A Doubting Thomas

Recently, our pipe band was invited to pipe the dignitaries in and out of the banquet hall in the Sheraton Guildford Hotel in North Surrey, British Columbia. Our pipe band is Surrey Firefighters’ Pipes and Drums, and the occasion was to honor the most recognized policeman of the year. Surrey’s Board of Trade was sponsoring the banquet.

We were preparing for our entrance into the hall when I recognized a young man, whose name is Tilden, who graduated in piano performance, from McGill University in Montreal, with our son Earl. Tilden lives in Vancouver and Earl lives in Connecticut. Both are professional musicians, and I learned that Tilden and his band would be performing that evening for the same group of people as we were. It was so good to see him.

After we had played the dignitaries in and had made our exit as well, I met Tilden again, just as we were putting away our instruments and I said that I’d be letting Earl know that I had been talking with him this evening. Tilden just patted his chest to indicate he had an I-phone in there and he said, “He already knows.” I was amazed to realize how quickly Tilden had communicated with Earl who is so far away. I intended to send Earl an e-mail when I got home.

Earl wrote in his Facebook, about his communication with Tilden. In it Tilden had said, “You’ll be surprised to know that your dad and I were playing for the same gig tonight.” Earl’s answer was just one word, “What!?” I can imagine what he was thinking; that his friend, a noted pianist and his own dad, along with his Firefighters’ Pipe Band, were playing a concert? Who would believe it? I was so amused from reading Earl’s reply that I was laughing about it even when driving. Earl reminded me of a fellow called Doubting Thomas who was unable to believe that Jesus had risen from having been crucified: "Unless I see the nail prints in His hands, I won’t believe it." Earl would take some convincing to believe that Tilden and I would be playing together, to entertain the banquet guests. Earl’s comment was the icing on the cake for a great event.

Earl and Tilden, last summer in Surrey, B.C.

Technique in Music Writing

Some of us still write our music by hand.  Even though an individual may write his or her by hand initially, it will most likely be set up by an individual who will use a computer program to print it nice and neatly.  Certain techniques are necessary to make the music easy to read and to correspond with rules just as applicable to bagpipe music as to music written for other instruments.

Considering the staff, on which musical notes are written, it is composed of 5 lines and four spaces.  The spaces are named from the bottom upward with the letters, FACE and the lines are named in the same order.  They are EGBDF.  To memorize the lines, one remembers the phrase, “Every Good Boy Deserves Favor,” or “Does Fine,” whichever way one is taught.  Bagpipe music writing also requires a high G and a high A.  Its range actually extends from the low G to the High A. The high A has a ledger line drawn through it.  The range of notes in the bagpipe scale is short, being just one octave, from A to A along with the low G note, but the scale enables one to write innumerable combinations.  Amazingly, there are thousands of musical selections written for the bagpipes.  They are catalogued under slow marches, quick marches, retreats, laments, strathspeys, reels, jigs, polkas and hornpipes, as well as popular songs.  Even bugle calls have been written for the pipes.  

A musical staff is very much like a graph.  Horizontally, the lines measure time when divided periodically by vertical lines called bar lines.  Vertically, the lines and spaces will accommodate the notes, and because notes are given a certain time value or distance between the bars, one can see at a glance, how long each note is to be sustained.

A typical example of a tune written for the pipes would be, “Abide With Me.”  Here, one could write four staffs, one above the other across the page, and then divide each one of the staffs into four bars using vertical “bars lines,” to produce sixteen “bars.”  The time signature, which will have been given at the beginning of the selection is 4/4, which means that each one of the 16 bars is to be considered as having its time divided into four portions.  Consequently, the basic note is a quarter note and it is allotted a quarter of the time given to a bar. If the time for that note should require twice as much time as a quarter note, it will be a half note, and it isn’t blackened in.  A half note is given half the distance along the bar.  A whole note is not blackened in and it doesn’t have a tail.  Its location should be at the beginning of the bar and hence a musician will know at a glance that the note will sound for the entire length of time which is designated by the time from one bar to the next.  Often, one sees that a whole note may be placed by the careless music writer, anywhere within the bar; even towards the end of the bar, and this is a misdirection for the musician.  Correcting such errors in the writing of pipe music is one of the reasons for this article. 

Both a quarter note and a half note will each have a tail.  A little flag on the tail of a quarter note would make it an 8th note.  Two flags would make it a 16 th note. 

