heard. When execution details disappear, a tune's pulse is lost and you'll note a lack of bounce. Despite all of these quibbles, a Most Impressive Attack at a very A-level tune! Good Music!
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Event 11. Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 5. Christian Haerinck - Canada Tunes: John MacColl's March to Kilbowie Cottage Judge: Matt Turnbull A good spirited run! You rush your part ends (F phrase), tending to give the tune a square effect. The same again can be heard in the 2nd part, where you tend to play the complex passages even. You had some technique flaws in the 3rd part, where you had a choke. A good, lively tune which loses pulse by your even tendencies (squaring off of note groupings). You also rushed the complex 4-note groups, most evident in the 2nd & 3rd parts. A spirited approach, Good Work!
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Event 11. Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 6. Andrea Huber - Austria Tunes: The Glenfinnan Highland Gathering Judge: Matt Turnbull A nice lively tempo! I found your pick-up notes (high A - F) tend to be even. You overblow (squeezing bag too hard?), perhaps a more delicate touch with the bag would improve your sound. This is especially noticeable when your finger work gets harder, in the 3rd part. Another point you may consider is your tendency to rush note groups (phrases); the notes before your grips. You also have a bit of an even tumble down to the last birl (more emphasis on the C would help). A Good Effort!
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Event 11. Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Dagmar Pesta - Germany Tunes: Taking Of Beaumont Hamel Judge: Matt Turnbull A good steady tempo, very appropriate for your fingers. It is always good to notice how you play one part vis-à-vis another. In lieu of this, you play the 2nd part better than the 1st & the 3rd parts. So, this means you have some work to do to get your fingers at ease with the bottom hand work that is the hallmark of the 1st & 3rd parts. You seem to work overly hard to clear your tachum movement, which is of paramount importance in this tune. This glitch impedes your flow and musicality. Look to feel if you have any tightness when you play this movement or others. All your finger-work & phrases should be equally easy. So if you notice your fingers are working extra hard at an ill-at-ease movement, it is best to (habituated) guide your fingers through the strangeness of that hard phrase. This is much the same process as learning an unusual word in a foreign language. Feel how this is not an issue in your beautiful 2nd part. A very nice, musical performance!
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Event 11. Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Chris Tabram - Australia Tunes: The Hills of Perth Judge: Matt Turnbull A very positive tempo on a vibrant bagpipe. Missing some notes on your tumble down phrases (i.e. high A - G - F) affecting your musicality. This A -G - F phrase should sound as a mirror image of your high G - F - E phrase in the 2nd part, which you play very nicely. You should aim to align these phrases; technically, rhythmically. Do this, and I think you'll hear the tune flow to a roll. This mirror phrase technique is a good one for this tune as it is chock-a-block full of these. This can give you a plethora of opportunities to see how your hands handle one phrase compared to the difficulty with working its cousin. Good birls! You had some crossing noises and missed doublings A good effort!
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Event 11. Grade 4 Piping - 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Stephen Ladd - Australia Tunes: The 79th Farewell to Gibralter Judge: Matt Turnbull A beautiful spirited run on a powerful instrument, very appropriate for this tune. My main criticism lies with your execution, such as loose toarluaths (not hearing all the grace-notes at the proper time), missed doublings and dropped birls. You had some difficulty with hand-to-hand changes impeding your flow and causing loss of musical clarity. That said, I liked your aggressive approach to the tune. As for the execution, it seems that you are "throwing" your fingers at the movements and sometimes the gracings are heard and at other times not. You do capture the essence of this tune, Nice!
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Event 12. Grade 4 Piping - Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Matthew Fleek - USA Tunes: Kathleen Gillies and Kalabakan Judge: Iain MacDonald Cool shades. Pipes sound big off the hard surface. Drones pleasant but not fully in tune. Pretty nice technique in opening part. Try to make the B to B taorluaths as consistent as possible. Generally, a good strathspey feel, and you are doing a nice job landing things on the beat, and controlling the triplet runs. The strathspey is a strong tune for you. Nice controlled break to the reel and a good tempo. You are handling the technique pretty well here, although the B cuttings on the bottom hand are a little slurry at times. Pipes are drifting further out as you go, and it sounds as though the blowing is getting a little erratic in the reel. I like the reel also…good control for the most part, and working hard to stay steady on the beat. At times, the bottom hand work is a touch unclear. Focus on getting more consistent movements, and on maintaining a better sound to the end of the performance. Well done, enjoyed your tunes.
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Event 12. Grade 4 Piping - Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Josh Whitson - USA Tunes: The Caledonian Canal, Duntroon Judge: Iain MacDonald Nice sounding pipes at the start. Nice start to the strathspey. A little rounded in places. Some of the connecting (short) notes are too big. You are crushing the triplet runs a bit, and rushing ahead of the beat in places. In the 3rd part, be sure to sound both Low Gs in the A to A taorluaths. A little light there. 4th part is too even, and lacking the right S,W,M,W feel. Nice, controlled break to the reel. Good tempo to the reel, and handling the technique pretty well. Good bottom hand work. The G,D gracenote combos are coming out well. Good pipes and a well-played set overall, with the reel being significantly stronger than the strathspey. The strathspey needs a much stronger focus on playing correct technique and rhythms on the beat. Not that it "counts," but as a performance aesthetics point, I would not do the full-scale rundown at the end of the performance. Just finish on a fully-blown clean note. The run thing is out of context and kind of detracts from the good work you did in the reel.
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Event 12. Grade 4 Piping - Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Ewan Lawson - New Zealand Tunes: Maggie Cameron, Brown-haired Maid. Judge: Iain MacDonald Nice bold pipe sound at start. Good, controlled entry. Would like to hear more pronounced C in the C doublings 1st part. Very nice control and rhythm here. Very slight unclean hand changes in 2nd part. Need to make sure the hand-to-hand changes are really clean. Nice, steady playing. End of 3rd part a little rocky, and a large-ish crossing note there. Lovely, controlled break to the reel. Playing well here. Very controlled overall, and a nice feel. The technique is a little light in the reel, and more than anything just lacks precision at times. Except for a couple of choke-y bits, the bagpipe was nice, and pretty steady. I'd like to see you standing a little taller/more erect with the pipes, and trying to control the drone movement somewhat more. You have excellent potential. You are playing hard tunes with a good musical feel and a nice bagpipe. What you really need to tackle is the precision of the technique and the hand changes. Try to get everything a lot cleaner. Enjoyable set, thanks!
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Event 12. Grade 4 Piping - Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Christian Haerinck - Canada Tunes: Maggie Cameron, The Sound of Sleat Judge: Iain MacDonald Nice practice room! Nice start, and good bagpipe sound! The C doublings in the 1st part, in fact the hachum movement overall, needs to be better executed, with better precision. The placement of gracenotes is a little off, giving the movement an unclear sound. The strathspey is a little rounded in places, with the dot/cut feel not being fully expressed. You are rushing ahead of the beat often. Triplet runs are a little too tight, and not fitting the rhythm of the rest of the tune. Don't rush off the Low A after the birls. 4th part pretty rounded. The break to the reel was clean, but maybe slightly rushed. You could get a little more out of this tune in expression with a slightly slower pace. Again, the reel would be better with a stronger pulse on the beat throughout. The technique is quite clear in this tune though. A little slip near the end. Very nice pipes, and lots of good technique. The reel was a little stronger than the strathspey, and what would improve both tunes is a slightly more relaxed tempo, with a strong emphasis on the beat notes, and achieving the dot/cut rhythms. Well done!
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Event 12. Grade 4 Piping - Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 5. Dagmar Pesta - Germany Tunes: Maggie Cameron / Sound Of Sleat Judge: Iain MacDonald Nice sounding pipes at the start. I wasn't sure you had started the tune, b/c you were missing the first E doubling. Make sure that you have a clear start. Maybe even an introductory F to start would help? C doublings could use a little more C note in the middle. D gracenote starting a bit too soon. Find the triplet runs are a little crushed in the 2nd part. Nice steady progression through the parts, and overall the rhythm is good for the grade level. The 4th part has a couple of areas, especially the ending 2 bars, where the fingering is difficult and you have altered the tempo and rhythms to accommodate playing things a little slower. Using a metronome will help you identify where you are not keeping things flowing. Maybe jumped a little too quickly into the reel. Could be emphasizing the beats a little more. The 3rd part needs some work to separate the couplets (more dot/cut), and the G,D gracenote technique is not quite as crisp as you'll want it. In part, the gracenotes are not being placed just right, and the overall effect is a little fuzzy. Thought that this was a nice performance overall. Pipes were pretty good--drones not 100% in tune, but pleasant-- and the chanter reasonably balanced. Some little chirpy bits that are likely due to finger placement. Your tunes flowed pretty well overall, and with a little improvement in some of the rhythms and timing will be really good.
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Event 12. Grade 4 Piping - Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 6. Stephen Ladd - Australia Tunes: Orange and Blue, Mac and Irish, Captain Lachlan McPhail of Tiree Judge: Iain MacDonald Pipes full, but not in tune at the start. Drones are not in tune with each other, or the chanter. Chanter is a little unbalanced top to bottom. Nice starting rhythm in O&B, and maintaining a good strathspey flow and idiom. The challenge is that the technique is quite light/weak throughout, and ultimately, this holds you back from fully expressing the strathspeys. The break to the reel was a little jumpy, and with the faster tempo, you are even lighter and less precise with your technique throughout this tune. You clearly have a good grasp of the idiom in both strathspey and reel, and have all the potential to play some very lively music there. What is needed is more focus on clear and accurate finger technique, and fuller expression of the doublings and other movements. A slower tempo for both Strathspey and reel would give you a little more time to work this up. I would aim for having it all there at a slow tempo, and then gradually raising it. You have the tempo, but you've dropped quite a bit of technique to make it happen. Pipes are a little bit of a distraction. Try to balance the chanter scale a little better High A/Low A and then find the right place for the drones. It would be hard to set your drones accurately to the chanter as it is. Enjoyed the music overall, justy need to work to bring the technique and sound up.
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Matthew Fleek - USA Tunes: Donald McClean of Lewis Judge: Keith Paton Execution: Excellent execution! Very clean and crisp fingering throughout. Expression: Playing is slightly round. Whenever you have the classic 6/8 3 1/8th note sequence, always hold the first dotted 1/8, cut the second 1/16 note, and don't leave the third 1/8 too early. This will ensure a nice, relaxed dot/cut feel. Your 3 1/8th sequences are a little rounded. A good example of this is bar 1 of part 1. Hold the first low A, cut the following B, and don't leave the next low G too soon. The fourth note (low A) should fall right on beat 2. Your're a little ahead of the beat. Timing: Timing issues are basically the same as the expression issues mentioned above. Fix this and your timing and expression will be much more musical. Tempo: Very comfortable tempo. Steady from start to finish. Tuning: Drones well tuned to each other; set a little flat to chanter. PIpes well blown and steady throughout. A very well played tune! You have some excellent technique. Just some minor expressive issues to iron out and you're playing will become even more musical. Well done!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Josh Whitson - USA Tunes: Leaving Port Askaig Judge: Keith Paton Execution: Very good execution from start to finish! Clean and crisp technique! Expression: Nicely expressed; however, some timing issues detracted somewhat from the music. Timing: You have a tendency to rush into phrases early. Be careful to give notes and phrases their full value before proceeding to the next downbeat. When watching your video, take note of when your foot hits the ground in relation to the corresponding downbeat. I think you'll see that you're often arriving on notes ahead of the downbeat. A really clear example of this can be seen in the 1st bar of part 2. The first note is a high A (beat 1) and the 2nd note is an E (beat 2). You'll note that you are arriving at the E before your foot hits the ground. A metronome can be useful in helping to fix this. The other timing issue to work on are the dot/cut notes particularly in the 3 note sequence that is classic to 6/8 marches. The first dotted 1/8 note in this sequence needs to be held longer and the subsequent 1/16th note needs to be very short; otherwise, it comes out round. Fixing these 2 issues will give you that extra bit of polish and musicality to your 6/8 playing! Tempo: You played at a very appropriate tempo for this level and you kept it steady throughout. Nice job! Tuning: Pipes very well tuned and steady from start to finish. If I'm fussy, the B and F were slightly sharp, but that's being picky! Overall, this was an excellent performance. You just have a few timing/expression issues to sort out to really make your playing all the more musical. Well done!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Christian Haerinck - Canada Tunes: Major Sam Scott Judge: Keith Paton Execution: Your technique is very good for the most part. Clear and distinct embellishments throughout! A few minor crossing noises at times; watch the A/C/E combination in the 7th bar in particular. But overall, very cleanly played! Expression: Expression was hindered somewhat by some timing and tempo issues. The 6/8 march rhythm depends on holding the dotted 1/8th note and cutting the next 1/16th. If you don't do this, the playing comes out round and lacks "swing". In your case, at times you have good swing, and at other times, not so much. The previously mentioned A/C/E combination in bar 7 is a good example where you're playing gets round. First 2 bars of part 3 is a good example of where you're playing really well with good swing. Try to maintain that approach throughout the tune. Timing: At times you tend to jump into phrases early, arriving slightly ahead of the downbeat. This can create a rushed affect in your playing. Make sure to give the last note of each phrase it's full value and wait for the next downbeat before proceeding to the next note. Tempo: You played at a very appropriate tempo. Starting to rush a bit in the 3rd and 4th parts. Stay relaxed; waiting for your downbeats. Tuning: A very nice pipe sound! Well tuned and well blown from start to finish. A very enjoyable performance! Well done!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Dagmar Pesta - Germany Tunes: Miss Ishabel T. MacDonald Judge: Keith Paton Execution: Technique is quite clean overall. Good, distinct embellishments. Some movements need a bit more work. For example; High A grips (timing of D gracenote within grip movement is off), E taps (too big; should be sharper), B to LA tacums (not clean). Expression: Nicely expressed! Some timing issues interfering with espression at times, but otherwise, very musically played! Timing: Make sure to finish your phrases. At times you leave one phrase to begin the next too early. Often it's a dotted note that you're not fully extending. Another example is playing your birl movement early; ahead of the next beat. Just a bit more hold on the dotted 1/8s and more cut on the 16ths throughout will produce a lot more 6/8 swing! Tempo: Overall tempo a bit slow; although, this allowed you to keep your execution clean, which is good! Slowing noticeably in 3rd part. Tuning: Pipes well tuned and steady from start to finish! Some slight chirps at times (HA grips for example), but not overly distracting. A very easy chanter reed can make chirps more likely as can poor finger placement. I suspect it's more due to your reed in this case. A very nice performance overall. Well done!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 5. Loo Zhi En - Singapore Tunes: PM Donald MacLean of Lewis Judge: Keith Paton Execution: Your execution is quite good. No major technique issues. A couple minor crossing noises, but otherwise, very cleanly played. Expression: Expression hindered by some timing issues. Timing: Your main timing issue, which also impacts your expression, is that you're playing consistently ahead of the downbeat. This is very apparent if you watch your foot while in the video. You'll note that you are arriving on the downbeat notes before your foot hits the ground. Practicing on your practice chanter with a metronome can help correct this as long as you're aware of where the downbeats fall. If you can correct this, you're playing will be much more musical! Tempo: Tempo was appropriate for this level. Steady from start to finish. Tuning: You've got some work to do here! Drones were not tuned to each other or the chanter. Erratic blowing also effecting your tone throughout. While perfect tuning is not expected at grade 4 level, it is definitely something you'll need to address. Overall; most of your issues are very fixable! Your technique is solid. Just work on the timing issue mentioned and get some help learning how to set up your pipes. You've got some great potential!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 6. Tom Torda - Austria Tunes: Farewell to the Creeks Judge: Keith Paton Execution: Execution is quite good. A couple things to watch are the occasional crossing noise when transitioning from bottom to top hand or vice versa. Also; make sure to keep good separation within your doublings. The first gracenote within the doubling needs to finish before beginning the second. At times, you run the two together; most notably on double E and double B. Expression: Nicely expressed tune. Good use of dot/cut to bring out the 6/8 swing! However, some timing issues are at times affecting your expression. Timing: Be sure you're giving notes there full value. At times you're leaving notes early which results in some jerkiness in your expression. For example; in the first part, bar 1, the double C; this dotted 1/8th note has to held, followed by a short 1/16th (B), and then finally the last 1/8 note (C) must receive it's full value. Do not leave early to get to the D throw at the beginning of bar 2. Be pateint on the long notes, making sure not to arrive early on the following notes. This will vastly improve your expression and musicality! Tempo: I liked your tempo. It allowed you to keep your execution relatively clean which is important. Eventually, a bit more tempo will be needed to really make this a march. Tuning: Drones were well tuned to one another, but chanter was set too sharp in relation to drones. Overall, a nice performance. With some a few minor timing changes, I think you'll notice a big difference. Best of luck!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Alexander Ruehl - Germany Tunes: Farewell to the Creeks Judge: Keith Paton Execution: Be careful on the bottom to top hand transitions resulting in "crossing noises". For example; 1st part, bar 3, the lowA/C/E movement; you have a small crossing noise at times. B to C tacum movement and D throws a little sloppy at times also. Most embellisments quite clean in general, but try to work on the issues mentioned previously to clean things up even further. Expression: Your tune was quite well expressed; however, there were some tempo and timing issues that detracted. Timing: Main timing issue is your tendency to "jump phrases". This means you are leaving one phrase too soon and/or arriving at the next to soon. An example of this would be in 2nd part, bar 1, 3rd note is a E; you leave this early, arriving at the F too soon. This gives a "jerkiness" to your playing which you can fix by making sure to wait on the E longer and arrrive on the F right on the downbeat. Use a metronome to check yourself! Tempo: Tempo was steady throughout, but a bit slow. Probably not a bad thing as this will help you to keep your execution clean until you're able to handle a quicker tempo. Tuning: Drones and chanter were very well tuned! Careful not to overblow especially on the top hand. The high G and A are very sensitive to pressure changes, especially with an easy reed. A very nice performance overall. Well done!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Robert Grant - Canada Tunes: Farewell to the Creeks Judge: Keith Paton Execution: You really need to work on getting more separation in the gracenotes within your doublings. Each gracenote within a doubling should be clear and distinct from the other. You have a tendency to run the 2 gracenotes together. Playing through doubling exercises at slower tempos can help this. Don't speed up until you're able to play the doubling cleanly and with good separation consistently. Also; watch the crossing noises when transitioning from bottom to top hand notes. Expression: Quite good expression; although, timing and execution issues detracted making it difficult to properly express the tune. Timing: Be careful not to jump out of phrases early. You do this quite regularly which causes you to arrive on notes ahead of the beat. A good example is in the 1st bar of the 3rd part; you're early to the C (beat 1) and the D throw (beat 2). Take your time, especially on those long notes! Your fingers should follow the beat; not the other way around! Tempo: I would suggest a slower tempo. This will help with some of the previously mentioned execution and timing issues. Tuning: Drones very well tuned! Chanter quite good, but a little sharp on top hand. You had some erratic blowing which resulted in several chokes. Careful not to move your elbow away from the bag too suddenly when transitioning from squeezing to blowing. Remember, you never really stop squeezing the bag; it's a slow release! Very nice effort! Good luck!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Stephen Ladd - Australia Tunes: The Atholl Highlanders Judge: Keith Paton Execution: You'll need to really work on eliminating the crossing noises when transitioning from bottom to top hand or vice versa. Very noticeable in 2nd part with all the A/C/E and B/D/F combinations. Not a lot of embellisments in this tune; however, the double E's need a bit more separation. By that I mean, the 2 gracenotes within the doubling should be separtate and distinct. The grips in part 4 were quite good with a few exceptions. Work to keep them all sounding the same. Expression: You're getting a nice 6/8 swing rhythm througout the tune. Nice job! Timing: Careful not to arrive early on your downbeat notes. This can cause some jerkiness to your timing. For example; in the last 2 parts of each part there is a cut C (1/6th note) on the first beat of bar 7 and 8. You are arriving on these C's too soon. Several other examples of this throughout the tune. Tempo: Your tempo was appropriate for this level and steady throughout. Well done! Tuning: Drones and chanter well-tuned and steady throughout. Careful not to overblow on high A. Nicely done!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Marty McKeon - USA Tunes: Angus MacKinnon Judge: Keith Paton Execution: Your execution is technically very sound and accurate; however, you'll need to keep working on developing a bit more snap to your movements in order to properly express the music and play up to tempo. Don't rush this progression as you don't want to sacrifice clean execution for the sake of tempo and timing until you're ready. Expression: As mentioned above, to properly express this tune, you'll need a bit more tempo and snap in your movements. A couple areas to work on as you progress on this tune are your E taps (need to be a bit sharper with the tap movement) and your dot/cut notes (more time on the dotted 1/8ths and less on the 1/16ths). This will bring out more of the classic 6/8 swing rythym! Timing: Your timing is quite good. For the most part, you're giving notes the appropriate length and not arriving ahead of the downbeat which is all good! Not something typically seen at this level! Tempo: As mentioned earlier, tempo is slow, but safe. I think that is fine for now. More importantly, you kept the same tempo from start to finish. Tuning: Drones well tuned, but a bit unsteady throughout. Most likely due to uneven blowing.This can also be heard in your chanter sound. Under blowing is evident at times with some "crowiness" on your high G and high A. Other times, these notes are clear which indicates your blowing is going up and down. Overall, this was a nice, controlled performance!
