SALT LAKE CITY -- The story is told of a Scot who visited America. Upon his return home, a friend asked about his trip.
"Americans are the rudest, loudest, most obnoxious people I've ever met," he said. "In New York, for example, I stayed at a fine hotel. But all night long, people were in the hall, boisterous and noisy. By 10 p.m., there were screams, shouts, and people pounding on my door. By 11, they were banging on my walls, and by midnight, there was pounding on my ceiling from the room above and on my floor from the room below."
"What did you do?" asked his friend. "Nothing," said the Scot.
"I minded my own business and just kept practicing my bagpipes."
The stories and jokes about bagpipes are legion. There's the one about why pipers march while they play (it's harder to hit a moving target). And the difference between a bagpipe and an onion (no one cries when you chop up a bagpipe). And what you have when a piper is buried up to his neck in sand (not enough sand). And hundreds more.
"We don't mind," says Mike Postma, drum sergeant for the Wasatch & District Pipe Band. "We even tell some of them ourselves -- especially we drummers!" Bagpipes are a unique instrument, he acknowledges. "It seems like people either can't stand them or they love them."
Members of Wasatch & District, naturally, fall into the second category. "There's nothing quite like standing in a circle with other pipers," says Marc Pehkonen. The swirling, forceful music. The tradition it represents. "I just really, really love it."
"There's no other instrument like it. You're in elite company when you play the bagpipes," adds Mike Page, who has been with the band for about a year.
Wasatch & District, which was started in 2004, actually has two pipe bands, one junior and one advanced, each with 28 members. The advanced band has competed nationally and internationally, earning a Grade 3 classification.
Bands are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, explains Pipe Major Ross Morrill.
"There are only two Grade 1 bands in the U.S. and only eight Grade 2 bands. We are the highest-graded band within a 400 to 500 mile radius."
They earned their upgrade in 2007 when they competed in the North American Pipe Band Championships, in Ontario, Canada, and took fourth in their division. Then they participated in another competition the next day in Montreal, against many of the same bands, and took first place. "That was one of our proud moments," says Morrill.
Next year, they will compete at the world championships in Glasgow, Scotland. This year's championships recently took place, with a total of 237 bands participating from all over the world. "That would be something to see," says Postma. "We're very excited to be going next year."
They are also excited by a new venture they are starting this fall: a piping and drumming school. The eight-week course, taught by members of the band, will start Sept. 14 and will cost $130.
Classes are open to men and women (about half of Wasatch & District pipers are women), as well as girls and boys of all ages. It's a great chance for anyone who has ever had an interest in playing bagpipes or drums, says pipe sergeant Justin Howland.
Learning to play the bagpipes takes both patience and commitment, he says. It takes about a year to get any degree of proficiency.
"You start with a practice chanter, which is just a piece of the bagpipes," he explains.
There's only one scale, only nine notes. But that sounds deceptively simple. What complicates it are the embellishments.
Then, when you add the full pipes, "it is very physical," says Morrill. "You have to blow, regulate pressure and think about the music all at the same time."
Like any quality musical instruments, bagpipes are not cheap; a good set starts at about $1,000. So there is a financial commitment, as well, says Morrill.
But "we do it because we love bagpipe music. It's a great hobby and something that we feel is important to share with others."
The school is the first that they know about in Utah, although there are a lot of individual teachers, says Daniel Schneider, drummer and president of Wasatch & District. "But the school is part of the mission of our organization, which is to educate as well as to entertain. We believe there is a lot of good in the world, and music is a part of that. It makes people's lives better. By developing our talents, our creativity, we bring enjoyment to ourselves and to others."
In this area, he says, "there is a lot of interest in bagpipes, and there's a lot of talent."
There are annual festivals and a lot of people with Scottish heritage. Although that is not required, it does draw a lot of people to the music. But there are many reasons why people play the pipes.
"I've got Scottish blood lines on both sides," says band member Doug Hunter. "I always wanted to play the bagpipes, and when I became a grandparent, I decided if I was ever going to do it, I had better do it. I tracked down a local piper and asked him to teach me. It's been an awesome ride ever since."
Mike Page also "got a late start." He noticed a pipe band that came to his local cemetery every Memorial Day. "Finally, something just clicked, and I thought, I want to do that. I taught myself to play. That is not a recommended method."
Pehkonen got into piping when his mother gave him a teach-yourself-bagpipes kit as a joke Christmas present. But he tried it out. "It had a CD that offered some instructions. When it was obvious that I needed a better teacher, I went to a Highland Games in Buffalo, N.Y., where I lived at the time, and asked a piper to teach me. I've been involved in music since I was little, but this is by far the most fun thing I've done."
Paul Brunner is one of the younger members of the group. He learned to play in honor of his grandfather, "who was a big supporter. He always wanted me to learn. I love it."
Being in the band "is a very social thing," says Postma. "It's a very family-friendly organization and a great group of people. We rehearse two hours a week, give concerts on four or five weekends, march in a few parades. But it's very fulfilling and a lot of fun."
The school, he says, is a great opportunity. If you've ever wanted to play, it's a chance to find out what it's all about. "And if you think you love bagpipes now, just wait. You'll love them even more."
