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------Est. 1980 Glasgow
city centre's oldest bagpipe shop------
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Newsletter - March 2011
Dear Piping Enthusiast,
There have been certain
negative comments circulating in some quarters that quality skins are no
longer available and so "you should try bags made of different
materials". I just want to re-assure you, that although our
normal running stock of 400+ completed bags is fast approaching zero, we do
have large quantities of raw skins whose quality is as good as we have ever
seen. We are at full production to meet demand and whilst you may not be
able to walk into the shop and walk out with a finished bag as is the case,
we will turn round any orders post-haste.
On another note, we had a
great report in from one of the first subscribers to our Newsletter. Dr
Keith Souter is a man of many talents and we are pleased to publish his
report at the bottom of the page. We were also pleased to receive a signed
copy of his latest Hebridean novel. We will
report on the novel when one of us can find the time to read it - busy,
busy, busy making bags and pipes.
 Yours aye, James C Begg
www.beggbagpipes.com
News
If you are in the Glasgow area in
March, two events are taking place and are well worth attending. The first
is the important Uist and Barra Solo Piping
competition taking place at the College of Piping
on March 12th and this is followed by the Lomond and Clyde Invitational
Band competition at the Radisson Hotel on March 19th. Tickets for the
latter event can be obtained from www.tickets-scotland.com
We have recently taken a
fresh look at the pricing of our DVDs and Cds and
it is clear that many people for this type of product will purchase it from
the cheapest source, like Amazon or similar. Check out our new offers
and you will now find them to be highly competitive - pricing includes
delivery worldwide and VAT is not applicable outside the European Union.
Begg Bagpipes were pleased to support the Junior
Competition held at the National Piping Centre on February the 11th. There
was a great turn-out with the overall winners and stars of the future
being: 
Junior Winner: Scott
Wood
Novice Winner: Brighde Chaimbeul
Chanter Champion: John Dick
Congratulations to all who
took part.
A-Z
of Piping - a
Personal View by James C. Begg
I
is for Innovation, Internet and Intuition
Piping has changed in many
ways with new products but has it really? I personally don't think it has
too much -yes, we have kitchen piping as its ungainly called - why demean a
different approach by calling it kitchen piping? A better name might be
jazz piping when there is a lot of improvisation. This form was so ably
demonstrated by the brilliant Gordon Duncan, now sadly deceased at a young
age and a great loss to the Piping world. Piobaireachd
is termed classical and whilst I don't particularly like some styles of
modern piping, we do need Innovation - the input
over the last 20 years or so has been very healthy. We only have to look at
the explosion of cds,dvds
and books as an example - I well remember when you had 6 books and 6 tapes
- Scots Guards and P/M D MacLeod books being the best known and tapes like
Piper in the Knave. A younger generation is certainly inspiring piping. I
occasionally was asked about 15 years ago or so whether piping was still a
living art and at that time I think it had a rather uncertain future.
People often were surprised and almost disappointed that I was not older
with a grey beard and wearing a kilt all the time - these days I am sadly
getting ever closer to this caricature!! However, my fears were fortunately
unfounded and with input from abroad and with the ease of travel, the
Scottish scene has been re-invigorated and made us look at our laurels. The
Piping Centre and the College of Piping in Glasgow
have had an encouraging effect whether it is through more public awareness,
tuition and the promotion of the art in all its forms. We seem to have a
situation where piping is regarded in better esteem due to the explosion of
pipes playing with other musicians via groups and orchestras. It perhaps is
open to question whether this is the way to go but it certainly has brought
in bigger audiences and attention from what may previously have been a
fringe position occupied by a specialist, clique of participants. Innovation
has been rife which has helped make life easier to teach piping. I for one
also find it easier to sell pipes as you can set a new set up quickly.
However, whilst we can achieve instant action there is a down side in that
what sounds good instantly may not sound good further down the line -short
term gains off-set by long term difficulties in that many people don't
really have a clue as to what a bagpipe could or should sound like.
