Ron Rowe says that people either love or hate the sound of bagpipes.
Rowe, who manages and plays for the Galloway Highlanders Pipes and Drums, a group founded in the Top of Utah by his father, is one of the lovers.
So is Clinton Tibbitts, a 17-year-old senior at Ben Lomond High School, home of the proud Scots. A bagpipe player for the school, he first became interested in the instrument when it was used as an alarm clock at summer camp when he was a preteen in Virginia.
"For some reason, something that was really annoying, and related to waking up no less, caught my attention," said Tibbitts. "And then we moved to Utah, where it so happens that the high school I was attending offered it."
For Rowe, of Clearfield, the pipes are a family affair. His father, Albert Rowe, started Galloway in 1992 as a way for family and friends to play together. Albert's father also played.
"It's in the blood, I think," said Rowe. "Three of my four grandparents were from Scotland. My dad quit after his dad died -- too many emotional ties for him. But after my mom died in 1992, we talked him into taking it up again and teaching, to give him something to do. The next thing we knew, we had enough people for a band."
Albert Rowe passed away last year on Father's Day, but his legacy lives on in the Galloway Highlanders, which draws members from throughout Northern Utah.
The group practices weekly at Davis High School -- where groups from around the state will gather for the David Barclay Memorial Bagpipe and Drum Competition on Saturday. Barclay was a piper and longtime leader of the Utah Pipe Band of Salt Lake City, the oldest continuously playing pipe band in the western United States.
Tibbitts will compete in a quartet with Jordan Corey and Daelen McCumber, both juniors, and sophomore Lonnie Vandenburg -- pipers all. The Galloway Highlanders have competed in the past, but this year the group just wants to go for the fun of it.
"We won that competition last year," said Rowe. "This year, we've decided not to compete. Competitions are so stressful. We've decided to go back to the basics this year instead. So we might play in a mass band, where everyone plays together, but that will be it."
A haunting sound
What is the appeal of the pipes for those who are moved by them?
"It's interesting, because the people who are into them just always say they love them -- but never seem to say what it is they love about them." said Rowe. "To me, since I grew up with them, I've got a real emotional attachment."
Cory Jensen, the faculty adviser for the Ben Lomond Pipe and Drum Corps, notes that bagpipes seem to have a visceral connection to many people and cultures.
"Absolutely, they are ancient," said Jensen. "No one is even sure where they originated -- no one theory weaves everything together. But they seem to continue on and on as a part of life in many places, including here."
What is certain is that the sound of the Highland pipes has very much defined Scotland. The pipe were once used for marking time in the villages -- sort of like a musical town crier -- and also have, for centuries, led regiments into battle.
"It is a really haunting sound," noted Rowe. "If you were the enemy hunkered down, and you heard the pipes coming for you, I am sure that sound struck you with a fear-and-awe response."
Future looks bright
Rowe is no purist when it comes to the music, though he said his father and grandfather certainly were.
"While we play what are believed to be very ancient tunes, I have found the prettiest pieces might not be easily related to. But if you play something like 'Amazing Grace' or 'America the Beautiful,' people can really relate. So we do those things, too, especially for things like Memorial Day."
The Ben Lomond players go even further afield. But, Jensen notes, it can be tricky to update, as it is a limited instrument.
"The bagpipes only play nine notes, so some songs don't work because of sharps and flats, or too large of a range," he said. "But we do like to play around at sporting events, to get the crowd going."
Among the contemporary Ben Lomond favorites are "We Will Rock You" by Queen and "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC.
Said Tibbitts: "We are also school mascots, so we want to be crowd-pleasers. Those songs sure are. And some of us who are able to hear music and transcribe it have written out 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Harry Potter,' 'Star Wars,' and obviously, 'Braveheart.' " He laughed. "I guess we are not exactly traditional, because we are teenagers, and it is fun to experiment."
Tibbitts plans to attend Weber State University, which does not have a pipes program. But he hopes to perhaps start a club there, and eventually, his own corps.
"There is not a group between Ogden and Henry's Fork, Idaho," Tibbitts noted. "So I would like one that at least covers Ogden, Brigham City and Logan -- maybe a Ben Lomond alumni group."
As for Galloway, new players are coming all of the time. Rowe said his youngest player now is 14. And he sees it as part of his duties to teach the new players about the traditions of piping, as well as the music.
"Playing with us is a bit of a history lesson," said Rowe. "You have to understand where this comes from to understand why we do what we do."
The instrument has a long history ...
The bird flutes discovered last year in Germany, and determined to be 35,000 years old, suggest that people used reeds and bones with holes in them to change pitch and make music in ancient times.
But what if a player wanted to sustain a note while taking a breath, or wanted to play louder than the human lungs allow?
Add a bag made of animal innards or leather to the pipe, holding air to sustain and embolden the sound. Voila -- you've got a basic bagpipe.