If a quarter note or a half note is to be played longer, it is given a dot.  Its time is extended by adding half its initial value.  That is why, when actually playing a dotted quarter note, one beats twice; first it’s for the quarter note’s value and secondly for the dot, because the dot falls in the space of time that would be given to a subsequent quarter note if it were written there.  Instead, it’s the dot that gives an extension of the note into the next quarter of the bar.  Some players miss this point and consequently begin to speed up the tune.  So, it’s an important reminder to be aware of the dots and to hold onto the note for the next beat.  Along with the dot, an eighth note or in actuality, two sixteenth notes would have to be included in that second beat to complete its amount of time, and they would have to be spaced accordingly.  Such is the case when writing tunes such as “Highland Cathedral” and “The Sands of Kuwait.”

There is more to explain about writing music.  Musical notes must be presented on the staff so the music can be visualized at a glance, enabling one to play the tune in his or her head without actually hearing the music.  It is a salient point about writing music, and yet writers are not always conscious of presenting the music in this manner, which is to write the notes according to time, precisely where they should fall in each bar.

In “Abide with Me,” for example, the first note, is a half note C, with a high G grace note preceding it.  Being a half note, the C should be given half the length of the first bar.  The two quarter notes following it, should be given the second half of the bar, and be spaced so one can see clearly that the first quarter note doesn’t crowd the half note and that the second quarter note will have an equal spacing before and after it.           

When one writes the two half notes in the second bar, the first one should fall close to the beginning of the bar and the second half note should be placed at the halfway mark.  Thus, one can visualize sounding the second half note for the time devoted to half the bar.

When writing music, the beginning of the first staff line is indented somewhat, not unlike indenting a paragraph in a letter. Only the first line is indented.  A bar-line is drawn at the beginning and another at the end of the line.  Similarly, each subsequent line should have a bar-line at the beginning and at the end, but not after the treble clef.   A treble clef is drawn on each staff line.  It looks somewhat like a stylized G.  It winds around the G line so it’s called a G clef; but usually it is called a treble clef to differentiate it from the Bass clef.  There is also an Alto clef for instruments such as the viola, which play in the middle range, but neither the Bass nor Alto clef is of concern to the piper.  There should not be a bar line drawn after any G clef. 

Before dividing the staff into bars, there are several other necessary considerations: The first is that music is played in one or another key and that key must be indicated after the G clef.  For most conventional instruments, the key may be that of A, B, C, D or innumerable others, which have their significant symbols.  These symbols are sharps or flats.  However, the key in which bagpipe music is written is an ancient one, known as a Pythagorean scale or a Mixolydian Scale, and since the bagpipe instrument is designed to incorporate sharps, the key signature is not required as it is for other instruments.  For them, music is written in various keys.  Occasionally, one will see music written for bagpipes, with one, two or three sharps in this location, and they are not required, and often incorrect if one were to consider the correct key for that music if it were to be played on a conventional instrument.  Do not use a key signature when writing bagpipe music.  The Mixolydian scale was designed with its corresponding sharps built in.

The time signature comes after the Treble clef and is recognizable by 2/2, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 5/8, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 and other less common time signatures.  They tell the musician how many beats are to be given in each bar of music.  One might beat twice, three times, four or more times in a bar depending upon the time signature. Three-four indicates there will be three quarter notes in each bar and there will be three beats in each bar.   Four-four indicates there are four quarter notes in each bar and that each of those quarter notes will get a beat.  Similarly, with two-four time.  (Two beats to a measure.) 

Timing is different in six-eight, nine-eight and twelve-eight time, in that the notes are grouped together in threes and each group of eighth notes must get a beat.  Occasionally, one finds a tune written with four quarter notes to a bar and it sounds best when the player beats only twice for each bar.  In this case, the time signature is a capital C and it denotes Common time.

A person reading a musical selection notices first of all, the indentation of the staff, then the treble clef, and the key signature, then the time signature in that order.  The key signature is not needed in bagpipe music writing and it is incorrect when added.  Next, the music often has an introduction.  If so, whether the introduction is one note, two, three or more, it comes before the repeat sign.  After that, the staff is divided by bar lines into bars.  There may be three, four, five or more divisions in one line and their purpose is to divide the line into time intervals.  A staff is essentially a graph.  With the notes graphed vertically and the time devoted to those notes graphed horizontally, the music becomes easy to read.