Innovation will continue for sure. However in the last 10 years or so, it
has been one new product after another and it will undoubtedly exhaust
itself in time. It of course will be the buying public who dictate what to
buy and what is on the shelf for future pipers i.e. if no-one buys an item,
it soon disappears which can be a great loss as in some cases. An example
of this would be cane practice chanter reeds being eliminated due to the
introduction of synthetic reeds. The number of pipers is very small -it's
not a huge market and so it doesn't take much for the market to go put of
kilter. The Internet has been a great tool and has
enabled everyone to have a global reach. It's far from perfect as can be
seen by some sites but on the whole it's a useful item. Our online site is
very successful and with it having been one of the first piping sites to
have been established, it has given us a great window to the world. So my Intuition
is that piping is in good fettle but it needs to be nurtured closely. We
need to be cautious about big business interests and people with various
agendas. It could unravel very quickly as nearly happened with the advent
of synthetic items but fortunately we have managed to save the traditional
items. Here's to more Innovation since without it
we risk going backwards, but hey - let's be careful and make sure we
protect our rich heritage for future generations.
Technical Academy - Practice Chanter- the forgotten tool
Love them or loath them a
good practice chanter is essential. I would advise standard size as in my
opinion it gives better comfort as well as potentially better clarity. It also
can deliver precision with the gracing and generally is a far more concise
tool. Long chanters have their place if for example you have large hands
but it appears a bit ungainly. If you look at the long chanter, it actually
has same spacing as a standard. Counter sunk holes are also a fad and I
don't think of much real benefit. I supply chanters with countersinking
holes - the holes are only mild just like the swan necks I supply in bags.
Some people in the piping world seem to exaggerate what is useful. If you
can't feel the normal size holes, then the chanter is not vibrating and you
are doing something wrong. Our standard wooden practice
chanters are great, even if I say so myself -sweet and mellow!
If you own one, remember it may need to be oiled occasionally and this is
particularly true of the top section as
moisture can cause it to crack but undoubtedly this is the one to buy. Lots
of other makers use plastic tops for two reasons - cost and the avoidance
of cracking. However, don't compromise if what you are looking for is a far
better sound and an instrument that looks terrific. To support this edition
of the Technical
Academy, check out
our special offer for online orders in March.
Online
Special Offers -James
Begg hand crafted practice chanter
This traditional all African Blackwood chanter
standard size has been reduced from £72.26 to £58 (plus
vat within the EU) for the month of March only. Don't miss out on this
"Mad March" offer. Click on
the link.
YouReport
Dear Bill,
I thought you might be
interested in hearing about my series of crime novels featuring Inspector Torquil McKinnon of the Hebridean
Constabulary. He plays the pipes and is known to his friends as 'Piper'. He
and his friends and colleagues are now pretty well developed over three
novels. FLOTSAM AND JETSAM is the fourth in the series. It came out on
31st December. They are all published by Robert Hale. The first
three are: 
The Gathering Murders
Deathly Wind
Murder Solstice
They are written in the cosy style of crime fiction and I think they might
appeal to pipers. My website tells you about me and the books are all
there www.keithsouter.co.uk
And my blog, named after the newspaper that features in the novels is
THE WEST UIST CHRONICLE
I write these under my pen-name of Keith Moray.
Best wishes
Dr Keith Souter
Keith is a keen piper and
loves the sound of the pipes - this is what inspired him to write his
novels. He was taught by a friend who played in the Irish Guards, and prior
to commencing his writings, he gets out a set of Begg
Bagpipes to put himself into the correct mindset.
Keith, this is a brilliant
story and I look forward to reading your books. Thanks and all the best,
Bill
If you would like to report on any aspect
of the Piping World from
wherever you live, we'd be pleased to hear from you. mailto:bill@beggbagpipes.com
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