Though commonly thought of in the Western world as a musical staple of the British Isles, variations on the instrument are found throughout much of Europe and the East. No one is certain whether they evolved in one place and migrated, or if similar instruments developed in several places.
What is fairly certain is the ancient Romans had a variation on the instrument called the tibia utricularis, which Emperor Nero (in the second century) was said to play. Some believe this variation arrived with the conquering Romans to the British Isles, while others think that a primitive version of the pipes were already in use by the native tribes well before then.
One thing is for certain -- by the 13th century in Europe, the pipes became a common visual element in European iconography. The Cantigas de Santa Maria, a Castilian manuscript dating back to the 13th century, shows illustrations of several simple bagpipes. They are also mentioned in the prologue to the Miller's Tale in "The Canterbury Tales," written around 1380. Examples appear in paintings, weavings, carvings, engravings and illustrations throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods in Europe.
Actual examples of pipes prior to the 18th century are all but unknown, as they were commonly made from such biodegradable stuff as guts, leather, ivory and wood.
The classic pipes best known today in the West are the Scottish Highland pipes. The first serious study known of Highland pipes and their music dates from 1730 -- Joseph MacDonald's "Compleat Theory."
Though long used by Scottish troops to instill fear and awe in the enemy in local conflicts, the instrument's fame spread far and wide during the expansion of the Victorian British Empire when British military forces, which included Highland Regiments, used the Scottish Great Highland Pipes as part of their foot soldier forces and ceremonial parades.
Though mostly used to play traditional Scottish music, the instrument's repertoire has expanded greatly since the 1960s. Pipes can be heard on such recordings as AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top" and Paul McCartney's "Mull of Kintyre."
The late African-American musician Rufus Harley's primary instrument was the Great Highland bagpipes, on which he played jazz and blues. As a young horn player, he was inspired to take up the pipes after seeing the Black Watch Royal Regiment on television at John F. Kennedy's state funeral.
Harley recorded his own material and also appeared on works by such artists as Sonny Rollins, Laurie Anderson and Herbie Mann.
Sources : www.hotpipes.com, Standard-Examiner interviews with Ron Rowe and Cory Jenkins, "Bagpipes" (University of Oxford, 1995) by Anthony Baines, www.bagpipehistory.info, www.discovery.com, liner notes for "The Cutting Edge" by Sonny Rollins (Milestone Records, 1975)
Rowe, who manages and plays for the Galloway Highlanders Pipes and Drums, a group founded in the Top of Utah by his father, is one of the lovers.
So is Clinton Tibbitts, a 17-year-old senior at Ben Lomond High School, home of the proud Scots. A bagpipe player for the school, he first became interested in the instrument when it was used as an alarm clock at summer camp when he was a preteen in Virginia.
"For some reason, something that was really annoying, and related to waking up no less, caught my attention," said Tibbitts. "And then we moved to Utah, where it so happens that the high school I was attending offered it."
For Rowe, of Clearfield, the pipes are a family affair. His father, Albert Rowe, started Galloway in 1992 as a way for family and friends to play together. Albert's father also played.
"It's in the blood, I think," said Rowe. "Three of my four grandparents were from Scotland. My dad quit after his dad died -- too many emotional ties for him. But after my mom died in 1992, we talked him into taking it up again and teaching, to give him something to do. The next thing we knew, we had enough people for a band."
Albert Rowe passed away last year on Father's Day, but his legacy lives on in the Galloway Highlanders, which draws members from throughout Northern Utah.
The group practices weekly at Davis High School -- where groups from around the state will gather for the David Barclay Memorial Bagpipe and Drum Competition on Saturday. Barclay was a piper and longtime leader of the Utah Pipe Band of Salt Lake City, the oldest continuously playing pipe band in the western United States.
Tibbitts will compete in a quartet with Jordan Corey and Daelen McCumber, both juniors, and sophomore Lonnie Vandenburg -- pipers all. The Galloway Highlanders have competed in the past, but this year the group just wants to go for the fun of it.
"We won that competition last year," said Rowe. "This year, we've decided not to compete. Competitions are so stressful. We've decided to go back to the basics this year instead. So we might play in a mass band, where everyone plays together, but that will be it."
A haunting sound
What is the appeal of the pipes for those who are moved by them?
"It's interesting, because the people who are into them just always say they love them -- but never seem to say what it is they love about them." said Rowe. "To me, since I grew up with them, I've got a real emotional attachment."
Cory Jensen, the faculty adviser for the Ben Lomond Pipe and Drum Corps, notes that bagpipes seem to have a visceral connection to many people and cultures.
"Absolutely, they are ancient," said Jensen. "No one is even sure where they originated -- no one theory weaves everything together. But they seem to continue on and on as a part of life in many places, including here."