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Event 13. Grade 4 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Andrea Huber - Austria Tunes: Dr. Ross`s 50th welcome to the Argyllshire Gathering Judge: Keith Paton Execution: Your execution is quite good. Clean and distinct technique; however, the timing of your grips and taurluaths is off. In this tune, the grips and taurluaths are preceded by quarter notes. You're not giving these notes long enough. For example; listen to your high A grips in part 2. The high A before the grip should be longer; don't drop down to the low G of the tauluath movement too soon. Same thing with the high A's and E's preceding the taurluaths in the 4th part. Expression: Mostly, your expression is very good. A nice dot/cut feel. However, the previously mentioned timing issues in your grips and taurluaths is detracting from an otherwise very musically expressed tune. Timing: Again, the main timing issue has already been described above. Tempo: A very relaxed tempo. Steady throughout; however, I think a bit more tempo would provide a more march-like feel. Tuning: Excellent drone sound! Very well tuned. Chanter in tune, but some chirps at times which may be due to too easy of a reed and/or poor finger placement. Overall, you're playing is very good! Just sort out few execution/timing issues and your overall musical performance will be vastly improved. Best of luck!
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Event 14. Grade 4 Piping - Piobaireachd (Ground and Next Variation) Placing: 1. Josh Whitson - USA Tunes: The Kings Taxes Judge: James MacHattie Well set pipe, though low G a bit flat. Nice high G start - a tiny bit wavery but set well. Be careful on the short connecting Bs - they need to be short but not jerky - keep your hand relaxed so they can be still short but fluid. Very good pace. Good open technique. Some very difficult movements - in fact this tune is very difficult (and ambitious!). Well played ground. Good entry to variation. You've got the flow right - nicely done. Really a solid performance start to finish. Main thing is to soften the Bs in the ground (but don't make them too big - still very small - just smoooooooth.). Impressive performance.
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Event 14. Grade 4 Piping - Piobaireachd (Ground and Next Variation) Placing: 2. Christian Haerinck - Canada Tunes: Company's Lament Judge: James MacHattie Very well set pipes. Steady drones. Consistent double echoes. Well phrased ground. Very little to fault in this ground! Be careful of the low Gs in the rodin in bar 1, technically. Good contrast in tempo to variation one. Coming off the D a bit abruptly at the start of line 2. This was a very well played tune - you kept it moving appropriately and effectively pulled the music out of a fairly simple melody. I enjoyed this very much.
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Event 14. Grade 4 Piping - Piobaireachd (Ground and Next Variation) Placing: 3. Ray Morrison - USA Tunes: The Middling Spree Judge: James MacHattie Well set pipe, though E and F a bit sharp. Very steady drones. Good bold pace to the ground. Consistent all through. I would prefer a bit more phrase definition - particularly at the end of phrases, but you were consistent in your treatment. Variation 1 very strong - you keep it moving well, which is necessary in this tune. Solid and steady. Well done!
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Event 14. Grade 4 Piping - Piobaireachd (Ground and Next Variation) Placing: 4. Max Middleton - New Zealand Tunes: The Glen is Mine Judge: James MacHattie Well set pipe, and very well blown all through. Pace a bit on the slow side for my taste - for phrasing purposes (and to keep the tempo going), try not to hold the long note at the end of the first, third and fifth bars as long as the end of the second, fourth and sixth bars. Very good clear edres, and distinct grips. You played the second phrase of the second line twice... Very well played ground. Variation one - I don't hold the E after the high As nearly as long as you do - I find it slows down the tune and makes it harder to define phrases. At any rate, the E should not be as long as the note at the end of the bar. You were very consistent all through, though. A well presented and thoughtful tune - maybe could use a bit more spark in tempo. Well done.
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Event 14. Grade 4 Piping - Piobaireachd (Ground and Next Variation) Placing: 5. Dagmar Pesta - Germany Tunes: The Little Spree Judge: James MacHattie Excellent contrast to the groupings of three right from the start. Pipe fairly well set - watch out for some flatness on D and E in particular though. Grips could be a bit more consistent - be careful on the way back up from the low G to be clean, especially at the end of lines. Edres quite strong. That odd final phrase of the ground was well presented. Good contrast of tempo into ground doubling. Drones not staying perfectly together - possibly relaxed blowing? Tempo dropping by the end of the line - keep it moving! Consistent presentation of the variation - well phrased. 1st variation a bit slow. I'd prefer slightly shorter connecting notes. Just a tiny choke right at the end... A very well put together tune. Maybe just move it along a little quicker. Well done.
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Event 15. Grade 4 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Josh Whitson - USA Tunes: P/M Joe Wilson Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade Pipe good, nice clean fingers, watch not to slow down 2nd part (F doubling breaking time). A musical tune, enjoyable to listen to - great work.
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Event 15. Grade 4 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Matthew Fleek - USA Tunes: Archie Beag Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade Nice relaxed jig rhythym. The odd crossing noise creeping in 2nd and 4th parts in particular. Birls not always 100% - good listening though, enjoyed this tune.
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Event 15. Grade 4 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Christian Haerinck - Canada Tunes: Glasgow City Police Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade Lively tempo. Watch D gracenote to C 1st part - some catches at times. nice pipes. 4th part second line A instead of B? In general a complete performance with good jig rythym, well done.
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Event 15. Grade 4 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Andrea Huber - Austria Tunes: The Banjo Breakdown Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade One of my favourites! Good start, try to get a little more 'lilt' into the expression, at times this was a little round. Nicely fingered 1st 2 parts, some chirps and crossing noises 3rd part and missed taps last part. Nice tune overall on a steady pipe, well done.
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Event 15. Grade 4 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 5. Dagmar Pesta - Germany Tunes: Paddy's Leather Breeches Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade Solid start, nice jig rhythm. Watch accuracy of fingering 3rd part (2nd line), this is a tricky part! Small error 4th part. Pipes were pretty good , tenors not quite together to my ear. Well done overall though, a pretty good performance.
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Event 15. Grade 4 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 6. Stephen Ladd - Australia Tunes: The Glasgow City Police Pipers Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade Good effort here. Drones not quite in from start, tempo probably a little on the brisk side. Getting the occasional crossing noise and watch those Hi A strikes, a feature of this tune. Lively performance marred a little by the technical issues mentioned above. Good effort.
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Event 16. Grade 3 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Edmund Boland - Eire Tunes: Pipe Major Wm Gray's Farewell, Caledonian Canal, The Brown Haired Maid. Judge: Robert Mathieson March - good general execution and musical flow. Your C doublings are weak. Rushing a bit in the 2nd part more deliberate and defined phrasing would help here. You tend to rush off the last note of the part ending. Strathspey - a more defined break would help presentation. The accent and pointing is not strong enough for this idiom. You have a good understanding of the time signature but it tends to be a tad round. Reel - again rushing through the phrases a bit in the first part. 2nd part and therefore very good. Overall this is a very musical performance.
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Event 16. Grade 3 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Max Middleton - New Zealand Tunes: Atholl & Breadalbane Gathering, Caledonian Canal, Sound of Sleet Judge: Robert Mathieson Great fingerwork and execution. I feel you are being a tad careful and holding back at times. Think more about the question and answer in the two bar phrase. This will help you deliver the melody in a much more dynamic way. The third part slightly slow and getting a bit even - putting too much emphasis on the right foot. Much better phrasing in the last part. Strathspey - the third pulse is too strong. In the triple runs sometimes the middle note disapears altogether better in the last part. Reel - nice playing here. Watch the E to F cut - lacking clarity. Your birrls are slurring slightly. Bagpipe very good.
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Event 16. Grade 3 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Dagmar Pesta - Germany Tunes: Glen Caladh Castle / Highland Harry / Kalabakan Judge: Robert Mathieson March - good phrasing and nice melodic presentation. Minor slip in the 1st part. 2nd part - watch the part endings. The bottom hand clarity needs improvement especially the short D in bar 7. I am hearing C to E crossing noises and the tempo slowing down. Strathspey - is very hesitant and laboured. The taurlauth and D throw especially are holding up the melodic flow. Last part very eratic and losing composure. Reel - the D throw is too big and stopping the tune getting going rhythmically. Tired blowing toward the end.
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Event 16. Grade 3 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. John Campbell - Wales Tunes: The Atholl & Breadalbane Gathering Caledonian Canal and Bessy McIntyre Judge: Robert Mathieson March - the birrls are being slurred. The C doublings in the first part are lacking clarity and definition. Try and think more of the two bar phrase. Some birrls are being missed altogether eg. last bar second part. More light and shade effect required. Sometimes the laboured embellishments are holding up the melodic flow. Strathspey - too even more dance idiom required. Triple runs not always sounding the middle notes. More cut and snap would help the overall effect. The passing notes are too large at times. Reel - very hesitant rhythmically. Missed High A grip. The phrasing is very disjointed - let it flow more. Pipes sharp on top hand.
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Event 16. Grade 3 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 5. Harold Cummingw - USA Tunes: Kantara To El Arish, Shepherd's Crook, Blackberry Bush Judge: Robert Mathieson Technically you are playing well. Musically you are not letting go and deliverring the melody confidently. March - the phrasing and style is a bit ploddy. More drive with light and shade required. It sounds like you are accenting on the right foot as well as the left creating a somewhat mechanical effect. You are also rushing the part endings at times especially birrls. D doubling is too big and drawn out. You are playing a wrong note in bar 4 of the 4th part - it should be a C before the D strike not a low A. Strathspey - very slow and laboured. A strathspey is a dance and this would be difficult to dance to. The cut and snap effect is the most important element of this time signature. D throws are lacking in clarity. Reel - much better musically here although you miss some gracings in the G,D,E's - again D throws are an issue.
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Event 16. Grade 3 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 6. Huber Karina - Austria Tunes: Donald MacLean´s farewell to Oban, Captain Colin Campbell, Captain Lachlan MacPhail of Tiree MSR Judge: Robert Mathieson March - watch the C doublings they are lacking in definition. I am noticing your finger posture is a contributing factor - you are curling your D finger around the chanter. This makes D gracings much more difficult. Hence why you are missing the D gracing in many of the tachumms. Birrl slight slurring. D throw too drawn out and laboured. Strathspey - the first B strike is too drawn out and deliberate. You need to sound all three notes in the triple runs. The middle note disapears sometimes. Some false fingerring and crossing noises in the 4th part. Reel - the G,D,E's are not flowing within the rhythmic groove of this melody. You are tending to play too stilte and too much stacato effect. Mistake in the very last bar. Tired blowing during the reel.
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Event 16. Grade 3 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Alexander Radionov - Russia Tunes: The Drunken Piper, Captain Colin Campbell, Colonel MacLeod Judge: Robert Mathieson March - tempo too slow. Taurluath not technically correct - I cannot the low G in this embellishment. The D throws are very sluggish and laboured. You have a tendancy to rush some passages. The phrasing needs to be balanced more. The third part is very eratic and lacking in rhythmic definition. Strathspey - too even and not showing any light and shade. You need to focus more on the dance idiom. The triple runs are not sounding the middle note at times. Mistake in third part. Reel - you need to point this melody more. Mistakes in second part. The thid part is better but you are rushing the part endings. Pipes sharp on top hand.
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Event 17. Grade 3 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Max Middleton - New Zealand Tunes: John D. Burgess Judge: James P. Troy Good control of tempo and phrasing. Maybe just a bit unsettled until the 2nd time through of the first part. Be sure the first dotted High G in first bar is the same length every time. Some of the 16th notes in 2nd part just getting a bit lost-be sure to get the full duration there even though they are the smallest note of the group of three. (2nd bar especially) Very nice, accurate techniqe overall. Some G gracenotes could use a bit more 'bite' to them. Tempo in 3rd and 4th just losing a bit of steam. In the 4th part, be sure to get the full 3 sound birl by making sure to land the Low A 100% before the first tap of the birl. Excellent grip sound here! Very nicely played overall! Well tuned instrument and nice feel for the music. High A just a tad scratchy. Well done Max and keep it up!
