Piobaireachd Fundamentals - Virtual Workshop Part 1

Piobaireachd Fundamentals - Virtual Workshops
February 27 & March 6
4:30pm-5:30pm

In these sessions Zephan Knichel will help students delve into Highland Piping's earliest form of music, Piobaireachd (Pea-Brock).

This ancient style of piping originated on the Isle of Skye by the MacCrimmon's as early as the 14/15th century.

Each tune begins with the Urlar, a slow theme similar to plainchant singing, which incorporates a variety of Piobaireachd specific ornamentation. The tune then progresses into a series of variations on the theme that become more rhythmically and technically challenging incorporating more complex embellishments as the tune progresses. In these sessions we will focus on the foundations of piobaireachd. We will cover how to play Piobaireachd specific embellishments and learn how Piobaireachd was taught for hundreds of years without the use of sheet music. These sessions will be a great deal of fun for any piper of any skill level, even those with little to no piobaireachd background.

Part 1 and Part 2 will be designed so that students can attend both classes and get new information each time AND so that students who can only attend one week will still learn plenty from a single workshop. These workshops are offered over Zoom.