I've been entertaining y'all with stories about the little Scotsman that the Lord blessed us with. Why God would want to bless the union of a hillbilly girl and her German-American husband with a little Scotsman is beyond me, but we're coping. He's going to be 9 in April, and last week he sat in for his first practice with the Caledonians, the big pipe band here in Cincinnati.

Well sir, last night was a big night for us. His teacher came over for dinner and gave him a bagpipe lesson. We ate steak and then settled into the den and brought up the projector video and I opened up a browser session and we started to figure out what kind of pipes to order for our little Angus. He's just so big for his age, and so far along in his piping, that it was deemed appropriate to start him early. So there we were, the culmination of about 2 months of research on our part.

Buying bagpipes is at least as intricate as buying a new rifle, at least the way the rifle looneys on here talk about it. Each manufacturer has a distinct sound. You've got about 10 major variables, and then you get into the ornamentation-- nickel versus silver, blackwood versus plastic, and so on. Then you have the aftermarket add-ons. He needed the equivalent of a Timney trigger and a Leupold scope for what he's into. He's had two teachers so far, and they disagreed on which pipes to buy-- sort of a Sucks vs Savage thing. The teacher's father put his oar in the water, and suggested I go up to Cleveland and visit Gibson, the only bagpipe manufacturer in the States. I may still.

Angus cut to the chase. He did not want anything to keep polished. He did not want any engraving. He wanted it plain and simple. Why? He wanted to keep costs down. (I told you, God gave us a Scotsman). The nearly plainest set of pipes from a good manufacturer set us back about a grand, and then the teacher took the helm and added on a bunch of extras. I came back on to add the credit card #, and off we went.

Angus put the finishing touch on it. "Pull the trigger on it, Dad!" I clicked, and they were ordered.


Here's what we settled on:


McCallum AB2

. . . ordered from thePipersHut.com -- sort of like MIDWAYUSA for the pipers.

They're coming from Scotland, and at this point I have no idea when they'll show up, but they'll probably be here for his birthday in April.

While you are waiting you can get the boy some cheap practice.

What you do is have him stand on a cat's tail and stretch the cat up as high as he can. Blow in the cat's ear.

He can modulate the tone by how hard he squeezes on the cat.


YEEEEooorrrrrwwwww ffffttt!

BCR

Actually, cats are too unpredicatable. He prefers practicing with live geese. You put one under your arm and then strangle it slowly with both hands around its neck. Try it. I think you'll like the richness of the sound a lot better.

Practice goose

. . . or you can go all the way like this guy-- see attachment. Mind you, you have to store your instrument in the freezer between sessions, and then allow plenty of time for it to thaw before a concert.

Very, very excellent. My sister is a piper. My HS girlfriend was a highland dancer. The sound of the pipes runs in my blood. I hope your son sticks with it. Someday he'll have steady work playing weddings and funerals!

Cool Beans shaman, I truly love the pipes and have it requested they be played at my funeral.

The pipes are a wierd thing, you either hate or love them. I happen to love them!

Congrats!!!!!!

Could be worse, he might want to play an accordian...

My old man's definition of a gentleman - "someone who can play an accordian, but doesn't!"

Two guys drive to a bar,park at the curb in front the start to go in,passenger notices an accordian in the back seat and said to the driver,you had better put that in the trunk out of sight! Driver replies, oh it will be ok! sure enough,when they come out----- there are now two accordians in the back seat!

No disrespect meant, but I am a hater.
Still remember the SNL skit with Mike Myer; "Let's see what kind of OBNOXIOUS instrument we can invent, today!" in his Scottish accent.
And, "If it ain't Scottish,... it's CRAP!"

Tis my ancestory, I grew up with the bagpipes around me, I enjoy them and certain songs still bring tears, even though my Grandfather passed away in 67, I still have not lost my enjoyment of them.

aye, the pipes.
they break my heart and boil my blood.
hope your boy sticks with 'em, shaman.
i can hear 'em callin' now ...

Very Cool Shaman,
My brother took up the B'pipes a few years agao and really enjoys it. Good luck to the lad.

Elf ( a scottish one at that <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />)

Thanks all for the good wishes (mostly).

The Piper's Hut called today and wanted to know the shipment might be delayed a couple of weeks due to complications-- I guess it's heavy icebergs off the coast of Scotland or something. We told the guy we needed them by April, and not to worry.

No, no, no

The proper response would have been ..... We needed those pipes yesterday and are distraught that you can't provide them as promised. However, a bottle of single malt squeezed into the case would go a long toward making everything right. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Have you thought about DNA testing? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Seriously, very cool for son to be interested in an instrument. I know nothing about the pipes, but do love the sound. Of course I am a little deaf from all my years of playing guitar through big amps! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Lucky for me, my son wanted a guitar. I started piecing together a 1963 Fender Duo-Sonic and gave it to him for Christmas.
The lucky part is that he doesn't have an amp yet! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I watched the little booger come out. I know it's hers. Why would I need DNA testing?

Amps? Who needs an amp? Cheese and Rice, these suckers are so loud he needs hearing protection to practice-- no joke! We went to a concert last spring and 30 pipers in a high-school gym had my ears ringing for two days.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />



That's why I'm lucky. My boy's guitar isn't very loud without an amp! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> He does play a mean Smoke on the Water though! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I have a friend that has played the bagpipes for over 35yrs. Pretty funny when he fires up with "Louie-Louie" or "Hard Days Night".

Didn't care for the pipes till I started travelling with my daughter for stepdancing competitions. They definately can get in your blood and stir the soul.

Good for Angus !!!!!

