raul
BLITZED
Im aiming For 100 Posts
Puerto Rican Piper
Posts: 107
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Post by raul on Apr 4, 2008 13:38:59 GMT
How do I convert music notes for other instruments into music notes for Bagpipe?
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Brendan
INTOXICATED
Business Recovery Manager
Posts: 76
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Post by Brendan on Apr 5, 2008 0:12:46 GMT
This is about 20% science and 80% art. It helps to understand music theory: which notes are sharp or flat in a given key, how to transpose from one key to another, etc. With that knowledge, you can transpose a melody to the bagpipe scale; however, since we have only nine notes to work with, many melodies will require some tweaking to address ranges which exceed that.
If your musical background isn't quite that academic, there is software "out there" which will transpose music from any given key to any other. Get it into D major/B minor (C & F both sharp) and it will equate, more or less, to the chanter scale.
That pretty well takes care of the science. Now comes the art.
If a tune in the appropriate key has notes below low G or above high A, you'll have to get creative. You may have to lower or raise notes or phrases by an octave, and they may or may not sound right once modulated.
You'll also have to arrange embellishments, which is definitely a matter of artistic expression. Some will be obvious. Some will "feel" right. Others will be more challenging. It's certainly possible to overdo embellishments. I recommend a more minimalist approach to start. Use single grace notes wherever something is needed. As your skill increases, you can tweak arrangements to include doublings, birls, throws, etc. Certain note transitions call for specific movements.
A word of caution to end: just because you can transpose a tune for the pipes doesn't mean you should. I worked out the refrain from James Taylor's "Carolina in my mind" (mostly to see if it could be done). It's recognizable, but the tune really isn't suited to bagpipes. "Ashokan Farewell" (theme from Ken Burns' "The Civil War" for those in the U.S.A.) comes out a bit better, but still loses something in the translation. It was written for violin and works best there.
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ohiochanter
JOBER AS A SUDGE
Agitator Extraordinaire
Posts: 68
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Post by ohiochanter on Jul 22, 2008 15:27:40 GMT
Another question in the same vein. I looked for the Bagpipe Player software and found it as a free download. All well and good, but it seems to be compatible with only earlier versions of Windows. I have XP on my computer, is there a version available for the newer operating systems?
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Brendan
INTOXICATED
Business Recovery Manager
Posts: 76
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Post by Brendan on Jul 22, 2008 20:47:05 GMT
I run Bagpipe Player on XP and don't have any trouble with it.
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