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On the morning of 3 October 2026, twelve members of the Northwest Territorial Pipe Band participated in a piping workshop.  Led by Andrew Bruce, a professional piper, pipers and drummers learned about timing in two tunes and especially in Joe McGann's Fiddle.  This new tune is quite challenging for the members.  It is a hornpipe and while played fast, control needs to maintained.  The more we play this tune the more interesting it becomes.  In the words of one of the drummers:  "I like this tune, it is fun."  This tune will soon be added to our repository (under Resources).

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Halloween is a celebration observed in many countries on or around 31 October every year.  It is the eve of the western Christian feast of All Saint's Day, a day commemorating Christian martyrs.  Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrate All Saint's Day on 1 November.  Presbyterians celebrate and remember members of the family and community who have passed on.  One can see in this a reflection of the religious turmoil and conflict that Scotland experienced with the Protestant Reformation and its aftermath.

Like many of the western Christian traditions, including Christmas, there is a strong likelihood that these traditions existed prior to Christianity and were co-opted by it.  Halloween may have its origins in Celtic harvest festivals and especially the Gaelic festival of Samhain.  The proximity to the autumnal equinox and lead-in to the winter solstice is significant. A list of such Celtic festivals includes:

  • Samhain (Calan Gaeaf (Wales), Kalan Gwav (Cornwall) and Kalan Goañv (Brittany)
  • Imbolc
  • Beltaine
  • Lughnasa.

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Le joueur de cornemuse, tableau d'Abraham Bloemaert

[Wikimedia]

When we think of the bagpipes we think of Scotland, the highlands and men in kilts tossing telephone poles (aka "cabers").  These are stereotypes.  The history of the bagpipes stretches across millenia and also across continents.  Its origins are obscure but probably can be traced to the Middle East and ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).  The first documented record of bagpipes is from a Hittite slab from about 1, 000 BCE (https://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Asterix/05-Bagpipes-Aulos.html ). The Romans knew it as the tibia utriclaris.  Nero did not fiddle while Rome burned (the fiddle is a Rennaisance instrument), but rather played an aulos using his mouth and armpit, to inspire his troops before battle.  The Romans introduced the aulos to the lands of the Celts.  The bagpipes were the instrument of choice for Caconofix...  It was a popular medieval instrument and was known in the court of Henry VIII of England.

 

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The Northwest Territorial Pipe Band Annual General Meeting has been called:

  • 2026 AGM
  • 20 October 2026
  • 1900 hrs (7:00 PM) - Northwest Territories Time (UTC-6)
  • Weledeh School Band Room
  • Please contact us in advance if you are coming:  Contact Us

Note that the meeting will begin with elections to the Executive.  If interested in running, please have yourself nominated.  Positions open include:

  • Pipe Major
  • Drum Major
  • Public Relations Officer
  • Secretary-Treasurer
  • Quartermaster

See the Band's bylaws at: https://nwtpipeband.org/index.php/about-the-band/governance/constitution-and-bylaws and also the NWT Societies Act at:  https://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/en/legislation/#gn-filebrowse-0:/s/societies/ .  

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The Northwest Territorial Pipe Band has been very busy this summer.  There have been a number of charity events at which we have performed in addition to a funeral, the local Ramble and Ride, the Alzheimer's Walk, not to mention various practices including marching around the Multiplex parking lot.  For some of our members, these are the last events as they move on from Yellowknife.  The Band is always looking for new members whether they be pipers, drummers or novices.  

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Ange joueur de biniou kozh ou cornemuse (sculpture dans le donjon du château de Vincennes).

ABC Notation is a shorthand form of musical notation for computers.  It can be converted to show the standard staff notation of music (i.e. engraving).  It can also be processed to produce a MIDI sound file.  ABC notation is ASCII based and has the flavour of software from the 1990s at a time before the preponderance of Windows and "what you see is what you get" (WYSIWYG).  The language has evolved but is standardized.  The initial release dates to 1997 but the latest release was in December 2011.  Details are at: http://abcnotation.com/ .  The standard has extensions that can accommodate lyrics (aligned with notes - reminds us of hymn books), chords, tablature and even percussion/drumming. 

The developer of ABC Notation, Chris Walshaw, originally developed the program to notate French bagpipe music (binioù and bombarde).  ABC Notation is an offshoot of MusiXTEX - a typesetting/engraving system for music typesetting.  A further offshoot of this project was LilyPond - but its input files resemble programs.  There are conversion programs.  There are a number of proprietary score-writers available (Celtic Pipes, Bagpipe Writer, MuseScore etc.), but for a not-for-profit society like the Northwest Territorial Pipe Band, the promise of opensource software is compelling.  Because of the origins of ABC Notation for bagpipe music, the notation handles grace notes and other embellishments very well.  Nevertheless it should be noted that ABC notation can handle more than just bagpipe music.

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A kilt is a garment similar to a skirt worn by men.  It was originally a wrap-around full-length garment (belted plaid) that could be draped over the shoulder and head - something like the garment Mel Gibson wore in the field in the movie Braveheart, where he played the role of Sir William Wallace fighting against Edward I (Edward Longshanks) and his army.  This was the "great kilt".  A walking kilt or small kilt was invented in the 1720s which was less unwieldy as the great kilt.  The small kilt was quickly adopted in Scotland, although here is evidence that this kilt was already in used before the 1720s.  A kilt usually has a tartan, although Irish pipe bands often wear a kilt in a solid colour - typically saffron or green.  The amount of material in a kilt (wool) can range from heavy (18-22 ounces) down to light (10-11 ounces).  A full kilt has 8 yards of fabric, although for those who are not girth-impaired, it can range up to 9 yards. 

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Haggis is a savoury pudding. 

When one speaks of a "pudding" one does not speak of cream-based sweet desserts such as custard, mousse, rice or Jell-O.  In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth a pudding could be sweet or savoury.  For example black pudding or a Yorkshire pudding are savoury puddings whereas rice pudding, Christmas pudding or a treacle sponge pudding are sweet puddings. There is a Canadian connection to sweet puddings - the sticky toffee pudding may have origins from two Royal Canadian Air Force Officers billeted in England during the Second World War.

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In History

Bannock is also known as skaan (or scone) or Indian Bread and is found throughout North American Indigenous cuisine, including that of the Inuit, First Nations and Métis. The word "bannock" comes from the Scots dialect of English with its first mention in literature of the 8th century. Historically it was used mostly in Ireland, Scotland and northern England.  That said, it may have been common in various forms in pre-Columbian exchange Indigenous societies.