 Repeat signs must be considered as they are designed to give clear direction throughout the musical selection.  The initial repeat sign appears immediately after, and not before the introductory notes.  There will be a first and second ending, and the first ending must contain the introductory notes that were excluded initially.  This ending is bracketed.  The bracket is drawn down to meet the repeat sign.  The second ending is not closed like the first ending, but the line above the second ending simply appears to continue on.  Here, the bar must satisfy the rule of the satisfied bar.  The bar must contain notes to the value given in the time signature, and if the music of a selection is in 4/4 for instance, but only notes to the value of three quarters is to be played, then a quarter note rest should be written.  Similarly, a quarter note rest will be written in place of the third beat in a 3/4 selection, if a note hasn’t been written to be played.

Some have said the written music is only a guideline, but the truth is that music must be written very accurately and played accordingly.  Even so, one musician may bring expression into his or her rendition excelling another person.  To a great extent this is because careful attention is given to providing the correct time to the notes, just as they have been written.

Effort has been taken to explain the details of writing music because many are writing music for their pipe bands who may not be following precise rules.  Instead, they may have learned their methods from having seen the way in which others have only done their best without having had any formal training.  Their music may indicate it is to be repeated from here to here, or to be played regardless of the spacing of the notes.  I hope these explanations will help in the provision of professionally written music for bands that haven’t been so fortunate. 

The Challenge of Arranging Music

A friend sent me an Email to say, “Take a moment to listen to "Beulah Land" because it should sound nice on the pipes.”  I found a video on the web with two couples singing "Beulah Land,” an arrangement from a hymnbook.  I found the printed music for it in "Hymns of Glorious Praise," a hymnbook by Gospel Publishing House.

I've arranged many hymns from this book.  From my old pencil jottings on the pages, I observed that I considered “Beulah Land” at one time, to see how it would sound on the pipes.  It appears that I set this hymn aside to be worked on at another time.  The reason seems obvious; its range was extensive and it had to be compacted, which wasn't out of the question; just that more time was needed to arrange this hymn than other hymns.  It looked quite adaptable and I’m sure it can be done because I just completed it, motivated by knowing it's a hymn my friend is dying to play.  I was thinking I should arrange it because he was needing it, and of course, because it would be challenging.  Also, others might enjoy playing or listening to it being played. 

It’s amusing, that years ago, when I had transposed one hundred hymns for the bagpipes, I decided that would be enough.  Nevertheless, I continued to arrange music for the bagpipes, because my desire was insatiable and I was often preparing to play for church worship services or other engagements.  I'd hear another beautiful hymn and I'd wonder, "How would that hymn sound on the bagpipes?"  Now, I hear other pipers playing, "Be Thou My Vision," "I'd Rather Have Jesus than Anything," and "The Rifted Rock."  I know these hymns are the result of my insatiable habit of not wanting to let any great hymn to be left unarranged for the bagpipes and my desire to publish my arrangements in a series of bagpipe music books called, “The Church Piper,” for the convenience of other pipers.   I wanted pipers and others to enjoy hearing and loving them just as they loved "Amazing Grace" when it was introduced in the '70's and played ever since.  To have many wonderful hymns available for the bagpipes enables them to stay fresh and beloved so people won't get tired of hearing them.  That's why I want to arrange "Beulah Land" for my friend.  I wish I had arranged it earlier.  I'll share it with him when it's neatly written. 

It will be a while before my next book is published, though I actually have a sufficient number of pieces to do so.  It may be, “Aspiring Hymns,” with the theme of aspiring to develop one’s character to be more like that of Jesus, or “Worshipful Hymns,” to suit playing commencement of worship services by the piper.  Presently, I must concentrate on distributing my newest Church Piper music book.  This month, the fifteenth volume in this series was published and it has been welcomed exceptionally well.  Its title is “Patriotic Music & Familiar Folk Songs.”  Short notes from pipers have encouraged me to continue to arrange and publish music for the pipes.  One piper said, “Your admonition to use our God given talents for the work of the Lord is very important to me,” while another wrote, “Thank you for a great ministry and labour of love.”

My latest book of music arranged for the bagpipes, “Patriotic Music and Familiar Folk Songs,” also contains several beautiful hymns.  Other books in this series are based on themes such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorials, Weddings, Scottish Music, Gardening, Sailing, Friends & Neighbours and Sojourning, to name a few.  They are all for the convenience of pipers who need a ready source of music suitable for their piping engagements.   All of them are available from Henderson’s Imports, a Scottish supply shop in Michigan. 

