KILTED COPPERS Newsletter of the Auckland Police Pipe Band November 2011 Hi, and welcome back to the much missed Auckland Police Pipe Band newsletter! It s been quite a while since the last issue so I have taken on the role of editor now that my other pipe band commitments have lessened considerably. Please feel free to forward me any interesting pipebandy info you think we may find interesting for publication. The next newsletter will come out in January 2012. It s going to be another busy twelve months for the Band, with the 2011/2012 contest season kicking off this week, and preparations being made for the 2012 trip to the Basel Tattoo and Flanders. Be assured that your hard-working Executive Committee members and Events Manager will have things well in hand. There is always lots to do and, as a past committee member, I m sure that they will appreciate your support if you feel you can help in any way. This year we are very lucky to have Alistair Hanning on board as our Musical Director. Alistair s musical abilities and pipeband pedigree is well known, and both the pipe and drum corps have already benefited from his involvement. Along with Alistair, we welcome back John Hanning. John has played with the Band on several occasions over the years. Both the pipe & drum corps have grown considerably in numbers over the past twelve months and the Band continues to flourish. I think it s fantastic to see that we are now also attracting some younger members, particularly into the drum corps. However, I am still the youngest member of the pipe corps!!!! And I m not that young. so we need to work on that!
Page 2 of 5 You know I just had to include a photo of the reason I ve not been at practice much in the last wee while... Luca is now five months old and will enter the world of pipe bands when he attends the Auckland Highland Games with us this weekend. He loves listening to the practice chanter, but is not so sure about the noisy bagpipes. So hopefully over time he ll learn to enjoy them more. or he may find himself shipped off to his Grandma s during the contest season!! Jane CONGRATULATIONS!! Congratulations to Colleen Emtage & Andy Frith who got married on 22nd October 2011!! Colleen has been a member of the band for many years and although no longer an active playing member, she has remained an associate member & supporter. John Wotherspoon played his pipes at the wedding and I believe he commented that Colleen looked absolutely beautiful on her wedding day! YAY!! Whispers from the Band Camp at Whenuapai 5th-6th November. I hear that one member of the pipe corps needs to urgently furnish a report to the Patron explaining why he was wearing brown boots, stripey socks & women s trousers which were too short for him (hence the visible socks), while in Police uniform.
Page 3 of 5 IMPORTANT DATES TO NOTE: 19 th Nov 2011 Auckland Highland Games 26 th Nov 2011 Onehunga Santa Parade 27 th Nov 2011 Farmers Santa Parade, Queen Street 9 th rd Dec 2011 Waiheke Parade 3 rd th - 11 th Dec 2011 Palmerston North Square Day Contest 8 th -11 th 11 th Feb 2012 Paeroa Contest & Tattoo 25 th Feb 2012 CNI Contest, Rotorua 11 th March 2012 NZ National Contest, Tauranga And remember to keep an eye on the schedule Alistair sent out regarding extra rehearsals prior to the contests. CAPTION CONTEST: The winner will receive a prize (yet to be decided) of little or no value it s all about the glory of winning. Please send your suggestions to me at pipersx2@yahoo.co.nz by the 30 th November 2011.
Page 4 of 5 From the Pipe Major. Camp 2011 and Beyond. Band camp 2011 has come and gone. From the discussion on the Sunday morning of the camp it was clear that a majority thought it very worthwhile and were asking when is the next one. We are continuing to work on this. The focus of the camp from my perspective as PM was to master the rehearsal technique in the build-up to the competition circle. This is the approach put to us by Alistair on how to prepare the band for the performances of the set and medley on competition day. And the camp gave us the perfect opportunity to try this out. I cannot say I have mastered it yet but there are positives. Camp rehearsals highlighted two very important facts that are required in this build up. First, getting the sound right in reasonable time. Second, getting to point A on time and in good condition. We had difficulty striking a good pitch in the cold wind and not until we moved out of the wind did things start to settle down. Given that we all had received new reeds the week before and nearly all with the new Gannaway bag the initial sound wasn t too bad. The problem areas are caused by pipers turning up with pipes that are not 100% in working order. It is essential that if we are going to get a good sound in reasonable time then it has to be up to the individual to make absolutely certain their pipe is working. Moisture control system working, drones starting every time, chanter sounding good and balanced over the whole range of notes. Even with the maintenance session on the Friday night there were still some pipes not working when it came to rehearsals on Saturday and Sunday. Setting the band up is very difficult if the gear is not up to scratch. Getting to point A in good condition requires that we don t play for too long in the buildup. The idea should be to combine with the drummers to cover some of the breaks in between working on the sound and resting up. I plan to continue this technique during the contest season that starts next weekend with the Auckland Highland Games and finishes in Tauranga in March. Please be patient as the process is still new to me. Be prepared for a bit of waiting around and be ready immediately when called upon to play. With a team effort I know we can pull this off, hopefully producing some good results.
Page 5 of 5 Thanks to all those who were involved in making the camp a success. Without the dedication of a few individuals these things just don t happen. If you have good ideas for the next camp let them be heard. Basel 2012 By January 2012 we are expecting to receive the music for Basel Tattoo 2012. This will be distributed to all as soon as it arrives but we will not be working on it as a band until after the Nationals in March. It would be wise to at least cast your eye over this music before required by the band. The first practice after the nationals this music will come out and we will begin in earnest. I require that we all learn the music together, even those not going to Basel, as it will form a good platform on which to base our 2012 contest season. We also want to take a band away that is well prepared musically. We have the opportunity to learn the new tunes from scratch using Alistair s singing method and I am expecting that we will be playing them on the pipes and drums very soon after we begin. It is important that we turn up in Basel as a well sounding band. I am very much looking forward to this. Bring your enthusiasm to practice! Andy