FERGUS – I gained a new appreciation for members of the Fergus Pipe Band after spending some time as an “honorary” band member on July 23.
The band rehearses on Tuesday nights on the grounds of the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex, and on that night, the Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games invited media to learn a thing or two about the pipes and drums ahead of the festival, which runs Aug. 9 to 11 at the sportsplex.
The bagpipes tend to get all the credit. The forlorn, nasally sounding instrument that can pierce the wind and get right to your heart, gets all the praise and attention at competitive events.
To be sure, bagpipes are not easy to play.
Tyler Bridge, who also plays with the Guelph Pipe Band, talked about the history of pipe bands and a little about how bagpipes are played.
They originated with the Highland Regiment of the British army, he said.
Marching is how soldiers moved around and marching to music set the pace and kept up spirits.
Civilian pipe bands began forming in the early 1900s; the Guelph Pipe Band formed in 1922 and the Fergus Pipe Band in 1927.
“The marching, the formation, the uniforms, the discipline – they all come from the military,” Bridge said, adding the majority of pipe bands are now civilian groups.
Today “it’s really about bringing people together through music.”
But it’s the drummers in the band that set the pace and keep things moving, said Mark Cripps, pipe manager for the Fergus Pipe Band.
And moving is what marching bands are all about.
“Keeping in step is relatively easy with the drums,” he said.
I can tell you it’s not easy to keep that rhythm while marching, however. It’s not even easy to keep a steady beat while standing still.
Teghan Ellis gave me a lesson on her snare drum and what I learned is that it takes a lot of practice to get a drum roll going, never mind having a drum roll that sounds even and paced.
Teghan Ellis offered a snare drum lesson at a media event to promote the Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games. Photo by Joanne Shuttleworth.
What is easy is to make a lot of racket and to frequently drop the drumsticks.
And this was on a dry, comfortable evening mind you.
I don’t know how they do it in the heat, humidity or blazing sun of the Scottish Games. Or conversely in the cold and damp of Remembrance Day or the Santa Claus parade – the other times we often see pipe bands.
I did manage to march with the band – without an instrument – and without mishap I’m happy to report.
But through their description, it’s the mass band events that are thrilling – where dozens of bands join on the same field to play the same song at the same time.
To be “in” the music and surrounded by the music and playing the music – “it’s quite a thing,” Bridge remarked.
“There’s nothing quite like it when the bands come on the field,” agreed festival executive director Elizabeth Bender. “And we easily have over 15 bands at the games.”
The pipes and drums are one of four pillars of the festival, Bender said.
The others are the heavy events, highland dance, and clans and heritage – and each will be highlighted at the festival.
There will be heavy events competitions, pipe band competitions, highland dancers, over 50 clans, a heritage tent, lectures in the genealogy centre, whisky tasting, McKiddie’s centre, Celtic musicians, vendors, food, drink, and on-site camping for those spending the weekend and lucky enough to snag a site before they sold out.
Wellington Advertiser reporter Joanne Shuttleworth, left, and The Grand 101 radio journalist Kate Stockmann pose at the media event. Photo by festival staff.
Maria Doyle Kennedy and Duncan LaCroix, actors in the popular Outlanders television series, are the featured guests and they will make appearances all weekend.
Doyle Kennedy will also perform a concert at the Fergus Grand Theatre after the parade on Aug. 8. Apparently, she’s quite a singer and this will be a treat.
Tickets for the weekend can be purchased on the festival’s website or at the gate but prices go up on Aug 8.
Full details can be found at fergusscottishfestival.com.
Last year festival organizers offered media the chance to toss a caber. This year it was a lesson in pipes and drums.
Bender suggested sword dancing might be a good event for media to take a stab at next year.
Personally, I’m lobbying for whisky tasting.
I think I might be very good at that.