A Piper With a Purpose

This week I had the pleasant surprise of receiving an e-mail letter from a piper, a pastor in New Zealand.  He had searched the web to find especially arranged music for the piper who expects to play in church.  He found that I had published thirteen volumes of suitable music for “The Church Piper,” and he wanted them all.  His special desire has been to specialize in hymns, much to the exclusion of secular music.  He had already begun to transpose and arrange hymns, and knew it would be helpful to find a resource where hymns had already been arranged and could be learned.  In addition, he expected to learn the techniques of transposition and arranging from them.

I explained to him that by moving from Manitoba to British Columbia, I had let Hendersons Ltd., in Michigan, have the whole inventory and that he could order his complete set of music books from them.

I expressed my hope that he would find the satisfaction he desired by specializing in church music and that he would pledge his musicianship towards the glorification of God by doing his finest for whatever occasion he would be invited to play.  It might be in church for call to worship, for a funeral, a wedding, a banquet in which a piper is invited to pipe-in the head table or in a pipe band, coordinating his abilities with other pipers.  Always, it would be with dignity and pride that he would not only be presenting Scotland's kind of music, but assuredly, when playing a hymn, it would be with awareness that God wants him to represent Him well in all he does.

The Scripture reminds us that in everything we do, to do it as for God and not for man.  That is the highest standard, not only for all the music we play, but also for our deportment and the Christian example we set for others to follow.

I explained that one should be proficient in both kinds of music, because each style helps the other in practicing certain finger-work.  One benefits from playing before an audience, from the confidence that it brings, and the ability to maintain good time and perfection in playing.  Finger dexterity is learned from playing secular music as well as hymns.  The ability to count out time comes from playing more than hymns, and to play such pieces as "The Highland Wedding March" and "Trumpet Tune," is gained from hours of practicing music suitable for competitions.  Practice is always with the intention of improving for the next occasion.  One becomes able to play well before any audience.

From my experience as a band piper, and through the need to prepare suitable music for church services, my entire repertoire grew.  My mother's urging was to share the church’s beautiful spiritual music with pipers in the world and to introduce them to Christ our Saviour, so their music would be made meaningful too.  In other words, she explained to me, that I needed to tell pipers that they could only expound upon the love of Jesus once they knew Him personally.

The greatest essential in becoming proficient in playing church-related music is to have more than a book-knowledge of Christ.  That is, we must know Him, and know Him personally -to be able to talk to Him and have love and respect for Him, knowing He is God.  Because Jesus lived on earth as a Man, we can relate to Him in the same way as His own disciples.  That’s when one’s piping becomes meaningful and qualifies a piper to do as Jesus instructed; to go into all the world and teach about His love for everyone.

A little later, I received another letter from this piper and he agreed that he would be retaining his teacher and be associated with a pipe band where he could learn the techniques of piping so he could apply them to his church piping.  He already knew Jesus Christ in a way that he could speak of Him as a Brother.  With such ambition, he will be an outstanding Christian piper in New Zealand.

A "Not So Serious" Gig

During the year after I graduated as an Optometrist, and was interning in Dr. William Lyle’s office in Winnipeg, I attended a convention. I was invited to play my bagpipes for the grand march. Consequently, I was dressed in my Highland outfit for the occasion.

The evening was quite long and personally, I was ready to go home afterwards, but Dr. Lyle’s guests were Fred Khan, the owner of Khan Optical in Toronto, and Dr. Tom Norquay, who had interned with Dr. Lyle a couple of years earlier. Fred Khan always loved to go out for Chinese dinner late at night, when he came to Winnipeg. I was invited to join these three, tired as I was.

We went to China Town and soon ordered some fine dinners. While waiting to be served, Dr. Norquay, who was a descendant of the Selkirk Settlers, was adamant that I should get up and parade for their entertainment while they waited for their dinners. It didn't take any convincing for Dr. Lyle and Fred Khan to agree and entice me into doing what they thought was an excellent idea.

In a few moments, I was tuned up and ready. Tommy selected his position as drum major and led the way throughout the restaurant, and back to the kitchen, where we continued. It wasn't quite as easy as that, for the chief cook was standing in the centre aisle of the kitchen waving his hands, and calling out, “Stoppie! Stoppie!” Tommy directed the parade all the way through and back into the restaurant where many late diners were seated. Beckoning them as we marched past their tables, he added them to our increasingly long line. A second tour was made to complete our unscheduled parade. Once again, the chief cook was there to welcome us and Tommy directed the parade through the kitchen regardless of the cook’s expression of disrespect.

