Author: Barnaby Brown

I started piping when I was 8 at the College of Piping in Glasgow with Tommy Pearson, Seumas MacNeill, and Fred Morrison senior. After 5 years of evening classes and 2 years with Knightswood Novice Juvenile Pipe Band, I took 10 years out as a classical flute player. I returned to piping in 1997, captivated by the Campbell Canntaireachd manuscript. That winter I transcribed all the unpublished tunes, and 17 years later I'm still trying to understand what lies behind that extraordinary document!

New site launched with a permanent endowment within the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

5 August 20225 August 2022 Barnaby BrownAnnouncements

We are delighted to announce that a gift of £200,000 secures the vibrancy of this site in perpetuity. The intention of the donor is that it seed a permanent endowment, the purpose of which is[…]

Pibroch Network Conversation #1: Our Draft Mission, Vision, and Values

22 January 202227 January 2022 Barnaby BrownAnnouncements

Barnaby Brown, Josh Dickson, Jimmy Carnegie, and Kate Carpenter launch a public consultation Purpose: To gather feedback on plans for altpibroch.com, a digital collection of source materials built by the late David Hester, now moving[…]

Rejuvenation & Streamlining

12 September 202114 September 2021 Barnaby BrownAnnouncements

The End of the Little Bridge: Gesto’s setting – Part 1

8 March 201929 May 2019 Barnaby BrownLearning Interpretations

Gesto’s setting of this battle tune presents rich opportunities for a creative artist. There are so many options! I find it alarming how quickly we become attached to one interpretation. What we come up with[…]

J David Hester – KKRN The Piping Hour (Sept 2018)

9 September 20187 September 2018 Barnaby BrownAnnouncements

Our Member, Dr. Stephen Rooklidge (Shasta Piping Society), hosts a weekly radio broadcast called The Piping Hour. It is an excellent hour-long broadcast of old and new recordings of ceòl beag and ceòl mòr. He[…]

The pipe is not played but sung

11 March 201711 March 2017 Barnaby BrownHistorical Documents

This is a little interruption to my series on canntaireachd. It is not altogether unrelated. Keith Sanger recently sent me a cutting from The Scotsman that set me thinking. Dastaram gu seinnim pìob (PS 91) literally means ‘I am seized by[…]

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 5

4 March 20178 October 2017 Barnaby BrownLearning Interpretations

1. The rift between vocal and written canntaireachd 2. The rationale behind a proposed colour scheme 3. Case study 1: Hiharin hiodreen – One of the Cragich (PS 36) 4. Case study 1 (cont.): testing a coloured vocable score Part 5 concludes case study[…]