Winter Fingers

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by Timothy  Cummings -

When I woke up this morning, it was a refreshingly crisp -6F (-21C) outside.  Inside, it was more like 62F (17C), which was cooler than my indoor ideal, but certainly nothing to complain about.  This is Vermont, after all, and we’re in the midst of the coldest weeks of the year.  Though a native to the Southeastern U.S., I’m starting to get used to the cold, and keeping warm is not a great challenge, normally.  Keeping well humidified, however, is another matter.  In homes such as mine, which are a little drafty and where the main heat source comes from a wood stove, the ambient relative humidity this time of year is often below 40%.  On the bitterest of bitter days, it can drop below 30%.

The North Country seasonal desert is bad news for a wooden instruments, particularly bellows-pipes, and many of us take fairly drastic measures in order to keep our instruments from crumbling to dust the moment we pick them up.  Many of you are already very familiar with these humidification practices.  But desert living is also rough on the body, drying out sinuses, eyeballs, senses of humor, and—worst of all for the piper—drying out our skin.  Our fingers can lose their summer suppleness with skin becoming leathery and occasionally even cracked.

photo Ryan MacDonald

Dry skin is perhaps more a problem for adults than youngsters, particularly inflicting middle-aged adults and seniors.  I’ve taught pipers ages 7 to over 70, in both Canadian and Vermont winters, and have found that older adults, and especially men, consistently have drier, more leathery skin than the young sprites.  I have an emerging theory that this phenomenon leads to piper enemy numero uno for the adult learner: the drier the fingers, the more leathery and inflexible the skin becomes, and the stiffer the fingers become, all causing the piper to grip the chanter evermore ferociously in an effort to prevent leaks.  And of course the fierce gripping can often lead to fingers slowly migrating off the holes, leading to more leaks and squeaks, and in turn more gripping and frustration.  It’s a tragic cycle of doom, destruction, despair, and death.  Okay, maybe not death, except in rare circumstances.

So what to do?  The most obvious solution is to move to Belize.  Failing that, I think regularly applying copious amounts of hand lotion to hands and fingers is a really good idea.  Being a good, hippiesque, morally-superior Vermont resident, I personally tend to prefer lotions that are made with the most natural, least processed ingredients, and go out of my way to avoid petroleum-based moisturizers for a whole host of reasons.  My current favorite is Aubrey Organic’s Collagen & Almond lotion — it moisturizes wonderfully, absorbs into the skin very quickly, and isn’t at all greasy.  And they don’t test it on animals, not even the hobbits.  I haven’t yet asked my pipemakers if there might be an issue with certain lotion ingredients adversely affecting  or improving the wood of my pipes, but my guess is a more natural lotion that’s been given plenty of time to fully absorb into the skin is not going to be a problem.  The collagen & almond lotion happens to contain the same oil I use to oil my pipes (almond), so I let myself believe no harm is being done.

It’s worth mentioning that those of you who often serve on the “do-dishery committee” will probably find your hands to be completely desiccated in winter.  Ditto for those of you who pride yourselves on being able to karate-chop firewood barehanded when it’s -217?F (-138?C) outside.  My suggestion is simple: find someone else to do those jobs.  Failing that, wear gloves!  And apply more hand lotion when the job is done.

Now there is also the occasional problem of fingers that are stiff and inflexible chiefly because they aren’t warmed up.  I have one skinny student who will actually hop into a hot shower before practicing.  And I know others who will run their hands and forearms under hot water for several minutes.

photo Ryan MacDonald

I’ve tried both, and they seem like expensive, short-term solutions — though my hands warm up a bit and turn impressively pink, they cool back down pretty quickly as the excess moisture evaporates off them.  Notably, hot water also tends to strip oils from skin, ultimately drying it out further.

Holding onto a hot cup of tea, however, is a better option — the heat seems to sink in more deeply without drying the skin.  But even a hot cup of tea rarely stays hot for long, particularly if you’re consuming the tea.  Best of all, I think, is to fill a medium-sized glass canning jar with hot water, screw the lid on tight, and hold it between your hands before and between tunes.  The advantage to a lidded jar is that it stays warm much, much longer than a tea cup or mug because the heat can’t escape nearly as rapidly.  Plus, it’s a lot cheaper and more energy efficient to fill up a jar than to run the shower or the kitchen tap.  And once it inevitably cools down, you can water your plants, top up your humidifier, or fill up the kettle for another cuppa.

If your fingers are still feeling cold, you might also consider investing in a good pair of fingerless gloves, particularly ones made of merino wool.  (My current favorite is a pair of merino-possum fingerless gloves from New Zealand that are extraordinarily warm and surprisingly soft.)  These also seem to help retain moisture in the skin.  Some particularly desperate folks might even go so far as to wear fingerless gloves and stuff small hand-warmers in the palms.