What is certain is that the sound of the Highland pipes has very much defined Scotland. The pipe were once used for marking time in the villages -- sort of like a musical town crier -- and also have, for centuries, led regiments into battle.
"It is a really haunting sound," noted Rowe. "If you were the enemy hunkered down, and you heard the pipes coming for you, I am sure that sound struck you with a fear-and-awe response."
Future looks bright
Rowe is no purist when it comes to the music, though he said his father and grandfather certainly were.
"While we play what are believed to be very ancient tunes, I have found the prettiest pieces might not be easily related to. But if you play something like 'Amazing Grace' or 'America the Beautiful,' people can really relate. So we do those things, too, especially for things like Memorial Day."
The Ben Lomond players go even further afield. But, Jensen notes, it can be tricky to update, as it is a limited instrument.
"The bagpipes only play nine notes, so some songs don't work because of sharps and flats, or too large of a range," he said. "But we do like to play around at sporting events, to get the crowd going."
Among the contemporary Ben Lomond favorites are "We Will Rock You" by Queen and "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC.
Said Tibbitts: "We are also school mascots, so we want to be crowd-pleasers. Those songs sure are. And some of us who are able to hear music and transcribe it have written out 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Harry Potter,' 'Star Wars,' and obviously, 'Braveheart.' " He laughed. "I guess we are not exactly traditional, because we are teenagers, and it is fun to experiment."
Tibbitts plans to attend Weber State University, which does not have a pipes program. But he hopes to perhaps start a club there, and eventually, his own corps.
"There is not a group between Ogden and Henry's Fork, Idaho," Tibbitts noted. "So I would like one that at least covers Ogden, Brigham City and Logan -- maybe a Ben Lomond alumni group."
As for Galloway, new players are coming all of the time. Rowe said his youngest player now is 14. And he sees it as part of his duties to teach the new players about the traditions of piping, as well as the music.
"Playing with us is a bit of a history lesson," said Rowe. "You have to understand where this comes from to understand why we do what we do."
The instrument has a long history ...
The bird flutes discovered last year in Germany, and determined to be 35,000 years old, suggest that people used reeds and bones with holes in them to change pitch and make music in ancient times.
But what if a player wanted to sustain a note while taking a breath, or wanted to play louder than the human lungs allow?
Add a bag made of animal innards or leather to the pipe, holding air to sustain and embolden the sound. Voila -- you've got a basic bagpipe.
Though commonly thought of in the Western world as a musical staple of the British Isles, variations on the instrument are found throughout much of Europe and the East. No one is certain whether they evolved in one place and migrated, or if similar instruments developed in several places.
What is fairly certain is the ancient Romans had a variation on the instrument called the tibia utricularis, which Emperor Nero (in the second century) was said to play. Some believe this variation arrived with the conquering Romans to the British Isles, while others think that a primitive version of the pipes were already in use by the native tribes well before then.
One thing is for certain -- by the 13th century in Europe, the pipes became a common visual element in European iconography. The Cantigas de Santa Maria, a Castilian manuscript dating back to the 13th century, shows illustrations of several simple bagpipes. They are also mentioned in the prologue to the Miller's Tale in "The Canterbury Tales," written around 1380. Examples appear in paintings, weavings, carvings, engravings and illustrations throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods in Europe.
Actual examples of pipes prior to the 18th century are all but unknown, as they were commonly made from such biodegradable stuff as guts, leather, ivory and wood.
The classic pipes best known today in the West are the Scottish Highland pipes. The first serious study known of Highland pipes and their music dates from 1730 -- Joseph MacDonald's "Compleat Theory."
Though long used by Scottish troops to instill fear and awe in the enemy in local conflicts, the instrument's fame spread far and wide during the expansion of the Victorian British Empire when British military forces, which included Highland Regiments, used the Scottish Great Highland Pipes as part of their foot soldier forces and ceremonial parades.
Though mostly used to play traditional Scottish music, the instrument's repertoire has expanded greatly since the 1960s. Pipes can be heard on such recordings as AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top" and Paul McCartney's "Mull of Kintyre."
The late African-American musician Rufus Harley's primary instrument was the Great Highland bagpipes, on which he played jazz and blues. As a young horn player, he was inspired to take up the pipes after seeing the Black Watch Royal Regiment on television at John F. Kennedy's state funeral.
Harley recorded his own material and also appeared on works by such artists as Sonny Rollins, Laurie Anderson and Herbie Mann.
Sources : www.hotpipes.com, Standard-Examiner interviews with Ron Rowe and Cory Jenkins, "Bagpipes" (University of Oxford, 1995) by Anthony Baines, www.bagpipehistory.info, www.discovery.com, liner notes for "The Cutting Edge" by Sonny Rollins (Milestone Records, 1975)
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