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Event 17. Grade 3 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Huber Karina - Austria Tunes: Farewell to the Creeks 6/8 March Judge: James P. Troy NIce lively tempo-maybe just a touch pushed. Some clarity of 6/8 rhythm just being lost in 3rd bar of 1st part on the A, C, E grouping. Just cutting the C 16th note in the 2nd bar of the 3rd part a bit aggressively. Be sure to get the full 16th note durataion there. Just watch the ending of the first phrase of the 4th part. Try not to jump off the Low A onto the next downbeat. Excellent clarity of technique overall-I think you could make it even more accurate with an ever so slightly slower tempo-especially at the beginning. Very well tuned instrument. HIgh G just a touch sharp to the rest of the chanter. Very well done Karina and keep it up!
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Event 17. Grade 3 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Gabriel Llamosa - Mexico Tunes: Pibroch of Donald Dhu Judge: James P. Troy Very nice lively tempo to start! NIce control of the 6/8 rhythms also. Watch the very end of the 4th bar to keep that last group the same shape as the others. The dotted note here not quite as long as the others. Good clarity to technique overall. Doublings in the 3rd part could be just opened up slightly to get even more clarity there. Also. some D throws could have a bit more Low G to fill out the movement in the ending phrase. Grip in 4th part just slightly muffled 2nd time through.Try to cut the Low G into two equal parts with the D gracenote there. Excellent feel and control overall. NIcely tuned instrument-drones just ever so slightly sharp to the chanter. Well done Gabriel and keep it up!
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Event 17. Grade 3 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. John Campbell - Wales Tunes: Major John McLennan Judge: James P. Troy Nicely controlled 6/8 rhythm at the start. Tempo might be just a bit on the reserved side. Very nice, accurate technique overall. Some grips not quite as clear as others in 2nd part- especially going into the ending phrase. Try to cut the Low G into two equal parts with the D gracenote. The C's with D gracenotes on them that reoccur in the tune are just being clipped slightly. Try to get a bit mre clarity there on the gracenote. 3rd part tempo dipping slightly and losing some steam. Just watch the control of the 6/8 rhythm pattern in 4th. Just not quite as accurate as the rest of the tune. Excellent control overall-this tune would benefit from just an ever so slight increase in tempo to really bring the 'swing' out of the 6/8 idiom. Very well tuned instrument! Well done John and keep it up!
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Event 17. Grade 3 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 5. Edmund Boland - Eire Tunes: Donald Maclean of Lewis Judge: James P. Troy Very lively tempo to start.-maybe just ever so slightly pushed. Excellent control of the 6/8 idiom once the tempo was settled in. Very good clarity to technqique overall. Some E strikes just losing a bit of fullness as you went through the tune. Be sure to get a full 16th note before the strikes themselves-giving you a good set up note to land the strike 100% every time. You could also just open up the E doubling just a bit-try to get more space between the two gracenotes for even more clarity. Also, try not to anticipate the first tap of the ending phrase birl-just a bit early at times. Tempo just a bit less settled in 3rd than the rest of the tune. In the 4th, try to get just a touch more Low A in the 3 sound birl to fill out the movement. Nicely tuned instrument-bit of a High A 'scratch' just a bit distracting. Very well done Edmund and keep it up!
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Event 17. Grade 3 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 6. Harold Cummingw - USA Tunes: Farwell To The Creeks Judge: James P. Troy Good control of 6/8 rhythm patterns and phrasing Tempo might be just a bit on the reserved side. Excellent clarity of technique overall-some D throws could use juat a touch more Low G to fill out the movement-especiallly in the first part. Also, some gracenotes in the first part just a tad unclear at times. (first bar) Tempo just slowing slightly in 3rd and 4th parts. 2nd phrase in the 4th part not quite finished 100%, just jumped onto the next downbeat a bit prematurely. Excellent playing-very clear technique and this tune would benefit from just a slightly livelier tempo while keeping the same degree of clarity in the embellishments. Very nicely tuned instrument! Well done Harold and keep it up!
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Event 17. Grade 3 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Dagmar Pesta - Germany Tunes: Angus MacKinnon Judge: James P. Troy NIce lively tempo start and nice control of 6/8 rhythm overall. Some of the 16th notes just being clipped a little and losing a bit of clarity in the first part-especially in the 2nd bar. Be sure that the E and B strikes in the ending phrase are balanced-the notes before the strikes themselves should be the same duration. Very nice clarity to technique overall. Tempo in 3rd part just losing a bit of steam. Be sure to get the grip in the 3rd bar to be as full as possible by getting to the first Low G of the movement 100%. Again, some 16th notes in the 4th part just being a bit aggressively clipped. Watch C to E transtitions-at times you were getting a very slight catch there. Excellent doublings throughout! NIce chanter sound-the drones were just a touch sharp to the chanter. Just a a slightly flatter tuning of the drones and the pipes will be right on! Very good playing and feel for the 6/8 idiom! Well done Dagmar and keep it up!
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Event 18. Grade 3 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Edmund Boland - Eire Tunes: The Glasgow City Police Pipers. Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Well done! Excellent timing and control throughout performance. Watch you don't come off the beat as 3rd part was pushed right from the start. Finish the GDE and wait to go to next beat instead of finishing the GDE early and then jumping early to next beat which pulls you out of the rhythm. You bagpipe is solid and I believe just underblown as the Hi A had craw and no ring. Try blowing over craw or blunt the tip of your reed by gently squeezing blades together and run the along your thumb or light sandpaper until desired sound achieved. Keep practicing and enjoyed listening to you!
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Event 18. Grade 3 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Max Middleton - New Zealand Tunes: The Old Wife in the Mill Dust Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Nice job on a sweet sounding instrument! I liked your tempo however you were missing technique such as GDE's. I would like you to start by paying more attention to putting notes and gracenotes right on the beat as you occasionally jumped early. This causes you to rush and come out of rhythm (time). You have great hands and a good sense of music. Slow down, find the beat (and stay on it!) and sky's the limit. Keep your foot tapping and put the music to the beat not the beat to your music! Show excellent potential! Get er done!
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Event 18. Grade 3 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. John Campbell - Wales Tunes: Corkhill Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Enjoyable performance on a nice instrument not quite locked into the low A. Your tempo was appropriate and consistent throughout however there were some areas where you were ahead of the beat causing a pushed feeling (loss of control) which usually leads to missed technique. Your GDE's have the appropriate spacing between the gracenotes however there were some occasions where you jumped as in the GDE's leading to the D throw at part endings where you jumped to the G Gracenote of the GDE's and then jumped right to the D throw following. Finish the GDE then put the Low G of the D throw on the next beat. Also, the last set of GDE\s in the first part, secondt time through had the same type of pushed rhythm. In the last part of the jig I felt you came off the Hi A\s to C strikes and E to C strikes too early which again created a loss of control or pushed presentation. Take the time and use it and watch how easy bagpiping really is! Keep up the hard work!
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Event 18. Grade 3 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Loo Zhi En - Singapore Tunes: Duncan the Gauger Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Overall nice performance! You have very consistent timing and you understand the technique. Your bagpipe could be in better tune with Low A to enhance your presentation. Your strikes and gracenotes are a bit big throughout and I am not certain you are playing with loose hands which will provide you with more "ease of motion" about the chanter. Your B strikes seem heavy and laboured which gives me the impression you are tense. Ease up and let your fingers float over to the next note. (I see piano in background and not being a pianist it appears to me that you push down for accents where bagpipers move our fingers upward being the opposite approach!). Very enjoyable performance and you show excellent promise! Keep up the hard work!
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Event 18. Grade 3 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 5. Gabriel Llamosa - Mexico Tunes: Cutting bracken Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Good job! Solid tempo throughout played with lots of confidence. Try to make your gracenotes a little smaller (not tighter) as your GDE's sound as if the gracenotes are on top of one another. Wait for the beat as you need the time to go from note to note. An example is in the 1st part with the Low G to Low A GDE into the B to Low G GDE where you jump from one set of GDE into the next instead of utilizing the time given between the beats. Keep up the good work!
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Event 18. Grade 3 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 6. Alexander Radionov - Russia Tunes: Kenny Gilles of Portalong, Skye Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Nicely done! Tempo was a bit aggressive for where I feel you are at as you pushed the beat in certain places creating a pushed feel which detracts from the presentation. An example is the ending GDE's to the birl. Finish the GDE and wait for next beat striking the first Low G of the birl right on the beat. Slow tune down until you feel completely comfortable executing this and gradually bring the tempo back up. You look like you are keeping a consistent beat with your foot now ensure you are playing the notes right on your beat. Again some hesitation in the 3rd and 4th parts lead me to believe that either tune not quite polished enough from a memory point of view or the tempo is just too fast to allow you the time to place gracenotes and notes right on the beat. If you are missing technique or feeling tension while you are playing it is a good indication that tempo may not be appropriate. Pipe was solid and blown steady throughout Hi A blown a tad sharp at times. Keep up the good work and I loved the shadow mirror in your video!
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Event 18. Grade 3 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Huber Karina - Austria Tunes: The Banjo Breakdown Jig Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Nice performance! Your timing is quite good however you are making several crossing noises when ging from bottom hand to top hand and while going from E Strikes to Hi A Strikes in last part (i hear a Low A which is the Crossing Noise in this exchange for example). Appropriate tempo and nice solid instrument played with confidence. Ensure your gracenotes are not too big (lifted off chanter too high) as your C doublings lost clarity with the two gracenotes on top of one another. Keep them small (not tighter!!) which will give you the time you need to make them clearer. Keep up the good work!
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Event 18. Grade 3 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Harold Cummingw - USA Tunes: Troy's Wedding Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Good Job! Solid tempo which was consistent throughout. Your pipe seems okay however I felt drones were not quite tuned together and were close to Low A but not right on. You have lovely D Doublings at end of first lines however the part ending to the D Throws were laboured on the note after the E Strike and then pushed to the D Throw. Take all the time that is given to establish a nice consistent rhythm. Your GDE's could be better by ensuring the G gracenote is right on the beat. Some false fingering going up from B to Hi A to C to HI A strike phrase. Check your music for this tune as I believe in the 3rd part you are playing an E at the end of Line 1 instead of a D? In the 4th part I believe the second ending F to D to Low A combination shoud be a B and not a Low A also? Enjoyable performance keep up the hard work!
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Event 18. Grade 3 Piping - Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Dagmar Pesta - Germany Tunes: Glasgow City Police Pipers Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Good effort! You have a nice feel for the tune and you play your pipes with poise! Overall I would like to see you slow the tune down and put everything right on the beat. You played ahead of the beat which cause some dirty technique such as your GDE's. There is also some false fingering in the 2nd and 4th parts with the C to Hi A strike to Low A (not putting bottom hand back to Low A when you go to top hand!). Keep up the good work!
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Event 19. Grade 3 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Edmund Boland - Eire Tunes: Colonel Lathams Fancy.
Judge: Matt Turnbull A Fun Interpretation! A very unusual way to play a Hornpipe, very much in the uilleann pipe tradition and not heard much on the boards. You had a good flow with just the right forward impetus, and yet that rambling pace that is such a characteristic of the Irish Hornpipe tradition. As for technique, I found your pipe not to have that solid chanter sound (warbling), perhaps a function of varying pressure on the pipe bag? Some notes not blown in fully, rendering a flattish and wobbly sound. Technique ""loose"" but appropriate and well, fun. The only real quibble would be that you're not sounding the birl fully (I am not hearing both low A's between the low G strikes/slides). A Fine, Fun Tune, Well Done!
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Event 19. Grade 3 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Max Middleton - New Zealand Tunes: Lucy Cassidy Judge: Matt Turnbull A powerful and confident tune. I think some of your execution faults come from you pushing ahead of the beat.. That is, your fingers are falling behind the beat. You are crushing your birls, that is I am not hearing both low G's clearly. You also tend to square some of your phrases (play them even), had a crossing noise in the 3rd part, and displayed a lack of clear gracings in your 4th part. Good tune overall, nice instrument, a bit overblown on the bottom register. Very Good!
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Event 19. Grade 3 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Harold Cummingw - USA Tunes: Jim Tweedie's Sea Legs Judge: Matt Turnbull Nice precision! A very measured, exacting and well-timed tune, albeit slow. You have a fine grasp of this piece. Very nice birls! Your syncopation is slightly askew, you missed some doublings, and rushed some tachums. Musically, I thought you could capture the back of the beat more... that upbeat feeling if you will; this would add some extra flair. Good Work!
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Event 19. Grade 3 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Steve Joubert - South Africa Tunes: Crossing the Minch Judge: Matt Turnbull A good tune. You had a nice steady pace, that settled better after the 1st part. There were some suspect hand-to-hand changes. Your birls came through better by the last part. You went off in the 3rd part and also had a crossing noise. I find your chanter a tad sharp on the top hand, overblowing? Some of your movements are robbing time away from the rhythmic patchwork of the composition. A Good Solid Effort!
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Event 19. Grade 3 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 5. John Campbell - Wales Tunes: Gordon MacRae's Favourite Judge: Matt Turnbull A Robust Tune! You had a good spry tempo with a nice clear crisp chanter sound. I found some of your short notes (on the run downs) are disappearing, leading to missing rhythm patterns. Your shakes at the end of parts were a bit jammed. And, you had some crossing noises along with skirling on your birls.. overblowing? Still, a spirited presentation, Good Work!
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Event 19. Grade 3 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 6. Dagmar Pesta - Germany Tunes: Duncan Johnstone Judge: Matt Turnbull A very steady approach on a nice pipe. You had some execution points stealing so much time that you are not able to sustain your tempo. Your strikes on D are not quite crisp enough along with other technical work that is getting in the way of your flow. Solve these minor technical problems and you will find this tune's zeitgeist. You can hear this barrier to fluid momentum most pronounced in the 3rd part. A Good Effort, on a nice pipe. Good Work!
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Event 19. Grade 3 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: None. Loo Zhi En - Singapore Tunes: The Blair Highlanders Judge: Matt Turnbull A good steady tempo. Your phrasing is fairly good, but you had some crossing noises that mars the listening pleasure. Your drones were not together with the chanter which has a sharp-ish pitch. Thus, your blow and squeeze technique needs work. Some of your technique is crushed, like your strikes to B. You sped up a bit in the 3rd part. Your fingers are handling the execution. The major road to improvement would be to work on your sound. Try to feel your pipe under your arm more sympathetically... like a baby, gentle but firm. Also, avoid jerky motions as this leads to warbling. Listen for the musical pauses inside the tune, like the B's after the strikes (which need to be well sounded). These slight pauses will give you more musical accent and you'll find the tune will slip into a nice groove. A Good Effort!
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Event 20. Grade 3 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 1. Peter Hurwood - Australia Tunes: Struan Robertson's Salute Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Good sounding bagpipe. Nicely phrased ground and presentation - just watch D throws, a bit more low g to make movement heavier in piobaireachd playing. Watch the taorluath movement - all notes in movement could do with being sounded more so practice with big gracenotes, good crunluath movement. Well done
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Event 20. Grade 3 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 2. Marty McKeon - USA Tunes: Little Spree Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Good presentation overall. well done. ground and doubling - some nice phrasing. Edres a bit tight throughout. Dithis variation was slightly too round and could be a bit brighter. Tripling could be a bit brighter and 'smarter'. Tripling could be clearer and a gain a bit smarter (when you are comfortable with it) Crunluath needs to be practiced a bit clearer with larger gracenotes to achieve rythm.
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Event 20. Grade 3 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 3. Josh Whitson - USA Tunes: Too Long in this Condition Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Good balanced pipe. The opening taorluaths and through ground were slightly tight - edres could be a bit quicker throughout. Generally movements crunluaths and taorluath would benefit from some work but overall a good tune presentation on a nice bagpipe. well done.
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Event 20. Grade 3 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 4. John Campbell - Wales Tunes: Field of Gold Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Nicely played ground - slightly rushing some phrases however and losing some of the music. Good variation 1 Tripling variation played a bit square - try holding theme slightly. Crunluath requires a bit of practice holding theme note and open up gracenoting. Bagpipe well balanced - drones slightly out. Some nice playing well done.
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Event 20. Grade 3 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 5. Chris Tabram - Australia Tunes: The Field of Gold Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Slow down the ground slightly as much of the phrasing is being lost. Try also playing a heavier movement for the D throw sounding low a bit more. Is pipe a bit strong - couple of chokes coming in. Tripling could be slowed down a bit and opened up more which will help phrasing. Crunluath movement needs some practice - play the movements slowly and sound every gracenote then speed it up as at the moment they aren't being played correctly. General structure good. well done.
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Event 20. Grade 3 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 6. J David Hester - USA Tunes: Maclachlan's March (Hannay-MacAuslan) Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Some good fingering and a nice sounding pipe. I would however advise you at the moment to play the regular setting of piobaireachds and then move into some different setting. Much of the tune I dont feel is being phrased in the correct way unfortunately and taking away music from what is a fantastic piece of music. I would suggest seeking some standard piobaireachd tuition to master the structure and movements. Taorluth and crunluath for example require to be much clearer than at the moment. Master the basics and move on from there.
