Full Time Florida Bagpiper For Funerals, Special Occasions and Events

  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Tune Selection
  • Contact
    • Payment Info
  • Photo Gallery
    • Uniforms
  • Referrals
  • Blog

Tears and Cheers

26/2/2018

0 Comments

 
      Bagpipes have a very unique place in modern culture; as a remembrance of heritage, patriotism, and times past. They are  a piece of America's greatness and help make this country so unique! I challenge anyone to find an instrument that invokes so many emotions as bagpipes can. At one event I can see someone crying because it reminds them of their grandfather's funeral service with military honors, next to another cheering because of pride in their heritage t another cringing hoping it will stop soon. I

       Great Highland Bagpipes (GHB) are such a special instrument that has been in wars for hundreds of years, up to WWII leading soldiers to the fighting and even in the current fight against ISIS and terrorism, you have pipe bands, who are soldiers first, and musicians second) playing in an active warzone.
Picture
      The Royal Scots Dragoons Guards album, Spirit of the Glen was the first album recorded in an active war zone (Basra, Iraq) and you can hear that fact on the Flowers of the Forest track. One of my favorite albums and you can feel the emotions of those Cavalrymen in the music. Drum and Bugle has it's place in parade but bagpipes have stood the test of time in battlefields and civilian life. As an avid piper in Tampa Bay, I've played hundreds of events and I have seen a wide range of emotions and talked with those who have served with Scottish battalions with pipe bands, and heard them in wartime. Known many veterans and even an SAS officer who served in WWII and they all agree those pipers are crazy. I think we all have to be to some level as common side effects of the instrument is hearing loss, upper repertory illness (clean your bags guys), and a steady case of empty wallet syndrome.

​      Bagpipes are not for everyone, and I always say you either love'em or hate'em. Next time you hear the mournful bellows of the highland bagpipes and a piper in traditional garb, don't pretend to pop the bag or mess with the drones or the kilt, instead give the piper a smile or a head nod and maybe drop a few dollars his or her way. It's a costly instrument to maintain and don't forget the saying, "time to pay the piper!"

​      As much as you might not enjoy it, it could be making someone else's day. Also, as St. Patrick's Day comes, you can only play so many Irish tunes on Scottish pipes. And no, we cannot play ​Free Bird.
0 Comments

    Archives

    July 2020
    May 2020
    December 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    December 2016
    December 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    July 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All
    Bagpiping
    Beach
    Birthday
    Ceremony Music
    Clearwater
    Dunedin
    Fallen Soldier
    First Responder
    Florida
    Funeral
    Hillsborough County
    Live Music
    Manatee County
    Musician
    Orlando
    Palm Harbor
    Party
    Pasco County
    Patriotic
    Pinellas County
    Piper
    Sarasota
    Sarasota County
    Tampa
    Tampa Bay
    Weddings

    RSS Feed

Instruments

Great Highland Bagpipes

Scottish Small Bagpipes


Picture

Company

Tunes Available

Contact Us





Copyright © 2011-2020 Joyful Noise Bagpiping, DBA

Bagpiping at Anna Maria Island, Bay Pines, Belleair, Bradenton, Brandon, Bushnell, Caladesi Island, Carrollwood, Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, Champions Gate, Dunedin, Egmont Key, Florida National Cemetery, Fort Desoto, Eastlake, Gulfport, Hernando County, Honeymoon Island, Hillsborough County, Holiday, Holmes Beach, Indian Rocks, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Kenneth City, Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Largo, Lealman,  Madeira Beach, Manatee County, New Port Richey, Odessa, Oldsmar, Orlando, Ozona, Palm Harbor, Pasco County, Pinellas County, Pinellas Park, Port Richey, Redington Beach, Safety Harbor, Sand Key Beach,  Sanford, Sarasota, South Pasadena, St. Petersburg, Seminole, St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg Beach, Tampa, Tampa Bay, Tarpon Springs, Thonosassa
, Treasure Island, Trinity, Vero Beach and many more cities

Photo used under Creative Commons from garlandcannon