Historical Documents – Page 2 – Learning Living Pibroch

Some Musical Notes From Skye

15 October 20178 October 2017 Keith SangerHistorical Documents

First published last year in West Highland Notes & Queries, (Volume 4. Number 2), it is probably worth reprinting on this site as an example that the great piping names of the past would not[…]

Who was Black Donald ?

5 October 20176 October 2017 Keith SangerHistorical Documents

Piobaireachd Dhomnuill Duibh (Black Donald’s March), in the original form and especially from it’s adaption into a 6/8 military march, is one of the more generally known titles both among pipers and the more general[…]

Mapping the Clarsach – by Keith Sanger at WirestrungHarp.com

1 October 20171 October 2017 J David HesterHistorical Documents

Our member, Keith Sanger, sent along this link to an article he published at WirestrungHarp.com. Mapping the Clarsach A very detailed and extensive survey of harping and harpists from the 13th through the 17th century[…]

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[…]

Turning back the clock ?

31 January 201731 January 2017 Keith SangerHistorical Documents

Although it is possible to turn back a clock, in reality it does not turn back time; the earth still continues rotating around the sun as it always has done. The stimulus for this article[…]

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 2

15 January 20178 September 2017 Barnaby BrownHistorical Documents

In Part 1, I observed how the difference between sound waves and light waves has severed the vocal practice of canntaireachd from its written forms. In this part, I explain the rationale for a colour system that could heal the[…]

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 1

8 January 201724 March 2017 Barnaby BrownHistorical Documents

This series of posts seeks to elucidate canntaireachd, pibroch’s oldest tool for memorisation and musical understanding. In this part, I notice how the difference between sound waves and light waves has severed the vocal practice of canntaireachd from its written forms. I propose[…]