All those jokes notwithstanding.
"Americans are the rudest, loudest, most obnoxious people I've ever met," he said. "In New York, for example, I stayed at a fine hotel. But all night long, people were in the hall, boisterous and noisy. By 10 p.m., there were screams, shouts, and people pounding on my door. By 11, they were banging on my walls, and by midnight, there was pounding on my ceiling from the room above and on my floor from the room below."
"What did you do?" asked his friend. "Nothing," said the Scot.
"I minded my own business and just kept practicing my bagpipes."
The stories and jokes about bagpipes are legion. There's the one about why pipers march while they play (it's harder to hit a moving target). And the difference between a bagpipe and an onion (no one cries when you chop up a bagpipe). And what you have when a piper is buried up to his neck in sand (not enough sand). And hundreds more.
"We don't mind," says Mike Postma, drum sergeant for the Wasatch & District Pipe Band. "We even tell some of them ourselves -- especially we drummers!" Bagpipes are a unique instrument, he acknowledges. "It seems like people either can't stand them or they love them."
Members of Wasatch & District, naturally, fall into the second category. "There's nothing quite like standing in a circle with other pipers," says Marc Pehkonen. The swirling, forceful music. The tradition it represents. "I just really, really love it."
"There's no other instrument like it. You're in elite company when you play the bagpipes," adds Mike Page, who has been with the band for about a year.
Wasatch & District, which was started in 2004, actually has two pipe bands, one junior and one advanced, each with 28 members. The advanced band has competed nationally and internationally, earning a Grade 3 classification.
Bands are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, explains Pipe Major Ross Morrill.
"There are only two Grade 1 bands in the U.S. and only eight Grade 2 bands. We are the highest-graded band within a 400 to 500 mile radius."
They earned their upgrade in 2007 when they competed in the North American Pipe Band Championships, in Ontario, Canada, and took fourth in their division. Then they participated in another competition the next day in Montreal, against many of the same bands, and took first place. "That was one of our proud moments," says Morrill.
Next year, they will compete at the world championships in Glasgow, Scotland. This year's championships recently took place, with a total of 237 bands participating from all over the world. "That would be something to see," says Postma. "We're very excited to be going next year."
They are also excited by a new venture they are starting this fall: a piping and drumming school. The eight-week course, taught by members of the band, will start Sept. 14 and will cost $130.
Classes are open to men and women (about half of Wasatch & District pipers are women), as well as girls and boys of all ages. It's a great chance for anyone who has ever had an interest in playing bagpipes or drums, says pipe sergeant Justin Howland.
Learning to play the bagpipes takes both patience and commitment, he says. It takes about a year to get any degree of proficiency.
"You start with a practice chanter, which is just a piece of the bagpipes," he explains.
There's only one scale, only nine notes. But that sounds deceptively simple. What complicates it are the embellishments.
Then, when you add the full pipes, "it is very physical," says Morrill. "You have to blow, regulate pressure and think about the music all at the same time."
Like any quality musical instruments, bagpipes are not cheap; a good set starts at about $1,000. So there is a financial commitment, as well, says Morrill.
But "we do it because we love bagpipe music. It's a great hobby and something that we feel is important to share with others."
The school is the first that they know about in Utah, although there are a lot of individual teachers, says Daniel Schneider, drummer and president of Wasatch & District. "But the school is part of the mission of our organization, which is to educate as well as to entertain. We believe there is a lot of good in the world, and music is a part of that. It makes people's lives better. By developing our talents, our creativity, we bring enjoyment to ourselves and to others."
In this area, he says, "there is a lot of interest in bagpipes, and there's a lot of talent."
There are annual festivals and a lot of people with Scottish heritage. Although that is not required, it does draw a lot of people to the music. But there are many reasons why people play the pipes.
"I've got Scottish blood lines on both sides," says band member Doug Hunter. "I always wanted to play the bagpipes, and when I became a grandparent, I decided if I was ever going to do it, I had better do it. I tracked down a local piper and asked him to teach me. It's been an awesome ride ever since."
Mike Page also "got a late start." He noticed a pipe band that came to his local cemetery every Memorial Day. "Finally, something just clicked, and I thought, I want to do that. I taught myself to play. That is not a recommended method."
Pehkonen got into piping when his mother gave him a teach-yourself-bagpipes kit as a joke Christmas present. But he tried it out. "It had a CD that offered some instructions. When it was obvious that I needed a better teacher, I went to a Highland Games in Buffalo, N.Y., where I lived at the time, and asked a piper to teach me. I've been involved in music since I was little, but this is by far the most fun thing I've done."
Paul Brunner is one of the younger members of the group. He learned to play in honor of his grandfather, "who was a big supporter. He always wanted me to learn. I love it."
Being in the band "is a very social thing," says Postma. "It's a very family-friendly organization and a great group of people. We rehearse two hours a week, give concerts on four or five weekends, march in a few parades. But it's very fulfilling and a lot of fun."
The school, he says, is a great opportunity. If you've ever wanted to play, it's a chance to find out what it's all about. "And if you think you love bagpipes now, just wait. You'll love them even more."
All those jokes notwithstanding.
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