During the spring, summer and fall there's somebody who uses the nearby local school to practice the pipes, Saturday and Sunday evening.
I'll grab a Coke or ice tea, sit on my stone wall out front and listen. It's a delightful way to spend and evening.
Good luck to your son.
Jim

Too cool Shaman. My absolute favorite hands down.

I'd love to get my lads into some lessons.



Mac

Very cool. As wee lads, my Scottish grandparents gave my brother and I a set of 'beginner' pipes while on a trip in Kilmarnock. I'm pretty sure my parents never forgave them... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Scotland, AYE!

My one grandfather came from Kilmany, I have yet to get over their to see his hometown.

Thanks for the tip. You see, there's very few pop tunes that fit into the pipe's 9-note scale. I'll let him know he can try those. It's not a standard scale. I think their "A" is 466 instead of 440, and it gets weirder from there.

"...these suckers are so loud he needs hearing protection to practice-- no joke! We went to a concert last spring and 30 pipers in a high-school gym had my ears ringing for two days."


<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> good one! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

They are loud for sure. In thinking of what you said, it occurs to me that traditionally, the 'pipes are played outdoors. You know, battlefields, parades, etc. I could see that the shrieks and wails a group of them emits in an enclosed bullding could make for some sore ears...

Mom called me a little while ago. They were over at my house earlier today, and there is a large package from The Piper's Hut waiting. Could it be?



Somehow I get the feeling my life is going to change irrevocably when I get home.

If you ever plan a trip, I can offer a bunch of suggestions for places to go/things to do; I've been over a bunch of times over the years. There's good hunting, too.

I asked my Wee Muther about our kiddie 'pipes the other day. She immediately went white(r).

Good luck to you and your lad. I bet you one dollar that you'll find a brand new use for your range muffs until he gets the feel for them.

BTW, are the 'pipes adult size? Not sure if you said how old he is, but if he's under 12, he may have issues keeping it filled with air, and even holding it for any length of time. No matter, he'll grow. And you'll grow older. Faster than he does, I imagine, if he takes to them with any passion...

He's a biggun; they're adult pipes. Yes, I suspect Angus and the pipes will be in one part of the house, and we'll be in another behind a closed door and wearing muffs and plugs and turning the sound on the TV up.

Had a neighbor for about six years, who for a better discription, was different. Heck of a nice guy, but DIFFERENT!

One day he stopped and wanted to know if he could have permission to walk around the cow pasture while he practiced on his bagpipe.

I didn't have a problem with it (kind of like the sound of them myself), and he told me it would be good pratice for him when he marched in the local parades. Something to do with controlling his air pressure and wind, if he wasn't pulling my leg.

When the weather warmed up, he would be out there about twice a week for a 1/2 hour or so. When he got that thing really wailing away, the calves and sometimes the cows would follow him around.

Never did get over laughing about it. One hot evening, invited him in the shop for some iced tea, before he walked home.

Happened to think to ask him if he could get the 'yotes to howl with that bagpipe. He said, "No problem".

We jumpd in the truck, drove up on top the ridge, and he went to warming that thing up. He told me what the tune was, don't remember, but it was sure ringing in my ears. When he shut it
down, he had every coyote and dog in the country howling it
seemed. When we got back to the house, my Better Half wanted to know what we had been doing. We explained it, and she told us the neighbors had called, from the other side of the ridge, wanting to know if we had firetrucks at our place.

The bagpiper finally bought a place of his own, but whenever run into to him, we still laugh about that.

The answer Shaman, is Prozac! Good luck!

UPDATE 02/16/2007


They arrived last night. We had just enough time to unpack them and then bundle them up in a suitcase and take them up to practice at the church.

Angus' teacher, Katie, made the announcement before practice that the band had a new piper, and then Angus, Katie and the pipes went to a back practice room where Katie spent all of her normal lesson time showing the class how bagpipes show up, and what you do to get them ready for play.

In the hour or so she spent showing the class, Katie only managed to get a small portion of the preparation compete. Most of this involved hemping the fixtures-- wrapping the fittings with waxed hemp string to produce a good seal. Before Brendan can start wailing on them, Katie has to do the equivalent of free-floating the barrel, bedding the stock, collimating the scope and doing a trigger job.

I may be able to shoot some pics of Angus holding the pipes over the weekend, but they still are not put together. I'm dropping them off at Katie's later on so she can finish the prep work and have the pipes ready for his next lesson.

I've got pictures. Scroll down to the bottom of the page:

The Angus Page

I think I could cope, I dearly love the pipes.

I love listening to the pipes too, for a while. Sometimes "a while" don't take too long.

BCR

Well laddies, here's the latest on Angus, my bagpiping son.

His teacher had kept back his chanter drone, and made him keep his chanter off until he could blow his drones for a minute-thirty without wavering. For an 8 yr old, that's a daunting task. If he does it right, it sounds like he's running an electric vibratory floor sander. When he's not doing it right it sounds like the same floor sander with a wildly varying house current.

Anyhow, Tuesday night, Angus managed to pull it off in front of his teacher, and his teacher rewarded him with his reed. He was sooooo proud and he came home and rushed up to me and wanted to show me what he could do.

Let me tell you folks, there is nothing in this world quite as bad as bad bagpipes. His rendition of "Scotland the Brave" sounded like cats, geese, and assorted small furry animals being thrown into a wood chipper. I started laughing and laughed so hard it brought on an asthma attack. After the onslaught ceased and I had a chance to recover, I told him that I had the utmost confidence in his abilities, but that what he had done ranked among the most hideous noises of my experience. Even he had to agree. Zowie!

He practiced a bit more that night, and by the next morning he had conquered most of the problems. We're going to band practice tonight, and I'm wondering if he'll take the pipes and attempt to play for folks, or wait until he has more confidence. Me? If I was him, I'd whip out those pipes and do it.

MORE LATER.