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 That winter I transcribed all the unpublished tunes, and 17 years later I'm still trying to understand what lies behind that extraordinary document!

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

March 8, 2019May 29, 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)

September 9, 2018September 7, 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

March 11, 2017March 11, 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

March 4, 2017October 8, 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[…]

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 4

February 22, 2017October 8, 2017 Barnaby BrownLearning Interpretations

PART 1. The rift between vocal and written canntaireachd PART 2. The rationale behind a proposed colour scheme PART 3. Case study 1: Hiharin hiodreen – One of the Cragich (PS 36) Part 4 is a continuation of Case[…]

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 3

February 5, 2017March 23, 2017 Barnaby BrownLearning Interpretations

PART 1. The rift between vocal and written canntaireachd PART 2. The rationale behind a proposed colour scheme PART 3. Case study 1: Hiharin hiodreen – One of the Cragich (PS 36) This series is dedicated to the memory of Lt Cl[…]

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 2

January 15, 2017September 8, 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[…]

APC - Learning Living Pibroch

I don't care if it's orthodox; I care if it's musical - Angus MacPherson

Author: Barnaby Brown

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

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

The pipe is not played but sung

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 5

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 4

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 3

Using colour to convey musical pitches – Part 2