| This is an excellent tutor for an instrument that many have adopted after becoming accomplished at the GHB. It covers bellows technique, gracing, and a bit about the tunes themselves. It promises something different from the usual pipe tutors because it comes from the Northumbrian Pipers' Society, and you would think they would have a different point of view on an instrument they share with the Scottish Borders, historically. My one reservation about this tutor is that the playing technique described here is not that much different from Highland pipe technique, and in following it close to the letter in performance before senior members of the NPS my piping has been described as "too Highland." Perhaps it's something in my blood I will never be able to eschew? That small reservation aside, it's an excellent place to look for an overview of the instrument and an introduction to bellows technique. You may find the Lowland and Border Pipers' Society publication, POWER TO YOUR ELBOW, more thorough and illustritive. A complete guide to Border piping style as it "ought to be performed in Northumberland" is yet to be written, but this book is a good start. |
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