Bagpipe Lessons Archives - Kevin Fraser Bagpipes

Came upon a link to a PDF of the list of tunes the College of Piping recommended for sitting their exams, back in 2007.

The list is probably reasonable for the SCQF that replaced the framework at the time.

Trying to upload the PDF has failed, so I’ve copied and pasted (unedited) below.

Level 1

Two tunes to be played from

memory on the practice chanter

Scots

Wha Ha’e

Tutor

Brown

Haired

Maiden Tutor

*********************

Level 2 (Practice Chan

ter)

Five tunes to be played from memory on the pr

actice chanter. At least one tune should be

in compound time. The music is to be presented to the examiner and played in

accordance with the written score. T

he mu

sic do

es not have to be written out by the

candidate

Select from:

High Road to Gairloch

Tutor 1

Highland

Laddie

Tutor

The Thistle of

Scotland

Tutor 3

Carles W

i’ the Breeks

Tutor 1

Steam

Boat

Essential Tunes 1 (com

pound tim

Bonnie Dundee

Tutor 3 (compound time)

Level 2 (Bagpipe)

Candidates must submit

five tunes comprising:

(1)

2 parts of a Slow Air

(2)

2 parts of a March in 3/4 or 4/4 time

(3)

2 parts of a March in 6/8 or 9/8 time

(4)

2 parts of a Strathspey

(5)

2 parts of a Reel

The music is to be presented to the examiner and played

on the bagpipe

in accordance

with the written score. Select from:

Scots Wha Ha’e Tutor 1

My Home

Tutor 3

Green Hills Tutor 1

The Thistle of Scotland

Tutor 3

Bonnie Dundee Tutor 3

Steamboat

Essential Tunes 1

Inverness Rant Tutor 1

Piper o’ Drummond Tutor 1

Level 3

Candidates must be prepared to play ei

ght tunes on the bagpipe. Their list must

comprise:

(1)

2 parts of a Slow Air

(2)

4 parts of a March in Simple Time

(3)

4 parts of a March in Compound Time

(4)

4 parts of a Strathspey

(5)

4 parts of a Reel

(6)

4 parts of a Hornpipe

(7)

4 parts of a Jig

(8)

One ground of a Piobaireachd and

its first variation singling and

doubling.

Select from:

Slow Airs

Mist Covered Mountains

Essential Tunes 1

My Home Tutor 3

Mairi Bhan Og

Essential Tunes 2

2/4 Marches (simple time)

79th Farewell to Gibraltar

Tutor 1

KOSB’s Farwell

Essential Tunes 2

Detroit Highlanders Glasgow Collection

6/8 Marches (compound time)

Cock o’ the North

Essential Tunes 2

Blue Bonnets Tutor 1

Piobaireachd o’ Donald

Dubh

Essential Tunes 1

Strathspeys

Lady Loudon Tutor 3

Dorrator Bridge

Tutor 3

Captain Colin Campbell

Donald MacLeod Bk.3

Reels

Lexie MacAskill Tutor 3

Rejected Suitor Tutor 3

Sound of Sleat

Donald MacLeod Bk. 2

Hornpipes

Jolly Beggarman Tutor 3

Mason’s Apron Tutor 3

Jigs

Paddy’s Leather Breeches

Tutor 3

Jig of Slurs Tutor 3

Piobaireachd

Company’s Lament

Tutor 4

Glengarry’s Lament Tutor 4

MacIntosh’s Banner

Tutor 4

Lament for Alasdair Dearg

Tutor 4

Level 4

The candidate must submit t

competition 2/4 marches of four parts, two 6/8 marches

of four parts, two competition strathspeys of four or more parts, two competition reels of

four or more parts, two compe

tition hornpipes of four or more parts, two competition jigs

of four or more parts and

one

piobaireachd which has taorluath and crunluath

variations. Select from:

6/8 Marches

Cock o’ the North

Essential Tunes 2

Blue Bonnets Tutor 1

Piobaireachd o’ Donald Dubh

Tutor 1

Dovecote Park Essential Tunes 2

Piobaireachd

Company’s Lament

Tutor 4

Glengarry’s Lament

Tutor 4

MacIntosh’s Banner

Tutor 4

Lament for Alasdair Dearg

Tutor 4

2/4 Marches

Mrs MacDonald of Dunacht

Tutor 3

Willie Gray’s Farewell to the

Glasgow Police Tutor 3

Lady Lever Park

D MacLeod Bk.1

John MacMillan of Barra

D MacLeod Bk.1

Strathspeys

Lady Louden Tutor 3

Dorrator Bridge

Tutor 3

Capt. Colin Campbell

D MacLeod Bk. 3

Duncan Johnstone’s Strath. Glasgow Collection

Reels

Lexie MacAskill Tutor 3

Rejected Suitor Tutor 3

Sound of Sleat

D MacLeod Bk. 2

Thompson’s Dirk

D MacLeod Bk. 4

Hornpipes

P/M George Allan

D MacLeod Bk. 4

Motley Crew Glasgow Collection

Jolly Beggarman Tutor 3

Mason’s Apron Tutor 3

Jigs

Jig of Slurs Tutor 3

Lord Dunmore

Essential Tunes 1

Paddy’s Leather Breeches

Tutor 3

Stool of Repentance

Seumas MacNeill Bk. 1

Level Five

Four piobaireachd, one of each showing

standard, fosgailte, breabach and a mach

crunluath movements, four competition marches, fou

competition strathspeys

four

competit

on reels, four competit

on hornpipes, and four competition jigs are required.