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Event 21. Grade 2 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Jan Belak - Germany Tunes: John MacDonald of Glencoe, Maggie Cameron, Sheepwife Judge: Niall Stewart A nicely played March in terms of both technique and timing. Nice expression and phrasing coming through. Very well played. A good intro into the Strathspey and again nice phrasing coming through. I felt the technique wasn't quite so good in the 3rd part - the doublings on E and C in particular. The strathspey rythym also suffered here but picked up again in the 4th part. Nice break to reel and showed good technique throughout. The timing was a bit erratic in places with some phrases being rushed and a tendency to play slightly ahead of the beat. Try to get into a good steady rythym and maintain it throughout. Overall, this was a very enjoyable MSR. Good bagpipe (perhaps sharp High G at times). A well controlled March and Strathspey and apart for a slight lack of composure in the Reel it was a well polished performance. Well done.
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Event 21. Grade 2 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Charlie Martin - USA Tunes: Miss Hilda Grant, John Roy Stewart, Major Manson Judge: Niall Stewart A well played March. The technique was very good throughout with a particularly impressive birl. I felt the tempo dragged slightly at times however and I would prefer to hear it flow just a bit more. Again the Strathspey was played with good solid technique but was a bit 'stilted'. I felt that, like the March, you could have allowed it to flow a bit more to try and get a bit more expression and music out of the tune. The reel had a nice tempo and rythym to it and you allowed it to flow more than the March and Strathspey. The technique was a bit tighter however, than in the the other 2 tunes. I felt the doublings in particular, could have been a bit more distinct here. Overall this was an enjoyable performance with generally good, solid technique. If you allow for a bit more expression in the March & Strathspey I feel it would improve the set as a whole. Well done!
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Event 21. Grade 2 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Graham Durant-Law - Australia Tunes: The Men of Argyll, Highland Harry, Alick C Macgregor Judge: Niall Stewart Your March had a nice swing to it and was musically played. Nice tempo. Be careful not to overpoint in places though, particularly the D throw in Bar 1 & 5, part 1 and the B taorluath at the end of part. Technique was good although a couple of minor misses came through in the parts 3 & 4. Good strathspey timing and tempo. Nice accurate fingering here too. The reel I felt was the slightly weaker tune of the whole MSR although you kept it at a steady tempo. I think you need to take some care with the technique here though, particularly some of the gracenotes. Overall a good steady performance and with a bit of work at the technique the tunes will improve further. Well done.
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Event 21. Grade 2 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Jesse Callender - USA Tunes: The 71st Highlanders, The Caledonian Canal, and Col. MacLeod Judge: Niall Stewart The March was played at a nice steady tempo which allowed all the movements and technique to be clearly heard. All doublings were accurately played. Perhaps overall the tempo could increase slightly but be careful not to let the technique suffer as a result. Nice break into the Strathspey and again a nice steady tempo although I felt you did slow down a touch in the 2nd and 3rd parts. Some of the runs HG-F-E could have been a bit clearer and I felt your throw on D was a bit too heavy. Doublings again here were very accurately played throughout. Nice Strathspey rythym coming through. Nicely into reel and although again tempo a fraction on the slow side it meant that you could be accurate with the technique. However, occasionally the Gracenotes were not timed perfectly, particularly in the last 2 bars of line 1 each part. Overall a steady performance with good doublings coming through. The technique could be sharpened up slightly with careful practice which would allow for a slight increase in tempo. Well done.
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Event 22. Grade 2 Piping - Jigs (two jigs, each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Graham Durant-Law - Australia Tunes: The Gypsy Dance and The Old Hag at the Kiln Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade 2 good tunes - solid jig playing start to finish, fingers came across as pretty clean too. Watch interruption of rhythm 3rd part , 2nd jig. Drones a little hard to hear which made chanter sound a little thin, still good enough for first!
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Event 22. Grade 2 Piping - Jigs (two jigs, each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Charlie Martin - USA Tunes: Troy's Wedding, Braes of Melinish Judge: Dr. Brendan Eade Troys Wedding - one of my favourites, watch clarity of throw on D in first part. 2nd part good, 3rd breaking time in places, interrupted the flow. 4th solid. Braes of Mellinish - again some rhythm disturbance at times. SOlid tunes though, wee choke last part. Good effort.
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Event 23. Grade 2 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Jan Belak - Germany Tunes: Jean Mauchline Judge: Iain MacDonald Very nice bagpipe sound at outset. Good quality of drone sound and a nice balance. The B to B taorluath is a little inconsistent at the outset, but the tune is flowing well and nicely expressed. There are little places where your sound is surging…D and High A are either set a little sharp or overblown/B flattish…but generally good. Very nice birls 2nd part. Also, very good phrasing here. Nice lift. In the 3rd part, you can hear that the B to B Taorluaths are missing the 2nd low G sound. Try to capture the full sound consistently each time. This part a bit heavy sounding due to technique. 4th: Maybe hold the D in the 3rd bar a touch more? Just losing a little of the nice melodic balance there. I enjoyed the tune overall. Bagpipe drone sound and tuning a highlight, and a nicely expressed tune with just a couple of little areas for technical improvement. Well done!
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Event 23. Grade 2 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Graham Durant-Law - Australia Tunes: Murdo Mackenzie of Tooradin Judge: Iain MacDonald I'm loving the scenery. Good start to the tune. Pipes seem bright and in tune at start. Good flow to 1st part, and nicely expressed. It is very important to fully sound the Low A strike notes in this tune. The E strikes are "grazing" Low A mostly…not making the full-contact sound. Lovely D throw. The 2nd part sounding well. High A and drones very nice. A little shaky on blowing at end of 2nd. Just lost pressure a bit. Struggling a little with the biro in 3rd. Try to make a "big" High G gracenote at the start by lifting the finger a touch higher. Sometimes this can give you the time you need to settle the biro and get the solid Low A. Just play with the height and timing of the G gracenote to see if that can make a difference for you. The biro is such an important part of that part, it can really affect the feel overall. Liked the 4th part…quite clean and well delivered. I think there might be some G gracenotes missing here and there throughout the tune that would give it a stronger overall feel Pipes and presentation a real strength here, and a nice melodic flow to the tune. Things to think about would be the timing/articulation of the 3rd part biros, and maybe the gracenotes. Very enjoyable!
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Event 23. Grade 2 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Charlie Martin - USA Tunes: Dunvegan's Return Judge: Iain MacDonald Big, crisp bagpipe sound to start, and a good entry to tune. Nice tempo starting out, and a good, melodic swing. There are a couple of places where the clarity is lacking on bottom-hand articulation. You might want to slow some of that work down, re-position things, and then speed up and re-apply. Slight C to E crossing notes in 2nd part. Blowing surges a bit at times…overblowing High A. Still, a nice melodic swing and steady tempo as you progress through the tune. The 4th part has some parts, like the 1st, where the clarity is missing. I wonder if you have too much tension in the hands at times….pushing too hard. For example, the F strike is tight, and might be nicer if softer. It's not fitting in rhythmically. Overall, an enjoyable tune on a pretty nice bagpipe. Good melodic flow and a steady tempo, along with mostly appropriate pulsing. Areas to focus on would be the overall hand tension, bottom-hand articulation, and refining the balance of the pipe chanter with tuning and pressure. Well done!
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Event 23. Grade 2 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Tripp Bishop - USA Tunes: The MacNeils of Ugadale Judge: Iain MacDonald Pretty nice sound off the start. Pipes are pleasant and nicely in tune. Thought that maybe you jumped in a littler too fast. Some technique and dot/cut timings not coming out 100%. Your playing is pretty steady and flowing along, but there are a number of places where you rush a phrase or a beat, and the tune has a slightly erratic feels at times. I think you might be able to do a better job of this tune at a slower tempo. There are some tricky bits of hand-change and technique that you're not quite able to articulate at this speed, and I think you'd be better off to be slower and more precise. The 3rd part loses the flow and rhythm a little. There are note timings there that aren't being expressed correctly, and it's affecting the flow. While your drones were generally pleasant and in tune overall, they were fairly discordant with the low A throughout, especially as the tune progressed. Overall, lots of positives here, just needs some refining of the finger technique and maybe a slightly slower tempo at this point. Well done!
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Event 24. Grade 2 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Graham Durant-Law - Australia Tunes: Tam Bain's Lum Judge: James P. Troy Very nice and feel for this tune. Tempo might be just a shade reserved, but very nice control! Very accurate and consistent technique throughout the tune. Some dotted 16th-32nd note relationships a bit 'squarish' at times. You can get a touch more out of the dots in some spots, without changing the duration of the 32nd note. The 32nd note 'set-up' notes before the peles in the 4th part could be a little more accurate-some just a bit hard to pick out. NIcely set up instrument-very good, solid chanter sound. Excellently played H/P-a touch more tempo and it would be even better! Well done Graham!
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Event 24. Grade 2 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Charlie Martin - USA Tunes: Tom Bain's Lum Judge: James P. Troy Very lively tempo and swing to the hornpipe feel. Some very slight crossing noises in the 2nd part when transitioning between the hands. Overall, very nice, clear execution. Some peles in losing a bit of accuracy in 4th part-try to get an equal amount of space between the gracenotes (especially the G and E) in these movements. Also, the 32nd notes before these movements could be thought of as 'set-up" notes for these movements-also make sure these are the same length every time. Very well tuned instrument-High G is just ever so slightly sharp to the rest of the chanter. Really nice music. Well done Charlie!
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Event 24. Grade 2 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Jan Belak - Germany Tunes: Tam Bain's Lum Judge: James P. Troy Nice control and phrasing. Tempo initially maybe just a touch reserved. Some very slight crossing notes coming through in the 2nd and 3rd parts. Very clear and accurate technique overall though. Some gracenote spacing in the pele movements not quite the same every time. Very good relationship between the dotted 16th notes and 32nd notes overall-some spots in the 2nd part where it was just a bit 'squarish'-losing a bit of the swing. Be sure to give the final 8th note in the 2nd bar of the 3rd part (F doubling) its full value. Just a bit short and anticipating the downbeat in the following bar. Very nicely tuned instrument-High G just a shade sharp to the rest of the chanter. Well done Jan!
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Event 24. Grade 2 Piping - Hornpipe (at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Tripp Bishop - USA Tunes: The Man From Skye Judge: James P. Troy Good lively tempo to start. Some spacing of the gracenotes in the 3rd and 4th bars could be a little more accurate in the 1st and 2nd parts. Be sure to give the very last note in the 4th bar (D throw) it's full 8th note value every time. It just sounded like it was a touch short, and anticipating the next downbeat in the following bar. Very nice clarity to technique overall-some spacing of the G and F gracenotes in E doublings just a bit tight at times. Try to get a bit more initial 'bite' from the G gracenote in the doubling for just a bit more clarity. Good lively tune. Chanter is just a tad sharp to the drones overall. Well done Tripp!
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Event 25. Grade 2 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 1. J David Hester - USA Tunes: Sister's Lament: Hannay-MacAuslan Judge: Matt Turnbull What a Lovely , nuanced style for this tune! Gnd - I felt you laid down a nice pulse, tho' for my ear the echo beats could display more similarities with each other. My main observation of your ground is that you tend to emphasize both the lead, along with the trailing notes of your phrases. For a listener, I felt this leads to an ambiguous patchwork and not a cohesive, comprehensive statement. If you relaxed the start of your phrases making sure you keep your punctuation at the end, I think you'd have more of a driving, intense urlar. Var 1 - I thought you endeavored to combine phrases in a fluid manner, though for my taste you were a bit severe with some of your note groupings, i.e. tumble downs. Var 2 - Your pace displays a nice steady gait, with your pulse yielding a nice excitement to this variation. I thought you could be less even with some of your note groups, as this squares out the variation causing an overall "bookish" sound. Old manuscripts had other reasons for writing notes in an even way, and the intent was not always meant in a strict metrical assay. Sometimes one needs to analyze the juxtapositions of phrases in and around these note patterns to glean the musicality inherent. Var 3 - A steady variation, with good execution. To my ear, you don't quite achieve a natural fluid momentum. You might try to hang at the end of each anapest (3 note groups). I am not referring to your line ends. Var 4 - Another steady variation - displaying the artistic flavor of the setting with the inverted accent of various trochees (2 note groups) deviating nicely with the regular pattern (grid). I think a smoother treatment of the short note (pick-up to the theme) would move the variation nicely. I thought that mixing in the avant-guarde heavy line ends gives an unpleasant gratuitous dichotomy to such a lovely setting. That aside, a very mature and well-intoned tune!
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Event 25. Grade 2 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 2. Charlie Martin - USA Tunes: Salute to Donald Judge: Matt Turnbull A well delivered tune. Gnd - A good ground,nicely phrased. You had some technical issues, missed G gracenote and F strike. I think if you aim for a more unified approach to your ground. The phrases are all there and very beautifully presented but You could look to tie the phrases ever so slightly together. Also, your opening C was a bit severe. Toar - A good variation, tho' I think you could look for more flow by having less on the final A of your toarluath and drifting ever so slightly to the themes. Dbl - A nice steady variation Crun - A good variation, a bit jerky with blowing, nice birls. Dbl - Better here, a good rhythmical flow. Some crunluaths a bit out of balance giving a less than optimal rhythmical balance. a well presented tune, with some technical issues, Nice Job!
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Event 25. Grade 2 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 3. edward stansfeld - scotland Tunes: Gathering of Clan Chattan Judge: Matt Turnbull A very mature & fluid tune Gnd - A very mellifluous, some slight muffs on bubbly notes. Var 1 - This was nicely punctuated and fluid at the same time. Dbl - A fairly good variation. You had some inconsistencies with lead cadences (no, not the ones to low G). I also thought you could be ever so less severe when grouping your pibroch tachums (C & B to low A) as the middle low A could be ever so more well sounded. These tachums seemed out of place, almost ceol beag-like throughout (snatching). Var 2 - A steady variation, you had a note mistake. Dbl - Better flow here, nice variation. Toar - A steady, well-delivered variation. Dbl - Nice variation, though some of your themals out of balance with their mates and you had a slight stick. Crun - A good variation, despite note mistake. Your crunluath movement is generally nice, but your hands are not matched. That is you have a dominant hand that is quicker than the other. This out-of-synch-ness is leading to some light gracings. Dbl - This variation had a hurried effect with your uneven crunluath more evident here. You went off tune and made a chirp. Generally, a well presented tune, despite the flaws, Good Effort!
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Event 25. Grade 2 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 4. Jan Belak - Germany Tunes: The Desperate Battle (of the birds). Judge: Matt Turnbull A Good Solid Effort! Gnd - A unique approach to the ground which I am not sure works well as it is usual to play the lines similarly (line 1 & line 2). Also, I am not taken with the stilted (inverted F) away from the doubling (2 high G gracenotes) on F. This overly full-sounded F gives the ground a square, indecisive feel. The ground phrases could probably be more direct if you played a solid starting E drifting through the F and a finishing on a full longer close note (high A or F). Var 1 - A good variation that solidified as you went on. Dbl - I thought you never really settled. Some notes were even while others were not giving the variation an erratic feel. You were very aggressive with your tempo and not consistent throughout. You were inconsistent with note lengths as some E's and A's were longer than others. Var 2 - A better variation, the 2nd line slowed down. I am not sure a slowing transition is as effective as one coming into the variation without any retardando effect. That is playing up tempo and putting on the brakes on when you hit the first C of this variation. Dbl - I felt you could be more sympathetic with your high A's (holding them longer), letting that note drift into your drone sound, unifying your chord structure from drones to chanter. This also has the tasteful musical effect of giving more contrast to the low hand themes, which would sound but not necessarily be shorter. Var 3 - Sped up slightly on some phrases, and some themal notes and their low A's inconsistent. Dbl - A good solid variation, missed some G gracenotes and secondary (E gracenote) not always distinct giving the variation a bit of a blurry effect. Toar - A good variation, some themes short. A'mach - Nice, some misses. Crun - A good variation, sometimes quick off of your E's. A'mach - Rhythmically great, some crushed movements. Despite my points, you play very well, this was a very god tune, but inconsistent which for a listener leads to ambiguity and confusion and eventually dislike. Look for a greater consistency throughout each variation and this tune will be hard to beat. Well done!
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Event 25. Grade 2 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 5. Tripp Bishop - USA Tunes: You're Welcome, Euan Lochiel Judge: Matt Turnbull A Good Solid Tune Gnd - A well-phrased ground, marred by some technical fluffs - not well sounded birls and a choke. Var 1 - A good expressive pace. The line closure phrase was not consistent and could be more definitive with a bold inversion of accents at the end. You had a chirp. I also think you could get more effect if you think of the variation as one long low note, punctuated with B's, D's and E's. Toar - A good steady variation, though some grace notes were missed. Crun - Some unorthodox pauses causing breaks with your flow. You also had some muffs (mistakes), missed crunluaths and your tone was no longer the best (drones out giving a dull sound). The crunluath movement is ok but could be a bit thicker. A solid tune! Good Work!
