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Date Posted: 13:46:42 06/28/05 Tue
Author: Chris
Subject: Sergeant Ryan's Boot Camp

THINGS WE NEED TO WORK ON

MARCH
1. We need a TREMENDOUS attack, full of confidence and properly blown. This includes crisp attack rolls from the snares and steady tempo on the rolls from the mid section (particularly the 2nd three-pace roll).

2. We need to keep the tune “snappy” and crisp, by expressing properly.

3. We need to make sure to hold the D doubling in the last measure of the first line.

4. We need to make sure to hold the Low A (1st note) of the last measure of the first part.

5. We need to make sure we hold all the High G’s in the 2nd part.

6. We need to make sure the ‘group of 4’ in the 2nd part is not played too squarely. We still have 1 or 2 players lagging behind the group on this.

7. We need to hold the Low A (1st note) of the last measure in the 2nd part. This is a ‘big rock’ for us. We MUST get this addressed.

JIGS
1. We ALL need to watch Pipey’s foot for the breaks. Even good breaks get better when we ALL watch Pipey’s foot.

2. Some players are not playing the jigs as roundly as needed for full integration. We don't want pronounced dot/cut playing in the jigs. This is another ‘Big Rock’ for us.

3. In General, We tend to hold the ¼ notes in each jig a little too long, disrupting the flow pattern.

4. We slow down the 2nd part of the 1st jig, the 1st part of the 2nd jig and the 2nd part of the 2nd jig

SLOW AIR
1. We want the tempo of the slow air on the brisk side. We get better focus out of the pipe corps at this tempo.

2. We don’t want to clip the short notes in the slow air.

3. We sometimes do an AWESOME job blowing our pipes correctly. We need more consistency with this.

STRATHSPEY
1. Strathspey playing is HARD!!!!

2. There is no resting in strathspeys. EVERY held beat note really needs to pulled out for maximum effectiveness.

3. The 1st Low A (the 2nd note of the tune) is VERY important to us developing the idiom right away.

4. We sometimes get away from holding the held E’s. We lose the idiom when we do that. Remember, HOLD ALL THE BEAT NOTES!!!

5. We sometimes struggle to keep the tempo up when we’re expressing the tune correctly. Why? See #1

REELS
1. The break to the reels is somewhat muddy. There are several culprits here. Part of the problem comes from the way people play the opening birl. We want a full pulsed birl – not really fast and definitely not too slow. Also part of the problem comes from not holding the first low A long enough so that the next HiG Gracenote falls directly on the upbeat. Also, see #2, below.

2. We need to hit the reels right at tempo, no feeling around – but not too fast (see #3 below).

3. We need to keep the tempo to the reels more controlled to prevent frantic expression.

4. We may be holding the held notes at the end of the phrases too long, dragging the tempo, especially in the 2nd part of the first reel.

5. We need to do a better job driving the tempo in the tacit, 2nd time thru 2nd part of 1st reel.

6. NO PAUSE between the reels. We have a tendency to want to give a dramatic pause between the 2 reels that is not supported by what the drum corps is doing.

7. Our unison absolutely disintegrates at the very end of the set. The last 2 measures get rushed, there is no focus on keeping on the beat, we occasionally have a piper or 2 cut out before the end, and the pitch goes haywire as some pipes get under blown, and some get overblown at the finish. This is another ‘Big Rock’ for us that must be addressed.

THINGS WE’RE DOING RIGHT
1. Our unison has gone from about 80-85% to about 93% and our tone has improved that much, as well.

2. The band has bought into the ‘boot camp’ concept of raising our standard of playing.

3. We’ve really got people focused on the ‘right’ things. Clean Start, watch Pipey’s foot for the breaks, clean stop. By NOT discussing/parsing/analyzing each set, we’ve removed all the extraneous influences and gotten our pipe corps devoted to what THEY should be focused on. Chris and Jim need to focus on much of the other stuff (mentioned above)

4. We have built a very solid stamina foundation. We’ve developed bagpipers, rather than people who can play bagpipes. This will lead to better reeds, better blowing, and ultimately, a better sound. The improved stamina is noticeable. When we first started this, by the 4th or 5th run, it was getting very muddy. Now it doesn't get that muddy after 10 runs.

5. We have created an enthusiasm that has been lacking for awhile. We’re seeing better attendance and genuine expressions of sorrow when people can’t make it. As a band, we’re back in ‘mission’ mode.

6. We have set very clear expectations for the pipe corps. People generally perform better in any endeavor when they KNOW what is expected of them. Our experience is that they ARE performing better. We need to continue setting very clear expectations as we move forward into July.

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