Lastly, I mustn’t forget the most important advice for this time of year: drink lots of water.  Aside from literally hydrating your skin, having plenty of fluid in your system also improves circulation and joint mobility (among other benefits).

Whatever method(s) you adopt, remember the goal is to be able to play with more relaxed fingers.  Supple skin and warm digits will do a lot to prevent gripping, which in turn will do wonders for your music and your enjoyment of midwinter piping, not to mention the long-term health of your tendons and joints.  …Of course you could also try adding a nip of whisky to the overall equation of warmth and relaxation, but be careful not to make yourself too relaxed!  Speaking of, I believe it’s that time….  Cheers!

Tim Cummings plays, teaches, writes and publishes bagpipe music.

Thanks to Ryan MacDonald for the photos of piper’s hands.

Pipes & Pipers: The MacLennans and a Nova Scotia Connection

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By Barry Shears copyright 2011 -

Every bagpipe has a story and in this section we hope to highlight instruments and their known history. If you have access to, or own an antique bagpipe or replica we would be happy to hear from you. So take some photographs and jot down a few lines for posterity.

Previous Owner: John MacLennan, Piper to the Earl of Fife.

Current Owner: Pipe Major George Shears, Calgary Highlanders

Instrument:  Reel Pipe. This bellows bagpipe is made from Ebony, with ivory mounts and decorative ivory rings. It has a conical chanter with an ivory sole and a horn and ivory bowl or bulb. The pipes are plainly turned without combing and beading. A curious feature of the common stock is a hardwood disc at the open end of the common stock with a small aperture in the centre to allow air to pass to the drone reeds. I am not sure why this was added, (or installed at the time of manufacture), unless it was used to support the hollowness of the common stock.

MacDougall bellows pipe (copyright G. Shears)

When my brother, George, acquired these bagpipes in the 1990s the top section of the bass drone had been broken in two and the top part lost. In 1999 he turned a replica set of drones from African Blackwood on a metal lathe, and a replacement top for the original bagpipe. The chanter was cracked at some point in time and repaired with hemp bindings. As yet no attempt has been made to reed and play the full instrument so this is still very much a work progress.

Maker:  Probably Duncan MacDougall, c. 1860. There is no maker’s mark but the style is reminiscent of Duncan MacDougall’s handiwork, and John MacLennan’s Highland bagpipe was also made by Duncan MacDougall. Duncan MacDougall was a member of a well respected Scottish pipe making family which spanned four generations. The MacDougall pipe making dynasty began with Duncan’s grandfather, Allan MacDougall, in the 1790s and continued into the early part of the 20th century with Duncan’s two sons: John and Gavin. (Highland Bagpipe Makers, Campbell, 2011). A price list for Duncan MacDougall shows two varieties of Reel pipes for sale – mouth blown and bellows blown, the price for a set of MacDougall reel pipes with bellows is £5.10.

Historical Background: John MacLennan (c. 1817- 1906), was a member of the famous Scottish piping family of the same name. He was one of two piping sons of Donald Mor MacLennan, Moy, the other son being Pipe Major Sandy MacLennan (c. 1811-1900). Donald Mor MacLennan’s father, Duncan, was a piper at the Battle of Waterloo (1815) and his grand father, Murdoch MacLennan, had been a piper at the Battle of Culloden (1746). Duncan MacLennan was a student of Angus MacKay of Gairloch, whose son John Roy MacKay had immigrated to Nova Scotia in 1805 bringing with him Iain Dall MacKay’s 17th century pipe chanter. (see John G. Gibson article) In addition to the teacher / pupil relationship with the MacKays of Gairloch. Duncan’s brother was married to Angus MacKay’s daughter so the families were further intertwined through family connections. Donald Mor MacLennan was also an uncle of Lt. John McLennan, father of the famous player and composer, G. S. MacLennan.

Closeup of two tenor drones (copyright G. Shears)

Donald Mor MacLennan taught several famous 19th pipers including Sandy Cameron and John Ban MacKenzie. (For more detailed information on the MacLennan pipers see Bridget MacKenzie, The Piping Traditions of the North of Scotland, Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers Ltd, 1998). It is not known when Donald Mor died but his son, Sandy and John continued their piping studies with two of their father’s most successful students. Sandy MacLennan went to Sandy Cameron for lessons and won the Inverness Prize Pipe in 1857 and the Gold Medal in 1860 and was later Pipe Major of the Inverness-shire Militia. Pipe Major Sandy MacLennan was also a successful reed maker in the 19th century.