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Event 25. Grade 2 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: None. Graham Durant-Law - Australia Tunes: The MacIntosh's Banner Judge: Matt Turnbull A very musical interpretation! Gnd - A very good flow with nice phrasing, tho' I felt you could be a little less square with your lead phrases (cadence E to Low A). I also find you tend to hold the start of your phrases as long as the final note - this causes a bit of ambiguity for the listener. "Where is the start and where is the end"? This was less evident as you progressed. Excellent pace. Var 1 - A very moving interpretation marred by chirps & missing execution. A good contrast between dithis and cadence phrases. Dbl - A nice step up with your pulse here. Again, the lack of execution of secondary gracenotes hampers your flow. Toar - A good variation. Dbl - A nice contrast with singling, but your chanter has some chippy-ness on your gracenotes. Crun - A good tempo, some crunluath movements a tad too open causing your redundant A to be overlong for its function. A redundant A should almost be subliminal, the same length as the low G's. Dbl - Same observation here; the redundant is allotted too much weight. Also , you are playing your trailing E's at the end of your crunluath almost the same length as the theme notes. I think the variation would gain a better balance if you robbed the E's of that time and donated the excess to your premier notes. A most remarkable rendition, for a minute there I swore I was listening to the late great John MacFadyen. You have an excellent feel for this tune. Loved it, Well Done!
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Event 25. Grade 2 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: None. Jesse Callender - USA Tunes: Macleod of Raasay's Salute Judge: Matt Turnbull A steady tune Gnd - You have a good grasp of the ground. I thought you could be smoother with your delivery. There was some chippiness, and drones weren't quite set to chanter causing the chanter to be not as sweet as possible. You had better flow in the 2nd line though I thought you could use a bit more drive. The caesuras while appropriate seemed to hamper the natural pace & progression necessary to give musical highlighting. Toar - A good variation tho' you are not consistent with all your themals. You are holding some notes that detract from this variation's natural flow. While the notes before cadences can be musically justified, other pauses lead to a bit of confusion for the listener. Dbl - A steady variation Crun - A nice exact crunluath but again I thought your use of pauses detracted from your fluidity. Dbl - The variation had an appropriate pace, but the flow was hampered by your crunluath movement which wasn't rippling smoothly to E. Your crunluath movement seems to cause hesitation with your themal progression... A steady tune, well presented but compromised with some technical issues A good Effort!
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Event 26. Grade 1 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Ernesto Góngora - Mexico Tunes: Hugh Alexander Low of Tiree, Blair Drummond, Mrs. Proud Judge: James MacHattie Well set pipe. Steady tempo to march - maybe on the slowish side. Exceptionally clear birls! (Be careful that they don't come in a bit early at the end of parts). Strikes on F generally only go to E, not low A. Consistent approach to phrasing. Technically strong. Strath: Also well phrased. Be careful not to accelerate a little bit near the end of lines - particularly if there is a string of runs like the end of parts 3 and 5. I would prefer a bit more definition to the end of phrases (3rd beat of bars 2 and 4), but that is simply personal preference - you are very consistent. Relaxed feel to the reel all through - steady yet lively. An excellent rendition. Overall a very good set start to finish.
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Event 26. Grade 1 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Bill Peters - Canada Tunes: Clan MacColl, Dora MacLeod, Alick C MacGregor Judge: James MacHattie Pipe fairly well set - a bit sharp on top hand. Might want to add a wrap of hemp to bring it into better balance? Bold but controlled tempo. Watch for overcutting of the tachum to low G in the ending phrase. Fairly well phrased but a bit lighter nearing the end. Strath: Excellent strathspey rhythm. Technically strong. Very well played tune. Reel - good contrast to strath - nice and loose. Effective approach to GDEs in part 3. A very well played set, with the strathspey the highlight.
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Event 26. Grade 1 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Andrew Chun Kit Yu - Hong Kong Tunes: Major Manson at Clachantrushal, Arniston Castle, Alick C. MacGregor. Judge: James MacHattie Well set pipe. Bold tempo to march - well maintained. Watch for some relaxed pressure on the long low As at the end of parts. Good flow. Some little technical blips in part three - minor crossing noise, slightly inconsistent taorluath from C. Excellent presentation of part 4. Strath: well thought out phrasing. A little laboured at end of second part. Microchoke part three. Technically strong - just a few minor misses. Reel - great transition from strath, and nice relaxed feel. Outstanding approach to the GDEs in part three for variety and subtle phrasing. A solid set start to finish.
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Event 26. Grade 1 Piping - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 4. Ben GIbbons - UK Tunes: Conundrum, Maggie Cameron, kalabakan Judge: James MacHattie Well set pipe. Steady tempo to march. Consistent attention to phrasing. I feel some of the cut Fs (esp ending phrase) are overcut - keep them small, but smooth. Technically strong. Be careful not to jump off the low A starting the 4 bar of each part. Strath: also well phrased. Try not to let the emphasis on the strong beats make the weak beats shrink. Slowing a bit in part three. Top hand rising a bit. Reel - good relaxed feel. Some off-beats jumped - eg beat two - wait for the cut B. Steady and controlled otherwise! Well played set start to finish.
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Event 27. Grade 1 Piping - Jigs (two jigs, each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Ben Gibbons - UK Tunes: Banjo breakdown, cork hill Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Good performance of both jigs confidently played. Both jigs I felt could be played with more expression and this would bring out more of the musical rhythm. eg. point the first pulse a bit more to break tune from being too 'round'. Good tempo throughout.
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Event 27. Grade 1 Piping - Jigs (two jigs, each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Ernesto Góngora - Mexico Tunes: Kenny MacDonald's Jig, the Old Woman's Dance Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Good tempo in both jigs Some of the pharses were slightly erraticly played - make sure tempo is kept steady throughout. Watch F doublings in first tune - slight chirp on chater in last part. Confident playing. Bagpipe sounded like it may be a touch strong? Chanter / drones slightly unbalanced. Well done.
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Event 27. Grade 1 Piping - Jigs (two jigs, each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Andrew Chun Kit Yu - Hong Kong Tunes: Alan Mcpherson of Mospark, Piper's Bonnet Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Confident playing of both tunes and some good fingerwork. I think the tunes need to be slowed down a down a touch as some phrases are being rushed over and technique in places being lost. Slowing tunes down a bit will also help the musical rythm to come through. well done
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Event 28. Grade 1 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Peter Purvis - USA Tunes: MacNeil's of Ugadale Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Overall very well done! Your bagpipe and recording sounds as if you are right in the recording studio it is so clear! The tempo was fine however you had a tendency to push the beat in certain places disturbing the nice 6/8 swing (ie. end of first lines in parts going down to B strike or 2nd part, 2nd ending E doubling down to C tacchum to Low A). Wait for the beat and put everything in its proper place and keep the swing as you have it most of the time. I like the fact you are marching and feel that this will provide you the best mechanism for a nice consistent cadence in your march playing. You show excellent promise and your instrument was played with poise! Keep up the good work!
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Event 28. Grade 1 Piping - 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Ernesto Góngora - Mexico Tunes: Kirkhill Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Overall a very nice performance on what sounds like a full, robust bagpipe. F may be a tad sharp however the recording had some distortion to it when I was enjoying your presentation. Tempo was very consistent throughout tune and it sounds like you are trying to play with lilt(6/8 swing) however it is coming out slightly laboured at times almost slowing down the beat. Your short notes are a bit too short producing a "clip" that detracts from the "swing" you are trying to produce. I think you need to march when you play marches and this may give you everything you are looking for ensuring that your short notes are audible going from beat note to beat note. You have excellent technique and poise with the instrument. Hard to get swing while standing still! Keep up the good work and look forward to hearing more from you in the future.
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Event 29. Grade 1 Piping - Hornpipes (two hornpipes, each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Ben Gibbons - UK Tunes: raigmore, moonshine Judge: Robert Mathieson Hornpipe rhythmically not totally in the groove. A bit wooden and mechanical. Even in this style of tune there needs to be some light and shade and subtle pointing. Rushing phrase one in the 2nd part. Technically very good. Third part played well but becoming slightly frantic in the 4th part. 2nd tune great music and technically well presented - well done. Good bagpipe.
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Event 29. Grade 1 Piping - Hornpipes (two hornpipes, each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Andrew Chun Kit Yu - Hong Kong Tunes: The Man From Skye, The Train Journey North Judge: Robert Mathieson You have a good understanding of the phrasing here however when you get to the third part it becomes slightly laboured and doesn't flow in the same manner. Watch the triple gracings on C in The Train Journey North - they are far too crushed. Also the same on D in the third part. You need to open it up a little for this tempo. The whole performance was very steady in style and presentation but i find it slightly cautious. You need to let it go more. Technically you are capable of achieving this. High A flat.
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Event 30. Grade 1 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 1. Ernesto Góngora - Mexico Tunes: Lord Lovat's Lament Judge: Niall Stewart This was an enjoyable performance. The Ground was well phrased and had a nice flow to it. This continued into the Doubling. Variation 1 was also well played although I felt you could have made more of the first phrase. It came across slightly square. Having said that the tune continued to flow well here. The Taorluath and Crunluath variations need just a bit more thought. While technically very good with no missed movements, I felt it was all a bit rushed. Holding the theme note of each movement would allow a more musical flow to these variations. The singlings were too quick so you were unable to create a nice contrast of tempo between singling and doubling. I would also prefer to hear you come of the last Taorluath up to the cadence a bit quicker in the singlings. That's just a personal preference though. Overall this was a good tune. The first half of the tune in particular I enjoyed. A bit more composure and control in the 2nd half of the tune and it would lift it to another level. Well done.
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Event 30. Grade 1 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 2. William Shropshire - USA Tunes: The Battle of Auldearn No. 1 Judge: Niall Stewart You settled in nicely to the Ground and it flowed along well. Good understanding of phrasing. Technically good apart from a slight miss on a grip. Thumb Variation was good although I felt at times you were stretching out the cadences a bit too much for my liking. The doubling could also have moved along a bit more and was slightly uninspiring. The Dithis was well handled and brightly played. Nice contrast between singling and doubling. The tune is flowing nicely at this point. The Taorluath and Crunluath variations were both well played despite occasional misses on both movements. Again good contrast between singling and doublings here. Good a mach too finish. I enjoyed this tune and you managed to bring out the phrasing well. I felt it just dragged a bit in the doubling of the Thumb variation but otherwise it was well played. Some tightening up on the technique towards the end would also help improve the tune but overall, - a good performance.
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Event 30. Grade 1 Piping - Piobaireachd Placing: 3. Bill Peters - Canada Tunes: The Groat Judge: Niall Stewart The tune started well with a nice Ground. The phrasing was good and consistent. I felt the Var 1 singling was played a bit square. I would like to hear more emphasis on the theme note and also you could show the phrase endings a bit more. The doubling was better and flowed nicely. The Taorluath singling, again as in Var 1, was a bit on the square side. Theme note again needs held slightly longer. The doubling was going well but unfortunately you went off the tune in line 2, bar 3. The Crunluath variation singling and doubling was very well played with good execution of fosgailte movement. A strong finish to the tune. Overall, this was an enjoyable performance. Aside from the singlings in Var 1 and Taor the tune was expressed well. Going astray in the Taor doubling spoiled the tune a bit but you recovered and had an excellent finish.
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Event 31. Any Grade Piping - Medley (4-6 Minutes) Placing: 1. Owen Capon - Australia Tunes: Cabar Feidh, March, Strathspey, Reel, Air, Jig, Hornpipe Judge: James MacHattie Pipe very well set. March - steady tempo with plenty of drive. Minor surging (pressure) on high Gs to start part three. Technically strong. Excellent march. Strath - good strath feel in part one. A bit disrupted in second part with some of the "triplets" - GDEs or runs. Recovered the idiom for parts three and four - solid second half. Reel - great swing. Some minor tightness in part three. Jig - in the ending phrase, still try to feel the triplets when you're playing the quarter note and eighth note combinations - in parts 1,2,4 you're overholding the C, E and high A. Hornpipe - mostly settled, but some jumpy-ness creeping in, esp part 3. Very effective final part. A tough but well played medley - fun to listen to!
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Event 31. Any Grade Piping - Medley (4-6 Minutes) Placing: 2. Harold Cummingw - USA Tunes: Barren Rocks of Aden, Crossing The Minch, Little Beggar Man, Oft In The Stilly Night, Louden's Bonnie Woods and Braes, Piper Of Drummond Judge: James MacHattie Pipe well set - well blown. 2/4s generally have parts repeated. Barren Rocks quite strong though. C doubling in part 2 bar 3 a little early. Well timed birls in Crossing the Minch. Little hole coverage issue in the final part but good recovery. Good relaxed flow to Jolly Beggerman. Good attention to clarity of technique in air, especially as it progresses. Minor chokes - possibly from hole-coverage issues? Strathspey a little round - I'd prefer a bit more time on the dotted notes and less on the cut ones. Last note of runs could use a bit more time too. Good swing in the reel. A solid and enjoyable selection.
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Event 34. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers age 13 to 14 years Placing: 1. Max Middleton - New Zealand Tunes: Atholl & Bredalbane Gathering Judge: James P. Troy Really nice, lively tempo for this tune. Excellent phrasing and control off the top. Good clarity to doublings. Make sure to take your time in the 3rd and 4th bars in the 2nd part-just rushing ever so slightly here. Grips just slightly unsteady in the 3rd part. At the end of the 4th bar (B toarluath), be sure to give this 8th note its full value before getting onto the next downbeat of the next bar. Try to treat this note the same every time as it closes out the phrase strongly. NIce pace throughout tune. Really nice, bright chanter sound. Very well played march Max. Keep up the great work!
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Event 34. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers age 13 to 14 years Placing: 2. Rebecca Capon - Australia Tunes: South Hall Judge: James P. Troy Very good control of phrasing. Tempo might be just a touch on the reserved side. At the times, the High G in the 3rd bars of the parts was just a tad short. Try to get the full 32nd note value out of this note, otherwise it sounds like a gracenote. Tempo just losing a bit of steam in 3rd part. Excellent clarity to technique overall-nice crisp doublings throughout out. In the 4th part, try to get a bit more clarity on the G gracenote and Low A of the 3 sound heavy birl. You can open this movement up just a tad. Again, tempo just losing a bit of pace in the 4th part. Very steady drones-chanter just a tad flat on the top hand. Really well played march Rebecca-keep up the great work!
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Event 36. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers age 18 to 20 years Placing: 1. Andrew Coulter - USA Tunes: Arthur Bignold of Lochrosque Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Very enjoyable performance of a great tune. Good strong technique shown throughout and a good understanding of tune structure. Keep in mind the 'question & answer' style pharsing throughtout - the 3rd part was slightly erratic in places. Pipe sounded good and well balanced. Very well done.
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Event 36. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers age 18 to 20 years 21 years and older Placing: None. Harold Cummingw - USA Tunes: Kantara To El Arish Judge: Euan MacCrimmon Nicely performed tune. Tune played at right pace for now however feel you could bring more of the musical phrasing out of tune - eg, think of first line as 2 phrases which compliment each other - this is the pattern for the rest of the tune. Watch the E doublings in first part - check music as some sounded like they were missing. 2 slight slips in last part. Pipes sounded good and well balanced Well done
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Event 37. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers 21 and older Placing: 1. Ernesto Góngora - Mexico Tunes: Hugh Alexander Low of Tiree Judge: Niall Stewart I enjoyed this March. The technique was very good all the way through with good clear, relaxed fingering. The tune was played with nice touches of expression and phrasing. I just felt that a times you had a tendency to let the tempo slow down a bit. I feel a slightly brighter tempo all the way through would improve this performance. Overall though, a very good tune! Well done!
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Event 37. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers 21 and older Placing: 2. Owen Capon - Australia Tunes: The Glengarry Gathering Judge: Niall Stewart I enjoyed your performance. The March was played at a nice steady tempo and you showed nice touches of expression. I felt the tempo perhaps slowed slightly in the 3rd part but it didn't detract from the music of the tune. This is a technically challenging tune and not at all easy but all your movements were accurately played. There was perhaps the hint of a slight choke towards the end of the tune but overall it was a good solid tune. good fingering and some nice phrasing.