Select from:

Piobaireachd (sta

ndard crunluath)

Massacre of Glencoe

Kilberry Bk./ Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.6

Lament for the Old Sword

Kilberry Bk./ Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.3

Hector MacLean’s Warning

Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.2

Piobaireachd (fosgailte)

The Groat

Kilberry Bk./Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.1

Wee Spree

Kilberry Bk./ Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.7

Too Long in this Condition

Kilberry Bk./ Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.7

Piobaireachd (breabach)

MacFarlane’s Gath.

Kilberry Bk./ Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.7

Lament for Donald of Laggan

Kilberry Bk./ Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.8

Clan Campbell’s Gath.

Kilberry Bk/ Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.7

Piobaireachd (a mach)

Catherine’s Lament

Kilberry Bk./ Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.5

Black Donald’s March

Kilberry Bk./ Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.3

Carles Wi’ the Breeks

Binneas/ Piob. Soc. Bk.8

Competition 2/4 Marches

John MacDonald of Glencoe

Seumas MacNeill Bk.1

Donald MacLean’s

Farewell to Oban

Seumas MacNeill Bk.2

John MacMillan of Barra

D MacLeod Bk.1

John MacFadyen of Melfort

Seumas MacNeill Bk.1

Competition Strathspeys

Maggie Cameron

Seumas MacNeill Bk.1

Duncan Johnstone’s Strath.

Glasgow Collection

Lady MacKenzie of Gairloch

D MacLeod Bk.1

Cabar Feidh D MacLeod Bk.1

Competition Reels

Traditional Reel

D MacLeod Bk.3

Cockerel in the Creel

D MacLeod Bk.6

Fiona MacLeod

D MacLeod Bk.5

Major Manson Seumas MacNeill Bk.2

Level Five

(cont’d)

Competition Hornpipes

Crossing the Minch

D MacLeod Bk.6

Piper’s Controversy

D MacLeod Bk.6

Man from Skye

D MacLeod Bk.4

Mason’s Apron Tutor 3

Competition Jigs

Donald MacLennan’s

Tuning Phrase D MacLeod Bk.3

The Curlew D MacLeod Bk.1

Judge’s Dilemma

D MacLeod Bk.3

Banks of the Allan

Seumas MacNeill Bk.1

Level Six

Six piobaireachd are required and the tunes mu

st show a variety of crunluath types.

Piobaireachd should be taken

from Binneas is Boreraig,

the Piobaireachd Society’s

Collection Books 1-15, or from the Kilberry Book.

Candidates must also submit six competition

march, strathspey and r

eels, six jigs and six

hornpipes. Good ceol beag will be found in

Donald Macleod’s books, the Glasgow

Collection, in Seumas MacNeill’s books and in the new John MacColl book. Some

competition light music suggestions

for this level are as follows:

Marches

Mrs John MacColl

Glasgow Collection

Knightswood Ceilidh

D MacLeod Bk. 4

Edinburgh Volunteers

D MacLeod Bk.1

Arthur Bignold John MacColl

Jeannie Carruthers John MacColl

Farewell to Edinburgh

Seumas MacNeill Bk.1

Strathspeys

Islay Ball Seumas MacNeill Bk.1

John Roy Stewart

D MacLeod Bk.1

Cameronian Rant

D MacLeod Bk.1

Inveraray Castle

Seumas MacNeill Bk.2

Duncan Johnstone’s Strathspey

Glasgow Collection

Susan MacLeod

D MacLeod Bk. 4

Reels

Brown Haired Maid

D MacLeod Bk.5

Pretty Marion

D MacLeod Bk.2

Thompson’s Dirk

D MacLeod Bk.4

Smith of Chilliechassie

D MacLeod Bk.1

Lexie MacAskill Tutor 3

Rejected Suitor Tutor 3

Hornpipes

Barlinnie Highlander Glasgow Collection

Jim Tweedie’s Sea Legs

Seumas MacNeill Bk.1

Dr MacInnes’s Fancy

D MacLeod Bk.3

Stornoway Hornpipe

D MacLeod Bk.4

Joe McGann’s Fiddle

Seumas MacNeill Bk.2

Mason’s Apron Tutor 3

Jigs

Biddy from Sligo

D MacLeod Bk.3

Abercairney Tom Glasgow Collection

Alexander MacAskill Seumas MacNeill Bk.2

Echoes of Oban

Seumas MacNeill Bk.1

Old Woman’s Dance

D MacLeod Bk.2

John Paterson’s Mare

D MacLeod Bk.1

On the following link, Matt unboxes a set of bagpipes he purchased off of Amazon for $150USD. Out of the box, they aren’t worth playing. He promised a 2nd video to see if they could be made play-worthy. Note: he intentionally purchased this set to compare against professionally made pipes.

Over the last few years I’ve had a number of students who had purchased a set of pipes online from either E-Bay, Amazon, or even “a store in Scotland” who then come to me for lessons. I’ve been in those stores on the Royal Mile; They are selling “budget” pipes almost identical to those in the video.

The short form of the story is, only purchase professional pipes if you playing the bagpipes is more than a passing fad. Purchase from a manufacturer who is involved in the Piping scene. There are a couple dozen names. Off of the top of my head some of the big ones would be (in alphabetical order) Dunbar, Hardie, Henderson, McCallum, Naill, Shepherd (my apologies to any I missed).