When our parade came to the end, back in the restaurant, and all the diners were resuming their places, I asked Tommy why he supposed the cook was so eagerly trying to have us stop playing when we were doing so well. He replied, “He was only afraid we were going to line everyone up in the restaurant and march them outside, and they wouldn't have to pay their bills." We had no such idea, but apparently, that’s what the cook thought we might do. Everyone else, however, enjoyed the entertainment.

A Good Neighbor

Our pipe band was invited to a BBQ in the back yard of our leading side drummer and his wife.  We were asked to bring our instruments.  After having enjoyed a delicious outdoor meal, we tuned up in their beautiful big yard, and then began to play a few lively tunes compete with drums.  We had an appreciative audience, namely, our wives, who have not often heard us as a band.  We covered quite a bit of our repertoire.

After stopping for a short rest, we were surprised when our host welcomed a newcomer into his yard.  He was apparently a neighbor, an ordinary sort of fellow probably about seventy, and he was now standing in our midst, holding a large flask by its neck, with its flared-out bottom.  He also carried a stack of small plastic cups, not unlike communion glasses.  Already, he was pouring a sample for our host, of what was obviously a little bit of 'whistle wetter' and saying, "Here's a toast to you and to all the band.  We've really been enjoying your music where I live, down the street."

He went within the circle, stopping by each one of us, pouring out small portions of what the bottle contained.  Indeed, it was only a sample, but there was a sincerity in his tone when he thanked each of us individually.  When he finished his round, he topped off his salute to the band by emptying the flask,'straight from the bottle,' while we in awe, stood there watching.  One could not but appreciate his kindly neighborliness, complimenting us on our music and letting us know that our music was appreciated.

Other pipers have told of neighbors not so complimentary.  I think that is why I was so impressed by this man's thoughtfulness, letting us know that he and his neighbors down the street found our music enlightening. I'll remember this incident because it was an illustration of kindness and thoughtfulness.  I'm sure all of us will think occasionally of this man's neighborliness and find some opportunity to show our own appreciation for our neighbors.

Solo Piping is Associated with Church Events

Solo piping is often associated with church related events.  Music arranged for The Church Piper series is designed to serve those pipers.  They must be ready and well prepared.  Familiar band pieces aren’t always appropriate and advance notice isn’t always given.  To learn selections from The Church Piper music books will assure readiness for the occasion.

The majority of a piper’s solo engagements are related to church events such as weddings, memorials, call to worship, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a graduation banquet.  All are occasions in which God is to be honored.  To play a hymn that expounds upon the love of God, or His Almighty power, the piper must know God the Father and Jesus the Son, in a personal way.  Only when a piper knows God, can he or she play with a feeling that says, “God is a Friend of mine, and I want to tell you about Him.”  To play a hymn such as, “I Sing the Mighty Power of God,” one must know the characteristics that make God mighty, or know why we have reason to sing, “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.” Consequently, thoughts related to playing before God are provided in addition to musical arrangements.

This is how The Church Piper music books provide pipers with more than the music.  The purpose of its dissertations is to help pipers make God a personal part of their lives and their music both worshipful and meaningful.  A piper will become a vehicle through whom the longings of God’s people will be carried upwards to be heard by Him, while His blessings will flow back to His listeners.  This is The Church Piper’s objective.  There is satisfaction in seeing pipers recognizing that a personal relationship with God makes their music much more meaningful than if they didn’t know Him at all

Pipers can check their favourite bagpipe shops to enquire about the books that will complete their library of The Church Piper.

The Church Piper's Latest Book

Presently, I am distributing my newest “Church Piper” music book.  The fifteenth volume in The Church Piper series was published recently, with the title, “Patriotic Music & Familiar Folk Songs,” and it has been welcomed exceptionally well.  Notes from pipers have encouraged me to continue arranging and publishing music for the pipes, particularly to enable pipers to play the appropriate music in church.  One piper said, “Your admonition to use our God given talents for the work of the Lord is very important to me,” while another wrote, “Thank you for a great ministry and labour of love.”

It’s true, that I love to arrange music for the pipes and be prepared with suitable music, to play on innumerable special occasions, when I’m invited.  I also love to share what I’ve done with other pipers.  Using our God-given talents for the benefit of others is an obligation that any of us should recognize, as we consider what Jesus did for us in giving us newness of life.