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Event 37. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers 21 and older Placing: 3. Josh Whitson - USA Tunes: The Edinburgh Volunteers Judge: Niall Stewart A good performance of what is quite a technically challenging tune. You controlled the tempo very well although I felt a bit more 'lift' and expression would have improved the tune. At times it felt a bit too deliberate. This will come with regular practice though. The technique was good throughout with no misses although some doublings could be tightened up a bit. A good tune - well done.
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Event 37. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers 21 and older Placing: 4. Graham Durant-Law - Australia Tunes: Men of Argyll Judge: Niall Stewart A musically played March with nice touches of expression. Overpointing perhaps in 1st part at times but the tune flowed nicely otherwise. Just some slight issues on the technical side. Take care that all the gracenotes are correctly played For example, you are playing a G Gracenote instead of E on the Low A before the B Taorluath at the end of parts. With a bit more attention to the fine detail of the technique this tune could improve with not much difficulty. Overall though, a good performance.
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Event 37. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers 21 and older Placing: 5. edward stansfeld - scotland Tunes: The Plains of Tuscany Judge: Niall Stewart This a technically demanding tune and you did a decent job of getting most of the work in. However, I felt some of the taorluaths weren't just clear enough and some of the top hand work could have been more distinct. I enjoyed your timing and phrasing of the tune though and you played it at a well controlled tempo. A good attempt at a tune which has a lot of tricky phrases in it! Well done!
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Event 37. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers 21 and older Placing: 6. Tripp Bishop - USA Tunes: Major Manson's Farewell to Clachantrushal Judge: Niall Stewart You controlled the tempo of this March very well. Just really some improvement in the technique required, particularly in the 3rd/4th parts. I felt a couple of tachums weren't quite clear enough and I prefer to hear the Low G gracenote on the Low A before the birl at the end of each part. A couple of very small chokes in the 3rd part also and a crossing noise in 4th part. Having said all that you gave a good attempt at playing the tune at the right tempo and worked hard to get music and phrasing right. A good effort. Well done.
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Event 37. P/M Alasdair Gillies Memorial Challenge 2/4 March - for pipers 21 and older Placing: None. Angus Nixon - South Africa Tunes: Arthur Bignold of Lochrosque Judge: Niall Stewart Not an easy tune and I felt you started off at too fast a tempo and this continued throughout the tune. Playing at a slower tempo would help you express the tune a bit more and it would also help your technique. The tune lacked expression as you were not putting any emphasis on the 1st beat of each bar. Try to pull out the phrases of the tune more. The technique at times was good although I felt your double E needs work. Try to make sure we can hear 2 distinct gracenotes. Keep working at the timing in particular and the tune will improve.
Solo Side Drum Events:
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Event 101. Beginner Drum Pad 3/4 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Paul Connolly - England Tunes: green hills of tyrol Judge: Gordon Craig Intro roll duration good but try to smooth out your pulsation. A bit uneven at times. Nice lively tempo, sustained and controlled throughout the performance. All movements quite cleanly executed.Try to get a little more phrasing into the execution of the seven roll triple t and flam movement. There a bit flat in expression. Try starting quieter and playing in cessendo to the flam.The will enable the score to flow better with the melody and give it musical presentation. Finally, try to let your fve stroke single movement flow more off your hands, they sound too controlled. You have very good ability and with guidance and work you be a strong confident drummer
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Event 101. Beginner Drum Pad 3/4 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 2. Ben McDonald - New Zealand Tunes: 3/4 March, Ben McDonald Judge: Gordon Craig Duration of both intro rolls good. Pulsations could be smoother and maybe played a bit faster. Furst two parts quite well played abd with a steady tempo. 3rd Part triplet movement isn`t flowing correctly and behind in tempo. as was the 4th partrolling movement. your flam work is quite good but your right hand flam is not always clean. Tripletmovements are overplayed in weight at times and you lose a little control. Quite a well presented performance. Continue to work and listen to your tuitor as you have very good potential.
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Event 101. Beginner Drum Pad 3/4 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 3. Connor Blakely - New Zealand Tunes: 3/4 (Dawning of the Day), Connor Blakely Judge: Gordon Craig Intro roll duration good. Pulsations are forced and uneven, especially your right hand . Try for a smoother presentation. You controlled the tempo quite well throughout with the exception of the last part where you dragged the tempo of your rolling movements. The execution of your flam work is not always clean and clear, so more attention to detail there required.. Good triplet control. You have a nice relaxed playing style, just need a bit more confidence in the execution of the scores . You have very good potential just needs practise.
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Event 102. Beginner Drum Pad 4/4 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Ben McDonald - New Zealand Tunes: 4/4 March, Ben McDonald Judge: David Bowman Nicely set tempo. Good triplet subdivision of introductor rolls. Always try to keep in mind the height of your playing surface. It looks a bit high for you here. Your elbow should be at a 90 degree angle or slightly lower when playing. This will help prevent tension and injury in the future! Great playing weights throughout. Good punch, but also dropping down in to the soft end of dynamic range when need be. Very effective. Keep up the good work Ben! Look at the open 5 stroke single movement and start to think about using more fingers. Well done!
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Event 102. Beginner Drum Pad 4/4 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 2. Connor Blakely - New Zealand Tunes: 4/4 March, Connor Blakely Judge: David Bowman Well paced rolls, good triplet subdivision. Be sure when playing your drum pad or drum to always keep in mind the height of your playing surface. It looks as though the playing surface is a bit too low for you here, causing you to reach down. Your elbow should be at a 90 degree angle or slightly lower when playing. This will help prevent tension and injury in the future! Nice uptake to march. Great swing and syncopation. Good use of hand-to-hand movements. One thing to watch out for might be your right hand grip. It looks a little choked. Try to relax and create some space in the hand if possible. Well done Connor!!
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Event 102. Beginner Drum Pad 4/4 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 3. Paul Connolly - England Tunes: Scotland the brave Judge: David Bowman Nice uptake to march. Very nice roll quality, good smooth pulses throiughout. A bit aggressive in terms of tempo, a little more relaxed approach might allow for better phrasing and dynamics. Very similar to 79th Farewell score. Always try to seek out 'custom' settings wherever possible as opposed to 'standard' settings. This makes for a much more enjoyable performance for the listener. Watch the open triplet single movement - a bit overbearing. Need to relax here! One thing to look at would be your right hand grip. I see that the thumb and pointer finger are at times the only fingers on the stick. I would encourage you to work on keeping your middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger (optional) on the stick as well. This will create more stability in your grip and allow for more advanced execution as it's these fingers in the back of the hand that do the majority of hte work with finger control. Well done Paul!
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Event 103. Beginner Drum Pad 2/4 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Paul Connolly - England Tunes: 79 farewell to gibraltar Judge: David Bowman Nice uptake to march. Very nice roll quality, good smooth pulses throiughout. A bit aggressive in terms of tempo, a little more relaxed approach might allow for better phrasing and dynamics. Great syncopation in ending phrase. Good use of hand-to-hand work. One thing to look at would be your right hand grip. I see that the thumb and pointer finger are at times the only fingers on the stick. I would encourage you to work on keeping your middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger (optional) on the stick as well. This will create more stability in your grip and allow for more advanced execution as it's these fingers in the back of the hand that do the majority of hte work with finger control. Well done Paul!
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104. Grade 5 Side Drumming 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Fraser Bishop - Scotland Tunes: Sweet Maid of Glendaruel Judge: David Bowman Well set tempo. Watch that you aren't crashing in to your introductory rolls too heavy. Try to play these flat and smooth across. Swinging well with piper. Very nice settings to tune. Well tuned drum. Watch your open single - over accenting at times. I think relaxing the weight here could clcean things up quite a bit. the odd flam being overplayed as well, creating some 'flat' flams. Excellent roll passages in the 4th part. Executing all rudiments very well. Excellent scores. GREAT drum and even better background. Well done Fraser!!
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Event 104. Grade 5 Side Drumming 2/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Anael Hester - USA Tunes: Walter Douglas Judge: David Bowman Enthusiastic introduction! Well set tempo and nice execution of your introductory rolls. Good smooth sound throughout. Very nice timing in your march playing. So relaxed and musical. Very nice stuff. One recommendation would be to seek out some 'custom' scores for competition as opposed to 'standard' settings. You've definitely got the ability to execute all of your fundamentals at a high level. Excellent support for pipes.... or should I say... perfect :) ! Keep up the great work here Anael - LOADS of potential. Thanks!
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Event 105. Grade 5 Side Drumming 4/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Connor Blakely - New Zealand Tunes: 4/4 March, Connor Blakely Judge: Gordon Craig Intro duration good but pulsations were forced and uneven. Try for a smoother presentaion. Tempo quite staedy throughout. Quite well played 1st and 2nd parts. Your accented roll movement in bars 1&5 of the 3rd part need more definition and clarity in their execution. Open 5 stroke single phrase in last part needs to flow better. Sound too controlled and not integrating with the melody at that point. Work at always presenting you flam work cleaner. Overall quite a confident performance demonstrating good potential
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Event 105. Grade 5 Side Drumming 4/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Anael Hester - USA Tunes: Common 4/4 March - Scotland the Brave/Wings Judge: Gordon Craig Inro roll duration good but need to be smoother in presentation. Controlling the tempo quite well. Just a tendancy to play slightly behind the beat note throughout. Try to let the triplet movement in the 2nd part flow more. You are holding on to them and they sound too controlled.In the 3rd part watch the execution of bars 2,4 & 6, they sound a bit too staccatto for a 4/4. Basically the same phrase was better executed in the last part. Try to get more phrasing and expression into the score. You are a compitent player with lot of potential. Just a little more confidence require with the overall presentation
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Event 105. Grade 5 Side Drumming 4/4 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Ben McDonald - New Zealand Tunes: 4/4 March, Ben McDonald Judge: Gordon Craig Intro roll duration good but pulsations are uneven and forced and need smoother execution. Tempo was steady throughout but on the slow and careful side . 1st two parts were quite well played, just needs more expression. Bars 1&5 of the 3rd part weren`t flowing with the melody. Try to let your 5 strke single movement flow more, in last part, a bit too contrlled, but that could be the slow tempo which has caused that. Open up your flam work more to always give the correct sound presentaion. Good ability and the potential to be a strong drummer.
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Event 106. Grade 5 Side Drumming 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Anael Hester - USA Tunes: Atholl Highlanders - 6/8 Judge: Steven Creighton Intro rolls very good , maybe a little open but not bad. Good to 1st part flowing well with piper. Good to 2nd part just be careful with the flams somtimes the are sounding with a pop sound ,just open them a little . Again flams in 3rd very closed causing a poppy sound but flowing well with the piper otherwise. Good to 4th part just watch you stroke rolls , a very good effort but just watch some strokes in the roll soundinding of a buzz. slow down the exercise as a rudement and build it slowly. Overall a great effort, with a natural feel for the music , Drum sounds nice for indoors , Well Done
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Event 106. Grade 5 Side Drumming 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Connor Blakely - New Zealand Tunes: 6/8 March, Connor Blakely Judge: Steven Creighton Intro rolls very good , maybe a little pulsated but not bad. Good to 1st part flowing well with piper. Good to 2nd part just be careful with the flams some sounding closed making a pop sound, open them up a little. Again in 3rd flams sounding closed were you seem to be snatching at them try relax a little . Good to 4th flowing well again with the piper just watch your13 stroke rolls there very pulsated but agin well controlled. Overall very good , score needs to be made more challenging for you, great potential . just loosen up a little to get a better feel for the music. Drum a little flat for indoors . Well Done.
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Event 106. Grade 5 Side Drumming 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Ben McDonald - New Zealand Tunes: 6/8 March, Ben McDonald Judge: Steven Creighton Intro rolls very pulsated, Good to 1st part flowing well with piper agin just watch the pulsated rolls. Good to 2nd part starting to lose piper as this part goes along, although this seems to the pipers fault. same in 3rd part pity about the piper speeding ahead but you kept going just watch some flams there getting a bit closed causing a pop sound. good to last part back on track but agin just relax on the flams and ease up on the roll pulses. overall not a bad effort, lots of work to do but on the right track with great potential. drum a bit flat for indoors , Well Done.
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Event 107. Grade 4 Side Drumming 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Lucy MacLean - Scotland Tunes: 6/8 March No.1 (Tom Brown). Judge: Gordon Craig Well sustained Intro Rolls although pulsationscould be smoother in presentation. Nice staedy tempo throughout. Good variety of rudiments throughout the score with good musical presentation. A bit more control and clarity in 2nd & 4th parts with the open phrase ( think its a paratriplet) more definition needed to the flam. Also felt you were snatching at the accented roll movement in in 3rd part a little. Could be more relaxed sounding. Geneally a very confident presentation. Tone:- Nicely pitched with good snare responce
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Event 107. Grade 4 Side Drumming 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Michael Theriault - Canada Tunes: Glendaruel Highlanders Judge: Gordon Craig Intro roll duration good but pulsations are forced. Try for a smoother presentation. Tempos are a bit fragmented throughout the performance. Opening bars of 1st part not presenting a 6/8time signature and seems very rushed and needs more control. 2nd part quite well played. 3rd part losing the rhythmical flow in bars 5/6. Again more control. In the piano of the 4th part the 1/2nd & 5/6th bars lack contol and clarity of presentation. Also over running the beat note. FF better in presentation. In general try to get more phrasing and expression into your overall execution. You have a good variety of rudiments within your score but presentation requires attention. Tone:- Quite well pitched but seems to be an aftertone off the snares. This maybe coming from your backdrop.
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Event 107. Grade 4 Side Drumming 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Graham Mummery - Australia Tunes: Farewell to the Creeks Judge: Gordon Craig Intro roll duration good but over pulsated and forced try to execute a smoother presentation. Tempo a little unsteady throughout. Triplet movement in 1st part a bit monotonal and needs expression . 2nd part quite steadybut again lacking expression and rushing final bars here. Also rushing 1/2 &5/6 bars of 3rd partand you are ahead of the melody in the FF. Accented roll phrase in last part needs more definition and clarity of the accents. Phrasing also rushed in this part.. You seem eager to push the melody along. Try to get more phrasing and expresion into your general execution to enhance the 6/8 time signature. Tone:- Drum quite well pitched with good snare responce
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Event 108. Grade 4 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Lucy MacLean - Scotland Tunes: March - Donald McLean's Farewell to Oban, Strathspey - Dornie Ferry, Reel - Kalabakan Judge: Steven Creighton Good intro just don't leave your left stick on the drum after your rolls. Good to 1st part , flowing well just don't snatch at flams. Again good to parts 2 and 3 flowing well but be careful with the flams there becoming very repetitive and all on the right hand . Otherwise well played. Good to last part nice control and solid enough , some light and shade would make this very musical . Good to stratspey , flowing well to melody , just again watch the dominant right flam which sometimes is very closed and making a pop sound . Good 2nd part just watch repeat last 2 bars . Very nice 4th part flowing really well with good control. Watch last part drag nine in open bars need stretching out and also group of flams at finish a little straight but in time. First flam at break very sloppy spoiling entry, Otherwise managing the score well with good tempo. Not bad to 2nd and 3rd flowing quite well just watch some drags , tighten them up a little. Good to 4th playing quite well just don't switch off towards the end . Overall very good , minor problems that's easily fixed, keep working , and add a little light and shade ! Drum not bad , nice snare sound. Well Done.
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Event 108. Grade 4 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 2 parts) Placing: 2. Santiago Khoury - Mexico Tunes: Corriechoille's 43d Welcome to the Northern Meeting, The Smith's a Gallant Fireman, Rosie Castle Judge: Steven Creighton Intro quite good just watch not to over pulsate them. Good start , flowing quite well with piper just be careful with the drag movements not quite mastered yet , and also your slamming into your buzz roll movements , there's no need to. Good to 2nd part just again watch drags and don't lift your hands so high to accent your single runs on left hand. Good break to strathspey , slamming into rolls again a little and strathspey idiom is not there in STRONG weak medium weak , material not helping , but it's a good effort overall just remember its a highland dance , so relax a little and swing to it. Good break again but drags spoiled the entry after that , maybe tempo a little in the fast side but you seem to enjoy this piece the most , just be carful at the finish not spot on with piper , Overall a good effort but more work needed on strathspey playing and open work needs work to. Drum not helping , sounds choked , you need to loosen the snares top and bottom. Well done.
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Event 108. Grade 4 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 2 parts) Placing: 3. Graham Mummery - Australia Tunes: Captain Norman Orr Ewing, Miss Ada Crawford, High Road to Linton Judge: Steven Creighton Into rolls breaking up towards the end both times be careful keep the roll going till the end. Good start , just be careful with the dot and cut sound from bar to bar, flams conning through very closed in sound causing a pop sound , be careful. 2nd part start off ok but again watch phrasing is conning across a little rushed . Kept going well in 3rd after piper stopped , but singles need to be more subtle , watch ending in this part losing melody a little. Watch start of last part relax a little , maybe a slower tempo will help. Good break, score is very repetitive at times but more importantly I think you need to study the stratspey idiom , more STRONG weak medium weak swing is needed , remember this is a highland dance! , more gold in the beat note would help , but good effort . Good break to reel this is better , you seem to enjoy this piece, even though some work in flams and roll work needed . Overall , a great effort , play a little lighter till you brush up on your rudiments , stratspey needs most work but this is a tough piece to master! Drum a bit choked but not the worst ! Well done.
