Page 86 - Stories Told about the Bagpipes

ISSUE : Issue 50

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1989/1/1

next figure, and maybe for the third fig? ure. For the fourth figure and the fifth figure, they were changing then to a dif? ferent tempo. It would be a common time, a reel time. And then when they'd finish that. When they finished the first figure, with a jig, with those 6/8 tunes--maybe he'd play two 6/8 tunes, one after the other. Well they'd stop then for a minute or two. He might not bother. Perhaps he'd be getting the pipes checked, tuned up and all. And by that time they'd be ready for the sec? ond figure. When they danced the third figure, anyway, they're getting a little bit tired. They take a minute or two of a rest; maybe two or three minutes for rest. (What would Maclsaac do?) Ach, he'd be li? able to keep on playing. Play a tune, some march, or some special tune that occurred to him at the time. And then he'd finish the set, did the 5 figures. Then he'd be liable to have a smoke--light his pipe and have a little smoke. And take up the pipes right away MkA Over 70 Stores & Services 800 Grand Lake Rd., Sydney, N.S., BIP 6S9 A & A Records 539-9753 A&W; 539-8070 Afterthoughts 539-1113 Aggies 562-0182 Agnew 562-0183 Antels 539-5889 Big Steel 562-3236 Boutique Calliope 539-9915 Burkes Sound Centre 562-1986 C.J. Business • Waterbeds 562-6329 City Streets 539-1988 Coles Book Store 539-1313 Coronet Cards 539-9738 D'Allairds 539-0099 Dalmys 539-1814 Dapper Dan 539-7450 Dave's Island Pet Shop... 564-9887 Direct Film 539-8808 Dorlene 539-5556 Druker Insurance 564-1818 Faces 539-1949 Fairweather 539-5959 Fashions Fancy 539-9198 Footlocker 539-7080 Head Shoppe 539-6650 Highland Classic 564-2199 Hudson Bay 539-8350 It Store 539-4747 Imperial Optical 564-8486 Jack Fraser/The Loft 539-9220 Japan Camera 539-5040 Jaspers Family Restaurant & Lounge Jean Depot 539-9190 Kids World 539-1700 Kinney Shoes 539-6045 L.A. Express 539-2841 Lady Footlocker 539-4418 Leisure World 562-6098 Lotto Booth 539-0862 f'aher 539-6130 Mappins 539-9752 Marks & Spencer 539-4060 (Mayflower Auto 539-6878 Mug-Up. 539-8883 Naturalizer 539-3400 Orange Julius 564-0726 Panhandler 562-2311 Peoples. 539-9755 Radio Shack 539-0809 Reitmana 539-8679 Riverside Dry Cleaners .. 539-0013 Rudderhams Sport Shop... 539-3644 Sentiment Shop 539-4943 Shoppers Drug Mart 539-5632 Smart Set 539-8911 Starcade 539-4442 Suzy Shier 562-6545 Thriftys 539-5453 Tip Top Tailors 539-5805 Toronto-Dominion Bank.. 539-0670 Town & Country 562-2204 Travel Agents International 539-9001 Treats 539-0111 Tridont Dental Centre 562-8600 Wooico 539-9330 Management Office: 416-928-0160 Mayflower Mall Office: • General Inquiries/Leasing 539-0862 • After Hours Answering Service 539-0862 • Stroller Rental 539-0862 • Lost & Found Booth 539-0862 and start playing, until they were ready to go. When he'd see that they were get? ting ready to go on the floor for the next set, he'd change over then to get their tune going for that set, for the first figure, of course. And he knew so darned many tunes. He wouldn't play any of the tunes for that set that he played for the first one. Oh, no, no. He'd play a new group, I'm sure, for this. But he'd go back, you know--maybe you would like to have him play a certain tune that he played in one of the other sets. Maybe you'd like to hear that tune. And you see, he'd keep going back and forth over them, here and there. But he had so darned many tunes he wouldn't have to bother going back to too many of them. But he'd do it just more or less to keep the dancers go? ing, so that there wouldn't be too darn many new tunes coming up. (Would he sit or stand when he played?) Oh, stand. (Did he march when he played?) No, no. That march, that's only a military step.;.. (That's not the way our pipers did it?) No, no. He'd walk, through here, turn around over there, and he'd walk over, take his time walking over, and turn around over here. Sometimes, he'd do that, going back and forth. But very often he'd be in the same place. Now if there was a certain place here that the pipes would sound better, he'd stay around there--he wouldn't go too far away. He wouldn't stand on the mat here, oh no. He wouldn't stand on this rug at all--he'd kick the rug out of his way. He'd want to be on the hard floor. He figured--the sound of the pipes, it wouldn't sound as good. He want? ed them to ring.... But he had old tunes, old airs, old Gaelic songs, and all that. He'd play those on the pipes, when he'd take the notion. He'd be outside and he'd be playing those tunes. I often heard them. He could play some of those old, old songs. You could Don Kerr Insurance Agency LI 17 Commercial Street P.O. Box 370 COMPLETE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS Phone 849-7882 GLACE BAY B1A5V4 102 REEVES STREET, SYDNEY 564-4141 Air Source - Water Source Residential and Commercial Heat Pumps and Air Conditioning Systems DESIGN - ENGINEERING - INSTALLATION - SERVICE FEATURING CARRIER HIGH-EFFICIENCY j HEATING AND COOLING EQUIPMENT

Cape Breton's Magazine