My latest book of music arranged for the bagpipes, namely, “Patriotic Music and Familiar Folk Songs,” with its national anthems and nostalgic songs also contains several beautiful hymns.  Other books in this series were based on themes such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Heaven, Memorials, Weddings, Scottish Music, Gardening, Sailing, Friends & Neighbors and Sojourning, to name a few; all for the convenience of pipers who need a ready source of music suitable for their engagements.  They are available either from Henderson’s Imports or other Scottish shops in the world.

A subsequent hymnbook will most likely be published.  It will be “Aspiring Hymns,” with the theme of aspiring to develop one’s character to mirror that of Jesus.  After that, it will be, “Worshipful Hymns,” to suit the commencement of worship services by the piper.  Already, there are a sufficient number of hymns to do so.  Along with hymns, in each of these books, there will be a number of short articles written on the privilege of being invited to play for call to worship in a church.

In the meantime, “Patriotic Music and Familiar Folk Songs” is available from the author. Pipers are welcomed to enquire about it.  

The Challenge of Arranging Music

A friend sent me an Email to say, “Take a moment to listen to "Beulah Land" because it should sound nice on the pipes.”  I found a video on the web with two couples singing "Beulah Land,” an arrangement from a hymnbook.  I found the printed music for it in "Hymns of Glorious Praise," a hymnbook by Gospel Publishing House.

I've arranged many hymns from this book.  From my old pencil jottings on the pages, I observed that I considered “Beulah Land” at one time, to see how it would sound on the pipes.  It appears that I set this hymn aside to be worked on at another time.  The reason seems obvious; its range was extensive and it had to be compacted, which wasn't out of the question; just that more time was needed to arrange this hymn than other hymns.  It looked quite adaptable and I’m sure now, that it can be done, because I just completed it, motivated by knowing it's a hymn my friend is dying to play.  I was thinking I should arrange it because he needed it, and of course, because it would be challenging, and also that others might enjoy it too, by playing or listening to it being played.

It’s amusing, that years ago, when I had transposed one hundred hymns for the bagpipes, I decided that would be enough.  Nevertheless, I continued to arrange music for the bagpipes, because my desire was insatiable and I was often preparing to play for church worship services or other engagements.  I'd hear another beautiful hymn, just like my friend heard this one, and I'd wonder, "How would that hymn sound on the bagpipes?"  Now, I hear other pipers playing, "Be Thou My Vision," "I'd Rather Have Jesus Than Anything," and "The Rifted Rock."  I know these hymns are the result of my insatiable habit of not wanting to let any great hymn be left unarranged for the bagpipes and my desire to publish my arrangements in a series of bagpipe music books called, “The Church Piper,” for the convenience of other pipers.  I wanted pipers and others to enjoy hearing and loving them just as they loved "Amazing Grace" when it was introduced in the '70's and played for years afterwards.  To have many wonderful hymns available for the bagpipes enables them to stay fresh and beloved so people won't get tired of hearing them.  That's why I wanted to arrange "Buelah Land" for my friend.  I wish I had arranged it earlier.  I'll share it with him when it's neatly written.

It will be a while before my next book is published, though I actually have a sufficient number of pieces to do so.  It may be, “Aspiring Hymns,” with the theme of aspiring to develop one’s character to be more like that of Jesus, or “Worshipful Hymns,” to suit the commencement of worship services by the piper.  Presently, I must concentrate on distributing my newest Church Piper music book.  This month, the fifteenth volume in this series was published and it has been welcomed exceptionally well.  It’s title is, “Patriotic Music & Familiar Folk Songs.”  Short notes from pipers encourage me to continue to arrange and publish music for the pipes.  One piper said, “Your admonition to use our God given talents for the work of the Lord is very important to me,” while another wrote, “Thank you for a great ministry and labour of love.”

My latest book of music arranged for the bagpipes, “Patriotic Music and Familiar Folk Songs,” also contains several beautiful hymns.  Other books in this series are based on themes such as Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorials, Weddings, Scottish Music, Gardening, Sailing, Friends & Neighbours and Sojourning, to name a few.  They are all for the convenience of pipers who need a ready source of music suitable for their engagements.

A New Music Book

“Patriotic Music and Familiar Folk Songs,” volume 15, is the latest in The Church Piper series of music books.  Subtle improvements such as illustrations on most pages bring it to life.  The music will appeal to expert pipers needing a ready source of music to play for many different occasions, as well to less experienced pipers who would enjoy the music that’s more familiar to them.  Whether for a military ceremonial, church, or a social gathering, there is suitable music.