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Event 109. Grade 4 Side Drumming Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Michael Theriaut - Canada Tunes: Archie Beag Judge: David Bowman Nice uptake to jig. Good punch. Really like the roll quality here - well tuned drum. Having difficulty locating phrase beginnings/endings at times. Perhaps could do more to define these phrase structures with some dynamic variation. A bit flat overall and tough to find the pulse. Overall, excellent execution of ALL rudiments, but could do more to highlight the expression in the tune. Thnaks Michael!
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Event 110. Grade 3 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (M at least 4 parts, S & R each at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Nicholas Shropshire - USA Tunes: Donald MacLean's Farewell to Oban, Susan MacLeod, Mrs. MacPherson of Inveran Judge: Steven Creighton Intro rolls very good . Good to 1st part nice and solid and flowing well with piper, Good to parts 2 and 3 just watch some flams there a little bit poppy , also watch the height if your sticks in single work . Watch Swiss ruffs at start of 4th a little cluttered, but recovered well , and watch double flam movement in bars 6 first time through , and change in repeat . Good break , started well but watch idiom towards end both times turning to rush a little , more holding on pulse beat before you take off will help. Same in 2nd , little bit rushed towards end bar phrase to repeat single work , maybe the score is a little busy. 3rd part a little better but still slightly running ahead of piper , roll work is nice and smooth but you need to learn how to hold on a roll in strathspey time . Again in 4th some nice playing spoiled by rushing of pulse beat , maybe a but lighter in places would help the strathspey idiom. Good break , nice tempo , and good flow of playing with piper parts 1 and 2 just watch drag rolls bar 3 to 4 . Again good to parts 3 and 4 , just drag movement in 4th part towards end , just rushing it a bit. Good 5th part and nice start to 6th part just watch finishing bars coming of triplet rolls in 4th bar , and singles at the end ! Overall a great little player , some light and shade needed and single sticking needs the hands a bit lower to the drum. Drums a nice snare but a little flat for indoors . Well done.
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Event 110. Grade 3 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (M at least 4 parts, S & R each at least 2 parts) Placing: 2. Jacob Chalk - Australia Tunes: Clan McRae Society, Arniston Castle, John Morrison of Assynt House Judge: Steven Creighton Intro not bad , just clipped end if 1st roll a little. Good start to march , nice and solid just watch done flams a bit closed causing a pop sound, Nice 2nd part, just again watch flams . Very nice 3rd and 4th part , small flam issues but nice scoring . Just watch repeat of 4th part minor slip ! Good to 5th just each triplet rolls bars 2 otherwise ok, Good to 6th flowing well with good execution , another minor slip in last 4 bars! Good break , started well to parts 1 and 2 just losing piper at times with some tough material , Good to 3rd with some nice roll work but started losing it again approaching the end of the parts breaking up the triplet rhythm , material played well but out of time. Last part not bad generally but same problem with strathspey idiom just missing beat note at times spoiling your good score ! Good break , nice tempo and off to a nice swing , just watch done flams , Slip at start of 2nd part but starting to recover as you go along , you need to relax here, Good to 3rd and 4th , a little sticky but still good . Good to 5th and 6th , some small issues here but I feel scores a little tricky at this level , good finish. Overall very good , your march was the best of the 3 , strathspey idiom needs work , and reel needs to be simplified . Great hands just keep sticks together on the drum . Drum good snare but a little flat . Well done .
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Event 110. Grade 3 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (M at least 4 parts, S & R each at least 2 parts) Placing: 3. Michael Theriault - Canada Tunes: The Glenfinnan Gathering, Mac 'N Irsh, Becky Ewen Judge: Steven Creighton Intro very good , I'm afraid to say this but I think you need to go back to the drawing board and firstly learn the most important element of drumming which is to keep time , whilst you seem to have great hands , and nicely pitched drum , unfortunately with no music and bad timing I'm not able to give you a proper criteria sheet based on this clip , but I do suggest practice with a piper and you will see where you are going wrong . Thank you.
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Event 111. Grade 3 Side Drumming 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Miguel Vega - Mexico Tunes: Mrs. Lilly Christie Judge: Gordon Craig Both Intro rolls did not finish with a clear accent and pulsations sounded forced and the need a smoother presentation. Nice steady tempo throuhout with good natural rhythmical flow. In 1st two parts your open phrases need to flow more. They sound too controlled. In the 3rd part you are trying hard to express the hand to hand accented single phrase and you are losing some of the definition and clarity of the phrase. Overall quite well presented with effective phrasing, at times, but needs some attention to the clarity of some of your movements Tone _ Well set with good snare response.
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Event 111. Grade 3 Side Drumming 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Michael Theriault - Canada Tunes: Gendaruel Highlanders Judge: Gordon Craig Intro Roll duration good but pulsations forced and require smoother presentation. Tempo a bit unsteady throughout. Bars 1/2 & 5/6 of 1st part not flowing to a 6/8 time signature and the presentation sounds rushed and need of clarity and control.2nd part was better phrased with the exception of bars 5/6 of FF which again needs control.Gain in the same bars in the 3rd part. More clarity and control required with the execution of the accented roll roll/ open work phrase in last part. not always finishing on the beat note, as it should.Good variety of rudiments used in this score, just need to improve on technique, phrasing, expression and tempo control to improve your musical interpretation. Tone:- Nicely pitched tone but evidence of a snare aftertone. Maybe caused by the backdrop.
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Event 112. Grade 3 Side Drumming Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Jacob Chalk - Australia Tunes: Donald, Willie and his dog Judge: David Bowman Nice uptake to jig, tempo moving nicely. Score nicely set to piping melody. Excellent roll-work throughout - subdividing perfectly and creating some nice timing with pipes. Open work at times falling out of sync with pipes. Could look at opening up some of these movements, creating a bit of space and allowing you to end each phrase with your piper. Tending to push ahead in your open work. Overall, very impressive use of hand-to-hand rudiments. Great hands, just need to let the open work breathe a little bit. Thanks Jacob!
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Event 112. Grade 3 Side Drumming Jig (at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Michael Theriault - Canada Tunes: Corkhill Judge: David Bowman A bit too aggresive in terms of tempo. Similar issue to your other performance in this competition - not feeling the phrasing very much. Tough to tell time signature and phrase beginnings/endings. I feel like the playing is very rushed in this jig idiom. My suggestion would be to slow the tempo down, and to the greatest extent possible study the piping melody with a piper or via online videos. I think this will help establish some phrasing guidelines. Thanks Michael!
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Event 113. Grade 2 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Raúl Tronco Lafranchi - Spain Tunes: Highland Wedding, Blair Drummond, Mrs. MacPherson of Inveran Judge: Gordon Craig Good Intro March) Tempo on the slow side.More control and clarity required with the open phrase in 2nd bar of 2nd part. Also 5/6th bars of 5th part. Otherwise quite well presented and expressed with good use of light and shade. Just ensure that all accents in single phrases have the definition and clarity they require. Some movements and crossovers weren`t as clear as they should be. Strath) Tempo again on the slow side and making your playing sound too controlled. The Natural Strath Rhythm is coming over well with good definition of your execution. Well structured score and would have flowed better with a livekier tempo. Reel) Again a causious tempo. Again a well structure score with good execution coming over. More control and clarity required when executing the triple accented roll movement in the last part. Otherwise well played. Consider increasing all your tempos as this would give this MSR a better musical presentation. Tone Nicely piched drum with good snare response.
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Event 113. Grade 2 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Borja Cayado Venta - Spain Tunes: Donald Cameron, Blair Drummond and John Morrison of Assynt House Judge: Gordon Craig Well sustained intro. March) Good tempo Quite well presented opening parts. Opening bars of 3rd part dragging the beat noteslightly Flam rolls inopening bars of 4th part require more definition and clarity. Final part accented roll movement dragging slightly in the piano part but flowing well in FF. Good general phrasing coming over. Just don`t overplay your execution. Strath) Tempo on the slow side for me.More light and shade required to your phrasing. The Natural Rhythm is not always coming over here and again you are overplaying your execution and losing the musical flow. Reel) Good phrasing coming over with definitive clarity to your execution. Good variety and quality of rudiments used in this score. Well presented Tone: Nicely pitched with good snare response
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Event 113. Grade 2 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. David Spotswood - Australia Tunes: The Highland Wedding (4 Parts), Maggie Cameron, Lexy McAskill Judge: Gordon Craig Well Sustained Intro. March) Steady Tempo. Open work phrase in 2nd partrequires more control and clarity. Accented roll phrase in 3rd part needs more definition and control. Open phrases in last part , ( especially the ratamacue) require control in their execution. Score quite well presented but needs more dynamics to enhance the phrasing and execution. Strath) Tempo on the slow side and the Strath Rhythm is not always evident.Playing is a bit round at times and needs more definition and dynamics. The tempo could also be a cause for this. Good variety of rudiments in this score. Reel) Nice lively tempo. Flowing quite well with effective use of dynamics and Light & Shade. Again material well structured. Watch the syncopated flam movement in the 3rd part, may be too much of a detraction from the melodic line. Tone :- Quite well pitched but there seems to be an aftertone off the snares. Maybe caused by the surface you are standing on.
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Event 115. Grade 2 Side Drumming Hornpipe & Jig (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Adrien Guy - Canada Tunes: Rhonda Blair, Donald Mikillop Judge: Steven Creighton Intro rolls very good just maybe 1st roll a little pulsated . Good to 1st part flowing well with music with a nice tempo. Good to next part just watch single run onto triplet roll in bars 4 it's catching slightly but otherwise ok . Watch entry to 3rd part , starting with a Swiss 7 can be tricky, love the roll over to repeat just watch some flams a little sloppy . Good to 4th part just tending to slow down a little from bars 3 - 6 first time round and just catching in phrases slightly spoiling your rhythm , but picked up repeat very well . Good to jig , nice score here just be careful with flams on the end phrase 2nd time through . Good to 2nd flowing well but same ending catching you which has spoiled repeat by slowing you down in your mind making you trying to catch up in last 4 bars, be careful and don't think about what's gone in before . Good to 3rd really nice feel back again here just watch that flam on endings , not always spot on. Good to last part just watch some drags in single work a little deep for me but held it well and a good change last 4 bars just that flam on the finish again , I know what your trying to achieve but be careful it stays in the beat! Overall I liked this , spoiled by a few things but great effort . I just felt at times like you where reading it which ment I couldn't feel the passion you where lacking . But great hands keep it up. Drum sounds great for this competition . Well done,
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Event 115. Grade 2 Side Drumming Hornpipe & Jig (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. David Spotswood - Australia Tunes: Uphold the Right, The Curlew Judge: Steven Creighton Intro good just a shade pulsated , Good to first part , flowing well , just be careful of flam rolls coming onto the end bars , sounding a little sloppy and causing you to sound like your slowing down a little but otherwise very good. Good to 2nd part just watch single run on left hand in bars 3-4 first time through only. Good to 3rd part just watch triplet roll in end of bars 2 it's catching slightly with the buzz on the right hand sounding open., love the approach on bars 6-7 to ending very nice exchange from right to left. God to 4th just watch getting a little shaky from 3rd bar to end bar first time through , some slight slips noticeable , but good to repeat much better flow. Good to jig, flowing well here just watch flams when approaching the end bars 1st time through. Repeat is better. Good to 2nd again flowing well but single run in bars 5-6 not as well executed as it is 2nd time round , they must be nailed both times . Good to 3rd, playing it very well and clean enough but I find it just rambling along , some light and shade would help in this part to take the rambling out if it as you do play this part well so improvise here! Good to 4th to, some nice material here just watch some flams there popping a bit , again just try for some light and shade to change the direction of the music. Overall a very good performance , but I feel not having some music background takes from it for me, and overall I would live to see an effort on light and shade throughout the whole performance because I I feel without music sometimes it lacks passion ! Drum is quite good maybe more snare height would help roll sound . Well done.
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Event 115. Grade 2 Side Drumming Hornpipe & Jig (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Raúl Tronco Lafranchi - Spain Tunes: Highland Swing, Donald Cameron's Powder Horn Judge: Steven Creighton Intro rolls well substained but very pulsated. Good to the 1st part just watch some flams sounding to closed in the repeat , and be carful not to slow down towards the end , but still very good. Watch single 5 into 3nd part first time through , flowing quite well but needs some light and shade in places to give it done life. And also open your single sticking slightly just before bar endings . Good to 3rd part some really nice material here just watch some triplet roll work , it's catch slightly at times. Good to 4th flowing really well with piper with good composer but lacking in passion in places , I feel you need to put more effort into light and shade which could turn this into a great hornpipe ! Good to jig , flowing great with music just watch ending 2nd time through , some flams not clean . Good to 2nd part also nice jig feeling just watch parididdle movement on approach to ending sometimes it's not coming through clear . Good 3rd part with a bit more drive here and energy , just watch flam groupings again coming onto end phrase , not always clear . Nice last part , drag movements coming through well here just watch the approach onto your endings , slight slip, otherwise very good. Overall a very musical performance , but I'd like to see some light and shade at times as it just rambles on sometimes , these are great scores that just need to be brought to life a little . You have great ability as a player just strengthen up those hands ! Drum sounds flat for indoors but matches your pipers pipes , and I think your sticks sound hollow maybe change them ? Well done .
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Event 116. Grade 1 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Eoin Aitken - Australia Tunes: Brigadier General Ronald Cheape of Tiroran, Susan MacLeod, John MacKechnie's Big Reel Judge: Steven Creighton Intro very good. Just a little pulsated . Good to first 2 parts flowing well with piper with great control. Good to 3rd just watch triplet roll coming up to ending , the buzz between the 3 strokes sounds a little open. Again starts of well in 4th but watch not to lose the swing in repeat bars coming up to the finish ! Stay focused ! Good break here , and good strathspey idiom and control , just watch 2 nd part going from piano to repeat slight slip in 1st bar. Nice to 3rd with great control and nice use if crescendo rolls. Again good to 4th part with good flowing idiom . Playing well with piper here! Good to reel, with a nice tempo, playing with good bounce , just watch bars 2 in 2nd part losing piper a little but recovered well . Good to 3rd part just be careful your going ahead of piper in places then slowing down to meet him. Good to 4th well played just stay calm and don't push your piper . Good to 5th playing well here and again to 6th nice use if parididdles on to single run , and nice steady ending. Overall very nice controlled performance , enjoyed this just watch some ensemble it just needs more rehearsal with your piper . Drum very nice and crisp. Well done
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Event 116. Grade 1 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Oliver Bernhardt - Germany Tunes: The Clan MacRae Society, Susan MacLeod, Mrs. MacPherson of Inveran Judge: Steven Creighton Intro very good , Good to first part , flowing well with a nice swing , just watch 2nd part some slight slips in repeat , bars 3. Lovely entry to 3rd back on track with nice swing . Good to 4th just watch the drag movements a little tudy at times. But still quite good! Nice to 5th part with a good lift here. Just watch ending first time round a little muffeled . Good to last part , very nice just watch the drags . Good break, nice strathspey tempo , 1st and 2nd part flowing well with good stratspey idiom, just watch your bottom range of dynamics sometimes not coming through clear . Nice to 3rd this is much better here and same to 4th very solid and controlled . Good to reel, nice tempo , 1st and 2nd part has some nice scoring , just watch 3rd part Swiss movement onto 3rd bar , it's slowing tempo down a little, also watch end bar info 4th part it's a little sticky. Nice 4th part flowing well here, and also to 5th part playing well here . Good to 6th just spoiled by triplet rolls in bars 3-4 losing the momentum but recovered just before the finish. Overall a very nice performance , would have been so much better with some music, very very clean player, Drum is well tuned , just a little flat . Well done.
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Event 116. Grade 1 Side Drumming March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Graham Young - USA Tunes: John Macdonald of Glencoe, Susan Macleod, MacAllister's Dirk Judge: Steven Creighton Intro very good , just a little pulsated . Great start , flowing well with a good solid approach , just losing piper in repeat ending be carful , Good to 2nd part nicely played, and same to 3rd part very well executed . Good to 4th flowing with great lift . Good to strathspey , nice tempo , good 1st part and to start of 2nd just watch repeat losing piper towards the end . Back on track in 3rd part with playing really clean . 4th part repeat totally lost the music , you have just switched off spoiling a good strathspey . Quick break but spot in with piper , great 1st part with some great material same to 2nd just watch 3rd slightly behind piper , What has happened here ? Your piper has just taken off like a race horse , spoiling your whole rhythm , this is a pity. As you have just raced after him . Now your back on track good part here in 5th and again to 6th , oops chasing again towards the end . Overall this has gone from a 1st to a 3rd because you have played to a recording and your piper has raced ahead in places making you go after him, pity , you have it all , best player I heard on here just sort out your piper ! Drum is lovely and crisp, and nicely pitched. Well done .
