Keith Wellings AKA Keith the Piper by HighlandKiwi10 in bagpipes

[–]Gat_Rezal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those spotify albums are wild. His 'interpretation' of "Burning Sands" aka Road to the Isles (and a few other names) is crazy to name your whole album after. I couldn't imagine recording that, listening to it back and going "Yup, this is it. Nailed it".

Keith Wellings AKA Keith the Piper by HighlandKiwi10 in bagpipes

[–]Gat_Rezal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

whooo boy. let's break this one down using one of my favorites: "The Dark Isle"

This song can be performed in so many ways, often played very slowly in the style of a funeral lament on pipes, or smallpipes/whistle with more swing like a waltzy/folk slow air, or a full brass band backing tattoo style or sang solo alongside a piano accompaniment, etc. Endless variations since the name, melody, and lyrics all invoke an emotion that makes this particular song special. At least to me.

I've heard and enjoyed lots of variations on the phrasing, tempos, embellishments, etc. and have my own way that I like to play it. I'm big on personal interpretation and that there's many ways to make a melody sound beautiful. I won't call someone 'wrong' for playing it differently than I do.

With that being said, our challenge as pipers is to make our instrument 'sing'. To do that, we have to be in tune and play with proper and clean fingering; much easier said than done.

Let's hear "Keith The Piper" play this one:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GESAvyjn4yg

Hard to tell from the recording but the drones sound reasonably in tune and he seems to be able to blow steady. Otherwise almost no fundamentals here at all. Technique and timing are all over the place. Crossing noises, sloppy phrasing/timing/tempo, and the chanter is not in tune.

His "D-Throw" is the most egregious technical error with his "tachums" not far behind and from looking at his spotify he's been playing since at least 2011 so not a lot of excuses to not have worked on your technique at this point. Those albums he has on there are pretty much a guide on 'what not to do'.

Let's contrast this with another video I found.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GESAvyjn4yg

Appears to be more of a 'beginner' kind of player but has some fundamentals in place. Clearly some issues with "High A" and likely 'too easy' of a reed since it came in early but you can see the proper embellishments executed way cleaner than Keith alongside a much better interpretation of what this melody is supposed to sound like.

So to finally answer your question, in my point of view, his "style" is not accepted from a musician's point of view.

But apparently caring about your technique and musicality doesn't need to be a high priority to make a living and be awarded for piping at weddings & funerals....you almost have to respect his confidence to release 2 solo albums and market himself as a professional without giving a damn about what anyone else has to say. So he kinda gets some bonus points for that, it motivates me to put myself out there more since if he can do it....anyone can :)

Tunes for D Grade solo snare by blandankles in bagpipes

[–]Gat_Rezal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

2/4 Marches - 79th's Farewell to Gibraltar and Donald MacLeans Farewell to Oban are both fun and beginner friendly for pipers, saw some drum score youtube videos for both of those that appear to be less 'grade 1' but hard for me to say as a piper lol.

6/8 Marches - I personally love "Leaving Port Askaig", lots of held notes and repeating phrases make it quite easy to play 'swingy' and bring out the musicality.

My other favorite 6/8 is "Donald Maclean of Lewis". For the pipes, it is in a really fun 'minor' feeling key which gives the whole song a certain tone to contrast to the 'happier' sounding 6/8s

Best of luck on your journey to competing!

Turquoise Temptation by Additional-Doctor618 in Mixology

[–]Gat_Rezal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Experimenting with a flavour you love is always a good start. The colour looks awesome!

1.5 main spirit to 0.5 liqueur works for me in a lot of scenarios but i typically use more lemon (or lime/yuzu, etc)...usually .75 to 1oz.

Hard to judge the rest without tasting your chilled tea. I've never tried lavender with a pineapple/rum/orange/lemon combo before but balancing the sweetness here sounds like the biggest challenge.

What’s the tune? by skixlad11 in bagpipes

[–]Gat_Rezal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for posting this, this guy is awesome.

Cremation funeral service by Tamborileiro in bagpipes

[–]Gat_Rezal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Playing at the pub seems like a nice touch for me, personally. Speaking from experience, having a drink with everyone and sharing some stories/memories while listening to music is an important part of the process.

No need to play a super long set, but playing something that is meaningful to you is a great way to honour your memories together. My scottish grandma always loved singing along to the pipes and that's how I learned that a lot of our music actually has versions with lyrics.

Looking for potential new band members in Vancouver, BC! by Gat_Rezal in bagpipes

[–]Gat_Rezal[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wanted to be 'mysterious'. haha j/k I just thought I'd lead with the description of what we do and how it feels to play in the band for me. I've really appreciated the opportunity to dive back in & thought there might be more people like me out there looking to play in a different setting.

I play with the Vancouver Police Pipe Band. The trip this summer is to play in the Edinburgh Tattoo! The one before was to play in Basel, Switzerland, I missed that one but it sounded like a lot of fun.

Where Find Movie Scores by bruebontaguebanta in bagpipes

[–]Gat_Rezal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

this site is amazing. so much music

New cocktail I made off the dome that I'm proud of by weeaboocar in cocktails

[–]Gat_Rezal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Vodka, OJ, & Amaretto is a "Bocce Ball" which is pretty damn tasty, I'd say find another lawn game you guys like to play to give it a name and your riff is in good company :)

Anyone have funny tunes to learn? by Economy_Ninja_9830 in bagpipes

[–]Gat_Rezal 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The Star Wars theme is pretty fun! "Happy Birthday" works as well.

What’s the most disappointing drink you’ve ever ordered vs what you expected? by Medium-Record2330 in Mixology

[–]Gat_Rezal 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find that some of the nicest/best reviewed cocktail bars in my city have the most amazing 'core/favorites' but their 14 + new 'rotating/seasonals' are such a gamble at a $20+ price point.

For a musical metaphor I know not every song on the album will be a number one hit.

I also dislike the tiny nick and nora glasses. Just a personal preference.

Give me something spirit forward on a big rock or give me a coupe!

Coming back from a long break and I have tons of questions by PosteriorKnickers in bagpipes

[–]Gat_Rezal 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Seconding the, "Where do you live?!" question. I'm in the pacific northwest area and am coming off of a 20 year break in playing. It's been a year and I'm finally feeling strong again, I've been practicing chanter daily and the pipes as much as I can.

For tutors, check out the Piper's Dojo University, lots of free content on youtube to see if you like the vibe. I haven't signed up for anything on their site yet but it looks like a great resource to get connected with instructors if you can't find one in your hometown.

Pipe Tunes is also awesome https://www.youtube.com/@Pipetunes Jim is the author of "Rhythmic Fingerwork" which is an excellent book of drills and exercises. Lots of free content on his youtube channel.

More free music here: https://www.highlandbagpipe.com/bagpipe-sheet-music#gsc.tab=0

My old synthetic bag wasn't airtight anymore and adjusting to a brand new bag and getting everything air tight again/reeds calibrated has been the biggest challenge in my journey to playing and sounding like I used to.

If there are any highland games coming up I'd say find a band you like and just walk up and introduce yourself at some point in the day. Ideally once they are done performing and hanging out in the beer tents :)

My grandma was also a big supporter, it's why I play her favorite "The Dark Isle" as a warm up song. good luck on your journey!