Many having the entire collection have been anxious to add this compendium of favorites to their music library and have found it convenient to request their acquisition from the compiler and arranger, Dr. Keith MacDonald or from their favorite Scottish shop.

These are songs that originated in wartime or that resulted from the love of home, fond memories, romance, and the worship of God.  Arranged for the Scottish bapipes, they will stir a person’s heart and soul to feel pride in one’s country, causing a person to appreciate God’s gift of life and love, and to be thankful to God for all His kindness, all of which is so undeserving.”

It is good to meet other pipers by Email as they order their copy.  Most interesting was a conversation with George Balderose in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, the principal of The Balmoral College of Piping and Drumming.  He has an invitation to play at the entrance to his Presbyterian Church every Sunday morning for a period of time while the people arrive. That requires a large repertoire, and the good fortunate to have weather conducive to playing the pipes.  He has a considerable collection of hymns and we agreed to exchange his volume for my latest one.  His is called, “The Balmoral Collection of Hymns.”  I complimented him for suggesting the transaction, and we both knew we had made a good deal.  We have the same ambition; to make familiar music available to pipers so they won’t have to be concerned about transposing and arranging when their time is limited.  We hope to assist pipers to feel comfortable playing solo, whether for church, military ceremonials or social occasions.  All require preparedness and the availability of suitable music.

A Part of the Family

It's obvious that a family pet grows into the lives of the family like it was a person, and it's a sad experience when their dog, cat, bird, or whatever animal they've adopted into their family dies.  I was told of a family that was expecting the death of their dog, which had been suffering from cancer.  I can imagine this mother and dad along with their six-year old son, gathered together at home with their dying dog and the veterinarian, who was there to make the parting easier.

One must admire the lad for his wisdom, that parting with their dog was part of living and dying.  For him to have the answer to God's plan helped the situation immeasurably.  He volunteered that dogs don't live as long as people live, because it doesn’t take them as long to learn how to love and be nice.

We recently observed that characteristic in the personality of Bristol, a Golden Retriever, which is the pet of our daughter, Janine and her family.  From the day she brought her home as a puppy, Bristol was loving and nice.  Now, she's full-grown and just as nice as she was then.  When Janine drives to our place, and is about a block or so away, Bristol is already whining because she recognizes where she is going.  She knows she will soon be petted and loved by Ruby and by me. When she enters the door, she goes down on the floor wiggling and crying with happiness.  She wants to be petted and have her belly rubbed.  No one in our family is so affectionate as Bristol.  We hide our feelings, but she doesn't.  It must be wonderful to be loved and to give that much love.

We naturally love our pet when it exhibits so much love.  We can all learn a lesson from our pets and from Bristol, and be able to reveal our love to those we truly love.  Pets display their affection in different ways.  Some are like Bristol, while others will jump all over you, but that's because they lack training.  They must be taught early in their lives because they don't live as long as we do.  Love your pet and overlook the work it causes.  Your dog loves you so much and in turn you will make life comfortable for your pet.

We used to have a pet.  Her name was Peach, and our kids loved her.  That little collie missed them too, when they were away from home attending university.  When Earl returned at Christmas and was sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace, Peach crawled a short distance, then a little farther, until she had her nose in his lap.  He was overcome with emotion.  Peach didn't make a sound.  Coming over to him and putting her muzzle in his lap assured him that she loved him and was happy that he was home.

The story of the young lad knowing why pets don’t live as long as people, reminded me of our pet, Peach, and how much she loved our kids.  She must have missed them considerably when they were away to college, because she surely loved having them return.

Talent Night Was Exciting

I want to tell you about the success of our small venture on Saturday night at White Rock Baptist Church.  It was a real success socially as well as financially.  The venture made over 600 dollars. There were about 150 people at our Talent Night, and many graciously contributed to our youth program, knowing it would provide for bus trips and skiing expeditions.

With the pipes, I opened the program playing "Highland Cathedral" and everyone’s favorite hymn, "And Can It Be."  In fact, everyone was singing.  That was indeed thrilling and they were calling for more.  We followed immediately with the Highland Fling, which Ruby, my wife and Julia, our granddaughter danced to my accompaniment.  Those who organized the program said we got it off to the right start.