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Event 117. Grade 1 Side Drumming 6/8 March (at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Oliver Bernhardt - Germany Tunes: Donald MacLean of Lewis Judge: David Bowman Good command of piper, excellent introduction. Nice open roll quality. Very smooth. Lacking a bit of punch at the outset of 6/8 - could do more to estalbish downbeat in first part. Impressive execution of open work, good balance between finger and wrist techniques. Really enjoyed the simple presentation of the 4th part. Great dynamic range. A bit 'square' at times, losing the underlying triplet subdivision amongst some very impressive and complex open work. Overall very nice!! Strong support from pipes.. Thanks Oliver!!
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Event 118. Grade 1 Side Drumming Hornpipe & Jig (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Eoin Aitken - Australia Tunes: Mr Jack, Old Wife of the Mill Dust Judge: Gordon Craig Good Intro H/P) Nice lively relaxed tempo. Well structured score and integrating well with the melodic line. Good use of dynamics and light & Shade. Watch the execution of the accented roll movement in the 3rd part. I understandthe effect you want to create but it was almost indistinct in presentation . Jig) Tempo a little slow and deliberate but again the score is enhancing the melody well, with good definition to your execution and expression. Tone :- Good pitch level with nicely balanced snares
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Event 118. Grade 1 Side Drumming Hornpipe & Jig (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 2. Graham Young - USA Tunes: Rowd's Hornpipe, The Calm Before the Storm Judge: Gordon Craig Good Intro H/P) Nice lively tempo once you settled into it. Generally the score is intergating well with the melody and with effective phrasing and dynamics. 3rd part needs a bit more expression. Score well structured. Jig) Again good tempo. Although you are working hard at the execution and expression this has a round expressionless feel to it. Losing the lively feel for this idiom. Some very good content in the score structure. The open double phrase in 3rd part needs a more control. Started to increase in tempo in final phrase in 3rd part FF. Tone A well set and pitched drum
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Event 118. Grade 1 Side Drumming Hornpipe & Jig (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 3. Oliver Bernhardt - Germany Tunes: The Swallow Tailed Coat, Drew James MacIntosh Judge: Gordon Craig Good Intro H/P) Nice relaxed tempo. Quite a well structured score and you are working hard at your execution and expression but feel this needs more drive and depth to your dynamics. Feel you are missing some of your phrasing and the need to encompassthe melodic line more. Generally good clarity to your presentation. Jig) Good break and tempo. Again feel this needs depth to define the good structure of the score. Feel you are just palying to the melody rather than driving in along. I can see you are working at the execution and dynamics but it is not always coming over as it should. The clarity is there just not the depth to your execution. A Valient effort which with some additional work will give you a return for your efforts. Tone:- Nicely pitched with good snare response
Solo Tenor Events:
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Event 206. Grade 4 Tenor Drumming - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Jean Russell - USA Tunes: P/M William Grey's Farewell to the Glasgow Police, Dornie Ferry, Fiona MacLeod Judge: Tyler Fry and Andrew Elliott Andrew Elliott: second roll rushed. Confident intro into tune. straight time could use some more pulsing (s/w/m/w) Flourish would be more effective if striking the drum while playing singles (2nd bar, 1st part) syncopated rhythm in 4th bar 2nd part slightly behind. Effective flourishing 2nd time through part. Could use a nice pulse in the 1st bar of the 3rd part (first time though) Should play the downbeat of bar 5 (after the triplet) Nice run of triplets in the 4th part, but don't let the arm movements fall behind in the next bar. sync. rhythm in bars 5/6 slightly laboured. some effecting flourishing 2nd time through last part. Very nice! Confident break to strath. Although could use some more pulsing here. Triplet in ending 4th bar crushed/again in 8th. Nice variety of flourishing here. Make sure flourishes last the full value of the note. nice triplet in 4th followed by "dead stick" cool! nice control in flourishing, and a good recovery from a slight slip. Triplets rushed though out. Try to open them up a bit! Break to reel slightly cautious. nice control in the flourish, and triplet into ending phrase, but slightly rushed at the end. effective use of sync. independent flourishing in 2nd. watch rushing of the sync. rhythms in last part. Overall: A very nice performance. Watch the rushing throughout the performance. Good control of flourishing, but varying the visuals would improve the performance. Well done! Tyler Fry: Intro OK - three uniform beats but second set at slower BPM than first. Good upotake to tune. Excellent time & motion throughout. Superb articulation of 1/16th note triplets on bar 4 of first part; however, if only playing with melody likely more effective to focus on rhythmic structures within melody (as opposed to highlighting notes in non-existant snare drumming) - the ending phrase is a great example of rhythmic structures found in melody (very well executed throughout). Superb phrase definition within time playing on 2nd part. Watch palmout on 2nd part - more efficient when coming in through top of centre line (you are coming in from the sides in other words not producing a full circular movement and making it harder on yourself). Excellent rhythmic integration within flourishes on parts 2 and 3. Slightly late on transition to S'pey. Superb pulse extension and phrase definition; however, you're extending the pule far too much between beats 1 and 2 on ending phrase (bar 4) of each line. You are holding the 1/8 note rest on beat 2 too long when going into other two 1/8 notes of triplet. Means you are late coming into beat 3. Excellent composition on 2nd part of S'pey - same issue on bar 4 and 8. Watch clave feel on bar 1 of 3rd part - late on 3rd note (it's a 1/4 note in the music). Slight visual slip on 4th part. Good transiton reel. Rushing 1 +a on bar 8 of every part (give that dotted 1/8 note its full value on beat 1). Excellent composition on part 2 with superb visuals. Excellent 1/8 note excution on first line (bar 1) of 3rd part but rushed on second line. Excellent finish! Overall: An excellent solo piece overall! Most of the rhythmic structures are aligned with a snare drum part so I would reocommend having snare accompaniment when you play this summer as well as the piper. This will also help the expression of some of the rhythms - they aren't found in the melody so it is difficult to lock them into anything! Superb visuals, excellent time playing & overall the rhythmic structures were well excecuted. An excellent overall package for a solo!
Solo Bass Events:
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Event 301. Novice Bass Drumming (Grade 4 & 5) - 3/4 March (at least 2 parts) Placing: 1. Mark Pasquantonio - USA Tunes: Scotland the Brave 4/4 March Judge: Tyler Fry and Andrew Elliott Andrew Elliott: slightly late on 1st intro roll, 2nd is "bang" on. Confident downbeat into tune. Tempo dropping in bars 2/3. Hard to comment on sound of drum (simply due to recording) Could use more pulsing (s/w/m/w) when keeping time. A nice use of motion when playing. tempo holding nicely into second part. Confident downbeats. Overall: A very solid performance. You have a very good sense of tempo, and your use of motion is good. Keeping your arms moving in time can help to keep playing, especially when subdividing into the eighth notes first comes in. Be sure to have a nice pulse following the strong/weak/medium/weak pattern. Adding a few syncopated rhythms would enhance the performance, but at a novice level you did very well. Keep at it! Well done!
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Event 302. Intermediate Bass Drumming (Grade 3 & 2) - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Mark Pasquantonio - USA Tunes: Mrs. John MacColl, The Caledonian Society of London, and Johnnie MacDonald's Reel Judge: Tyler Fry and Chris Pollock Chris Pollock: The first intro roll is slightly behind the tempo set by the piper, second roll is good but uptake to march is slightly behind tempo. For the most part the march is executed in time with the piper save for a slight issue in the last part. The strathspey break is not together with piper. More care needs to be taken to phrase the SWMW idiom. Particular attention to the weak & medium beats will allow the strong accent to be given appropriate weight as opposed to over emphasised, which has the dual effect of distorting the sound of the drum and creating a tendancy to play behind the beat in places and rush in others. Again, the reel break is not together with the piper. For the most part the reel is well played, the performer seems most at ease during this part of the set and this translates well to the competency of the playing. I would prefer if the last strike was not followed by a deadening of the drum. The drum is tumed well to the pipe however it is over damped,If this were addressed some of the issues, particularly in the strathspey would be easier to correct. Tyler Fry: Good intro - 2 sets of 3 uniform beats at tempo conducted. Superb use of only right hand here to assist in this! Good uptake to tune, but slightly late on beat 1. Excellent time playing throughout first part with effective use of metric accent on beat 1. Excellenbt ending phrase and tension created through the rest on beat 4. Excellent enhancement of big/long notes in melody in first time through 2nd part. Rushing the 1/4 quarter notes on bar 1 of 2nd time through the second part - just listen to the melody here. Overall: You have a ton of potential as a bass drummer Mark! Solid time overall - especilly on the critical intro and a really nice touch on the instrument. I would now focus on making your technique even better to pull the maximum tone possible out of the drum. Open up your motion even more by extending your arms all the way up so your sticks more or less hit your shoulder blades and extend the motion all the way down to your sides (or bum cheeks). The wider the range of motion the better the tone that comes out of the instrument. I want you imagine that the sticks never stop moving within the motion - the sticks are always in motion/part of a movement which will assist the time playing dramatically and hence the overall band. Loved it! Thank you Mark!
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Event 303. Advanced Bass Drumming (Grade 1) - March, Strathspey & Reel (each tune at least 4 parts) Placing: 1. Mark Pasquantonio - USA Tunes: Mrs. John MacColl, The Caledonian Society of London, and Johnnie MacDonald's Reel Judge: Chris Pollock Intro rolls are not up to the tempo given by the piper. Good uptake to the March which is generally played to the tune well However a little more subtlty in dymanic range would enhance the overall performance. Take care to finish the march! Good break to Strathspey. Take care to express the WMW range of the SWMW phrasing appropriately. Avoid overemphasis which can lead to the Strong pulse having to be overhit. Watch that more intricate passages don't corrupt the flow of the idiom. Break to Reel is not together which casues the uptake to the reel to lag until settling in the second part from which point the performance was at its best. Avoid dampening the drum after the final strike. The drum is tumed well to the pipe however it is over damped
Pipe Band Events:
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Event 406. Ungraded Pipe Band - Any tune or set (no longer than 7 minutes). Placing: 1. Banda Gaites Ribeseya - Spain Tunes: Ramnee Ceilidh/Ribeseya/Sotrondio/Tail Toddle/Marcha d'Ancadeira/La Dama del Alba/Xurde Wynn/El Molin del Puertu Judge: Band Panel Gordon Craig: Well sustained Intro 1) Lively tempoand presentation with good use of dynamics to compement the melody presented . A little more subtilty in presentation from snares would add a different dimension at times. Good input from Bass and tenors 2) Tempo slow and deliberate making it sound overcontrolled and lethargic. Quite good snare score content.Would like to have heard the tenors adding more tonal colours to this piece. 3) Initially I liked the question and answer presentation by the whole band, then the drum section as a whole became too dominant and although what was being presented was good in concept it unbalanced the band. In the final piece it settled back down and was quite pleasently presented. 4) This was subtily presented by the whole drum corps and complimented the melodic line quite well 5) Nice melodic flow to this idiom and drums complementing andenhancing the melody. Tenors integrating, structurally, quite well but again would have liked to hear the use of tonal colours to add structure and additional ensemble effect to the melody 6) Good input and dynamics coming over here enhancing this melodic structure, but feel if the snares used unison in the score piano parts it would have enhanced the dynamics more Effective input from Bass and Tenors here James P. Troy: Really solid and confident intro! Excellent and interesting arrangement of this reel. Some very minor note errors from pipes. Excellent ensemble playing here in all sections. Good support from midsection and bass-highlighting some really nice accents in the melody. Steady and supportive snare compostiion as well. Smooth trasnsition to 'strathspey' time. Again, a nicely handled tune here! Very cool use of the High B in third tune! Intruiging harmony and counter melody here. Really engages the listener! Again, very nice arrangement from all sections for the Slow Air and transition to waltz time. Well handled getting into jig time as well. Playing from pipes really settled and confident here. Excellent and interesting set of tunes. Great job keeping up the energy throughout! Really solid support from the snares, mids and bass throughout without being too overbearing. Some very slight intonation and minor errors from pipes, but very enjoyable listening! Keep up the great work everyone-thouroughly enjoyed this set! Robert Mathieson: Good visual discipline during intro. First part shows some pipers dragging behind the pulse - more rhythmic precision from the pipers would help with the unison. Strathspey needs more cut and snap - it is too round and open. More stacato effect needed and also raise the tempo for the dance idiom. Again in the thrid tune the unison is too loose. Drumming is too repetative in terms of effect and musicality. It is tracking the melody too closely. A more dynamic range in volume would help the pipe melody. Pipe solo very good, pipe corp playing much more confidently here. The last tune is a bit monotonous and meandres too much melodically not helping build to a good finish. The medley presentation could do with more defined key changes. Many of the tunes seem similar middle tempo lacking in rhythmic variation. Good tone - some blowing issues. Andrew Elliott: Solid intro rolls from section. Bass drummer should let the drum ring in between rolls (No ""dead stick"" need) Bass slightly early into downbeat of tune. Drum drums sound nicely pitched. Nice mix of syncopated rhythms and visuals that compliment the tune nicely from tenors. Effective use of pulsing in strathspey. Some very nice flourishing into reel. matching heights could improve the look of the flourishes from the tenor drummers. Very nice use of syncopated rhythms by bass and tenors in last part. Love the visuals into the slow. Nice to see the snares getting involved too. clean playing in first part of slow, and nice flourishes. Make sure to hold flourishes for the full value of the beat, to avoid coming down before the next downbeat. solid transition into waltz from entire section. bass drummer rushing into downbeat of 6th bar. Slightly ahead. very nice playing in 2nd part. Very effective visuals as well. tenors arm movements not quite together in first part of 6/8 jig. An easy fix though. tempo holding nicely with bass. good transition into last tune. Confident and well played. flourishing nicely together here with figure 8 movements. rhythm well played into ending, possibly a little too loud from both bass and tenors, though. Overall: A good listen! Tenors playing extremely clean, even when playing at the same time. Bass is solid. A few visual things here and there. The one that stands out: Make sure to come down from the flourishes at the same time. Many of the flourishes were done really well, but when coming down to the drum not everyone is together. This is an easy fix. Hard to tell from the recording, but drums seem to be well pitched. Very nicely done! Iain MacDonald: Good intro together, although not fully blown together. Nice flow to opening tune. Like the harmonies. There are some bottom-hand unison issues with pipers. The technique is a little unclear and not together at times. Very interesting rhythms and presentation throughout. Not always playing tightly together, but the overall sound is very pleasing, and the spirited presentation of rhythms makes up for some technical flaws. Lovely slow air, and effective harmonies. Intonation suffers a little as the performance develops, and the drones are not holding 100%, but still very pleasant overall. I like the build toward the end, 2 pipers and then back to the full corps. The medley is interesting and entertaining, and the variety of tune types, number of players, etc all contribute to an interesting performance. I don't know enough about these pipes to know if the squeals are caused by not fully/accurately covering the holes (like on Highland pipes) or if it's a reed issue. I do love the sound of these pipes though, and would love to play one! : ) I watched both videos, and found the drumming to be tasteful and appropriate for the tunes, and enjoyed the ensemble touches of both snare and mid-sections. Very enjoyable performance. Chris Pollock: Into rolls - Good, though personally I would prefer that the third strike of the rolls by the bass is not damped. Be careful not to rush the uptake into the introductory tune (bass) Generally, however the uptake was good and the performance that followed was very enjoyable, interesting and well delivered with good tune selection, clean breaks, good transitions and nice harmonies. The slowair was a particular highlight for me. All drums well set and contributing tastefully to the performance throughout, Well done all! David Bowman: "Strong introduction from all sections. Excellent bass support from the outset, tenors visualizing idom nicely. Impressive control through the front portion of this selection, especially in transitions from one time signature to another. Again, bass and tenor providing the musical and visual support necessary to aide in these transitions. Superb execution from snare line, however some variation in stick heights across the line. I love the visual element in the snare line with tenors! Very cool. Really highlights the transition to 'aire'. Nice tenor/bass arrangement in aire. Well tuned and executed. Simply & effective. Again, superb transition out of aire to waltz. Well rehearsed and flawless from all sections. Solid jig playing though some rough passages from snares. Strong finish. This has been one of the most enjoyable pipe band performances I've seen in a while - I'm a fan! Keep up the great work! "
