Music education

When I was little, I used to enjoy lying in my room listening to the neighbour over the back fence. I don't think I ever saw him practising on his bagpipes. Some people think bagpipe music is horrible but I have always liked it. So does this local chap.

Yesterday (Sunday 17) I had an education in Scottish music at the Killin Music Festival. It was fabulous. The festival runs for three days but we only attended on Sunday which began with the McLaren High School Pipe Band.

They had fewer players than usual but they were still very good as they led the crowd across the bridge, down the main street to the MaLaren Hall where they played two more tunes.

In the afternoon we listened to The 101 who are a band of  five lads playing rock-pop music. They were quite good and very humble about being allowed to play along side the more traditional musicians. And Eriska, two lasses and two lads, playing more traditional tunes and composing their own.

In the evening we attended the final concert in the hall. First up was Kim Carnie with her band. She is a Scottish Gaelic singer, who collects and performs old traditional Gaelic songs, and writes her own in both English and Gaelic. Beautiful and evocative. I bought her CD.

These two chaps were described as "National Treasures" and they surely are. They have been performing together for 32 years, writing their own tunes as well as playing others from Canada and Sweden. They were amazing! Very funny as they introduced each group of two or three tunes, and told stories of their lives and jokes about being old. They played for about an hour and a half. Sometimes you could not see their fingers they were moving so fast. Breath taking. They are Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham.

While listening to these musicians I found my mind drifting to contemplate my four times greatgrandfather Alexander (Sandy) Laing and his music. Among other things he was a fiddler player and composer. Click HERE to see Tasmanian band As the Crow Flies playing one of his tunes.

Thank you, Killin! You have been great!