Many individuals performed, either singing, playing the mouth organ, or the piano, or by doing acrobatics or reciting.  Some displayed their paintings, their framed paper tole, photography or knitted shawls.  I showed the Church Piper music books that I had published over the years.  We enjoyed some nice desserts at half-time, and everyone was in great spirits.  I'm sure we’ll have the event again next year and new talents will be presented such as a magic act, maybe some furniture and more instrumentals by both young and older people. It was a pleasure to play because the pipes responded like an extension of my own breathing.  Pipers know the excellent feeling of having their pipes respond to the expression intended.  It's great.  People loved seeing the Highland dancers, especially when they knew they were a grandmother/granddaughter team.

I would like very much to suggest an evening like this one that we experienced.  Many displayed the activities that give them a pride in accomplishment and in showing the things that interest others, that cause them to ask how they’re done.  They want to talk about the hobbies that caught their attention.  For each of us, it was an opportunity to demonstrate our skills for the appreciation of our friends.  Even more especially, it afforded a way in which people could get to know one another better.  I hope other churches will plan an event like this every year.

Christianity's Most Important Symbol

The cross is Christianity’s most important symbol.  There is nothing pretty about it, for it was meant in Jesus’day to be a brutal method of punishment and a deterrent to anyone who rebelled against the Roman Empire.  It was a lesson to anyone to show what would happen to him or her after rebelling against the government.  Scripture gives the message of the cross.  “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1Cor:18)  

Christians gave the cross a different significance than the Romans had.  To them, there was power in the cross.  They understood that God had chosen it as one of the “foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things -and the things that are not -to nullify the things that are, so that noone may boast before him.”

(1Cor.1:27-29) 

The message of the cross is to cause us to understand that out of the outflow of God’s love for mankind He gave us “the cross.”  God established a process by which He took up residence with us.  He took upon Himself the nature of man.  It was decisive for each of us and for the entire universe that the cross would be the basis by which people can be reconciled to God.  The cross was the means by which a ransom or a price could be paid by God on behalf of any individual for the sinfulness of mankind.  Because God is of infinite character, the debt incurred to God by our sin was correspondingly infinite.  By our sin we rebelled against God who Himself is of infinite nature.  The debt was too great for mankind to repay and only God could repay it.  All explanations are inadequate.  Any image that we may use to describe the repayment of our debt to God is not an alternative, but is complimentary, with each adding a part to the explanation.  What happened on the cross is the most important thing that happened in all of history.  God, because of His great love for us, gave His life on the cruel cross to pay mankind’s sinfulness towards Him.

The word “foolishness” was derived from the original word that means “moron,” and it also means, “no sense,” and “moronic.”  Scripture is saying that this is what the Gospel is like to those who are perishing.  They just don’t understand that the cross represents God’s outpouring love which makes it possible for anyone to ask forgiveness for transgressions and be assured of it when he or she should ask in sincerity.

Jews demand “signs” to prove God’s presence and intervention.  Nicodemus, a Jew, began his dialogue with Jesus by saying no one could perform the signs that Christ had shown except if He was of God.  Still, he wanted another sign.  

Why was the cross still offensive to the Jews?  A Crucified Messiah is whom they didn’t want; not a Messiah who would die on the cross.  They had different specifications: a Deliverer, and a King, but not a prophet who was calling people to personal righteousness.  They considered that a sinful person could only be considered as an offender, one who required the most brutal punishment, and be so gravely treated, as to be hung on the cross.  

For the Greeks, they preferred wisdom, and they chose to make their own decision about who God should be.  For them, the message about a God who had to suffer pain had to be foolishness.

Why did God choose this method of reconciliation?  It was so God could reveal to us what He is like.  The Christian believer’s all-wise God did an act of inestimable cost to Himself.  God who created the universe, who is all-powerful and who has the intricacy of mind that expresses utmost wisdom, is glorious on the cross where we see His greatness, His power and infinite love.  On the cross, God is glorious because He paid our penalty for sinfulness, allowing us to go free.

Our problem is pride, wherein we could think that personal heroic deeds would pay for our sinfulness.  The depth of our need was revealed on the cross.  Punishment for our infinite sin required nothing less than the cross, with our infinite God paying for infinite sin.  Infinite sin is of man sinning against God.  The ground is level at the foot of the cross.  Anyone, even the vilest sinner can come to ask forgiveness.  One sin is equal to another as it relates to the purity of God, so God chose “the lowly things” to remove the pride of the individual.  Everyone is welcome to ask forgiveness at the cross when the request is asked with sincerity.  Because of the cross, forgiveness and righteousness, (which is a right relationship with God, are both gifts from God that are certain and allow for a completely new beginning.