John MacLennan received additional tuition from John BanMacKenzie, and he won the

John MacLennan

Prize Pipe in 1848 and the Gold Medal in 1858. (MacKenzie, Piping Traditions, pages 78-79) John MacLennan was piper to the Earl of Fife and in that capacity no doubt played these bellow pipes at social dances on the estate from time to time. Providing music for social dancing appears to have been a frequent function of the top pipers in Scotland particularly in the 19th century, and especially for those pipers attached to large estates. Bellows pipes were the preferred instruments for long evenings of dancing because they could be played for extended periods of time without re-tuning.

 

Presented to John McLennan as the 2nd best player of Pibroch at the Stirling Competition July 20 1866

John MacLennan’s grandson  immigrated to Canada and before John died in 1906, he sent many of his personal effects and awards, including his Gold Medal and this bagpipe to him.

Pipe Major Sandy MacLennan’s Gold Medal also ended up in Canada. Sandy’s only daughter, Catherine, immigrated to Nova Scotia with her husband, Kenneth MacKenzie Baillie, in 1903 shortly after her father’s death. She brought with her several of her father’s awards including the Gold Medal, the Prize Pipe and numerous awards and accoutrements such as a prize dirk. The GoldMedal

1858 Gold Medal won by John MacLennan (© G. Shears)

was on display in a small local museum in Pictou County in the 1970s, but its current whereabouts are unknown. It might have fallen victim to the rising cost of gold and may have been melted down for its precious metal value.

Although piping died out in John MacLennan’s family in Canada, it continued in Sandy’s MacLennan’s family for another two generations.

Catherine, like her husband and son, and several of their grandchildren were multi-instrumentalists. Catherine played the bagpipe and piano, her husband, known locally as Major Baillie, played Highland pipes, violin, and Uillean pipes and toured throughout North America as a Vaudeville musician in the years prior to the First World War. Catherine’s son, Sandy played pipes and violin, and Sandy’ two sons played several instruments including violin and banjo.

Catherine (MacLennan) Baillie (Shears Collection)

Both Catherine and her husband taught piping in North Eastern Nova Scotia during the first two decades of the 20th century and they proved to be a major musical influence in Nova Scotia through their own teaching and through that of two of their students, Alex Sutherland in North Eastern Nova Scotia and Roddie Nicholson, Cape Breton (Barry Shears, Dance to the Piper, Sydney: Cape Breton University Press, 2008)

The late 20th century saw an increase not only in the number of pipers world wide, but also the number of Highland pipers performing on other instruments beside the Highland bagpipe. The cyclical interest in folk music, which stemmed largely from the folk music revival of the 1970s and bands such as The Bothy Band, The Chieftains, The Battlefield Band and the Tannahill Weavers has offered a tradition almost entirely competitive in structure a chance to expand its horizons. History has come full circle once again and interest is growing not only in the type of bagpipe music played in the 19th century but also the instruments used. If the Reel pipe featured in this article is the work of Duncan MacDougall then it is a fine example of a mid to late 19th century instrument by one of the leading pipe makers of his generation.

 

 

 

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Gaelic College in Cape Breton to Teach “Cape Breton Piping”

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Written by Nate Banton -

I recently asked the heads of the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts if I could interview them about switching their focus from competition piping to their own brand of piping, but they haven’t responded yet.  I always thought it was odd that the school only offered the same style of piping that was offered at every school.  Where else could you learn “Cape Breton Piping” after all?  We haven’t managed to interview anyone on this subject but readers might be interested in this article from the Chronicle Hearld in Nova Scotia:

Chronicle Article

I thought the quote below from Jack MacIsaac of New Glasgow, who studied at the College back in the 1950s, and who has led many pipe bands in Nova Scotia was telling:

“There has been some discussion over the years about the kitchen-style piping because that’s the way the music was passed along originally,” said MacIsaac. “Many pipers play that way but you have to first be taught properly, and the college is the place for that”.

First you have to be taught “properly”, i.e. Competition style highland piping.  I’m sure many pipers will be shocked to lose such a valuable resource for the teaching of Competition piping, where many world class pipers such as Alasdair Gillies taught over the years.   However, MacIsaac’s sort of ideology is exactly how “Cape Breton piping”, a unique and culturally important style of piping, was almost erased from existence.  You can read more about the Cape Breton Style of piping in this article that explains the Cape Breton piper Alex Curry (pictured at right), who Hamish Moore said was “the most important piper I ever met”.

It would have been interesting to hear from someone on the other side of things.

UPDATE:

The Gaelic College has posted a response to the overwhelming amount of press coverage their course changes have caused.

I’ve started a thread on Bob Dunsire if anyone is interested in discussing this topic.