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Piping at Weddings
Most
frequently, the
wedding party requests a piper to play outside the church before and
after
the wedding ceremony. Sometimes they also request tunes to be played
during
the ceremony inside the church, for example, during the processional,
recessional,
or candle lighting. On some occasions, piping is done at a wedding
where
the ceremony and reception are held in the same building. At one such
wedding,
the pipes were played on the balcony as guests arrived, played for the
processional
and recessional, and then played again for a short time as guests filed
out
to the cocktail hour.
During outdoor weddings, the
piping is usually incorporated into the ceremony. Another option is to
have the pipes played at a cocktail hour or at a certain point during
the reception. The cocktail hour option is especially popular where
there is an outdoor garden or patio for the cocktail hour. If you are
interested in choosing particular
tunes, you can hear midi files of simulated bagpipes at under Repertoire. Click Sound Samples to
hear Michael play tunes on an electronic bagpipe.
Michael
Piping for Wedding Party on Long Beach Island, as seen in the New York
Daily News
on Sunday, October 29, 2006
Scottish and Irish Pipes
Michael plays the Great Highland Bagpipes. The Scottish
Highland Bagpipe and the Irish Great Pipe are essentially the same. The
Irish pipe traditionally has only two drones (bass and tenor), but so
did the Scottish pipe at one time, if you go back into the early 18th
century. There are other types of pipe known as small pipes in both
countries. The most well known Irish pipe is not the Great Pipe (also
known as War Pipe) but the uilleann pipe, which means elbow pipe, so
called because it is played by pumping a bellows rather than by
blowing. This type of pipe is used by the Chieftains and other bands
along with guitars, fiddles, harp, etc. If you are looking for
a piper to play outside the church, you would want a Great Pipe. If you
like a tune played during the ceremony, you could also use the Great
Pipe,
but the uilleann pipe would be good indoors. Then again, Highland pipes
are often played at cocktail hours for warm weather receptions when
they
are outdoors.
For a detailed history of the Irish War Pipe, click here.
To
hire a piper or pipers for your wedding or other event, contact us via castledangerous@gmail.com
or phone 609.404.1596.
Return to Michael F.
Bell Bio
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2001-2003 Castle
Dangerous. All rights reserved. Not for dissemination or other use
without the expressed, written permission of the author.
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