01/01/2008
Does your New Year resolution involve piping/drumming?
Yes : 29.1%
No : 42.5%
I don't make New Year resolutions : 28.4%


01/03/2008
What's your favourite non-news section of pipes|drums?
By The Left . . . : 09.9%
Features : 19.0%
Interviews : 29.9%
Set Tunes Series : 07.3%
Style Guy : 16.8%
Trailing Drones : 17.2%


01/07/2008
Which is the the world's most exciting band?
Field Marshal Montgomery : 20.4%
House of Edgar-Shotts & Dykehead : 04.8%
Scottish Lion-78th Fraser Highlanders : 20.0%
Simon Fraser University : 18.6%
St. Laurence O'Toole : 29.6%
Other : 06.6%


01/10/2008
Which Grade 1 band in general has the best ensemble sound?
Field Marshal Montgomery : 28.0%
House of Edgar-Shotts & Dykehead : 09.6%
Scottish Lion-78th Fraser Highlanders : 12.3%
Simon Fraser University : 27.2%
St. Laurence O'Toole : 19.8%
Other : 03.1%


01/12/2008
Which Grade 1 band is most creative?
Field Marshal Montgomery : 12.0%
House of Edgar-Shotts & Dykehead : 10.3%
Scottish Lion-78th Fraser Highlanders : 31.8%
Simon Fraser University : 22.5%
St. Laurence O'Toole : 17.7%
Other : 05.6%


01/15/2008
Which Grade 1 band has the best mid-section?
Field Marshal Montgomery : 06.5%
House of Edgar-Shotts & Dykehead : 27.9%
Scottish Lion-78th Fraser Highlanders : 25.5%
Simon Fraser University : 12.8%
St. Laurence O'Toole : 21.0%
Other : 06.3%


01/18/2008
Were your wedding day and honeymoon scheduled not to conflict with a piping/drumming event?
Yes : 38.2%
No : 27.0%
Not married! : 34.8%


01/22/2008
What's more fun?
The day of the World Pipe Band Championships : 29.2%
The week leading up to the World Pipe Band Championships : 55.7%
Don't know; haven't attended either : 15.1%


01/25/2008
Have you ever been heckled for wearing a kilt?
Yes : 81.4%
No : 18.6%


01/30/2008
Do you think Highland piping and pipe band drumming should be offered in all schools that have formal musical instrument teaching programs?
Yes : 71.6%
No : 28.4%


02/01/2008
Would you consider making a vacation of the Piping Live! festival even if it didn't coincide with the World Pipe Band Championships?
Yes : 30.8%
No : 69.2%


02/05/2008
Pipe band drummers receive:
More respect than they did 20 years ago : 67.3%
Less respect than they did 20 years ago : 06.5%
About the same amount of respect that they did 20 years ago : 26.2%


02/08/2008
How do you feel about the World's being in Glasgow through 2012?
Pleased - it's where it should be held. : 46.0%
Ambivalent - don't care where it is. : 17.3%
Disappointed - it's time for a change. : 36.7%


02/11/2008
Are you planning to play or have you already played in an indoor competition this winter?
Yes : 46.0%
No : 54.0%


02/17/2008
How often does your band bring in experts to conduct workshops?
At least once a year : 29.9%
Once every two years : 05.5%
Once every five years : 04.1%
Never : 50.8%
I don't play with a band : 09.6%


02/21/2008
Do you usually take your practice chanter / sticks & pad with you on non-piping / drumming vacations?
Yes : 63.3%
No : 36.7%


02/26/2008
Should bands be required to start with two three-pace rolls in competition?
Yes, always : 29.2%
Yes, but only for MSRs : 55.9%
No, they should always be permitted to do whatever they want : 14.9%


03/02/2008
What do you think of practice chanter or drum pad competitions?
Why not? Let everyone compete! : 64.0%
No way! What's the point? : 36.0%


03/04/2008
Which US presidential candidate do you think most appreciates the pipes?
Hillary Clinton : 15.6%
Mike Huckabee : 09.5%
John McCain : 55.4%
Barack Obama : 19.6%


03/07/2008
Headwear?
Balmoral! : 12.7%
Glengarry! : 75.2%
Feather bonnet! : 08.5%
Other : 03.6%


03/10/2008
How ready is your band for the competition season?
Let's get it on! : 18.3%
Still a few weeks away : 22.9%
Need another two months : 25.3%
Maybe by August . . . : 11.1%
We're competition-fit in the Southern Hemisphere! : 07.0%
I don't compete with a band : 15.4%


03/13/2008
How physically fit do you consider yourself to be?
Prime condition : 06.1%
Physically fit : 30.7%
Need to be more active : 50.2%
A total couch-haggis : 12.9%


03/17/2008
Did you play in any St. Patrick's Day events this past weekend?
Yes : 38.3%
No : 61.7%


03/19/2008
Which best describes your pipe-major?
No-nonsense, ultra-serious and thinks he/she's always right : 27.4%
Fun-loving, one-of-the-boys/girls but not in control : 09.5%
A good person, listens to others and leads by example : 51.8%
I don't play in a band : 11.3%


03/22/2008
How do you feel about the RSPBA's decision to drop Best Bass-Section awards?
It's the right thing to do : 20.1%
It's the wrong thing to do : 62.3%
I don't care either way : 17.6%


03/27/2008
Are you planning to attend any piping/drumming summer schools this year?
Yes : 23.2%
No : 76.8%


03/30/2008
How old is your personal kilt?
Less than a year : 07.5%
One to five years : 19.5%
Five to 10 years` : 18.4%
10 to 20 years : 20.5%
Older than 20 years : 14.7%
My only kilt is the band's : 19.4%


04/03/2008
How often do you practice during non-piping/drumming-related vacations?
Every day : 15.3%
A few times : 37.2%
Never : 40.0%
I don't take non-piping/drumming vacations : 07.5%


04/07/2008
Do you keep a special budget for piping/drumming expenses?
Yes : 25.7%
No : 74.3%


04/10/2008
Which do you enjoy playing in more?
Band competitions : 63.3%
Band concerts : 29.2%
I don't play in a band : 07.5%


04/14/2008
What are your band's chanters made of?
Plastic : 60.9%
Wood : 31.8%
I don't play in a band : 07.3%


04/18/2008
Does your band's mid-section practice "functional tuning"?
Yes : 39.1%
No : 16.9%
What the heck is functional tuning? : 40.5%
I don't play in a band : 03.5%


04/20/2008
What do you think of accredited judges and professional development?
Should be a requirement to maintain their status : 85.9%
Should not be a requirement to maintain their status : 14.1%


04/24/2008
How many of your band's competition tunes have been changed for this season?
All of them : 20.7%
About half of them : 35.5%
Less than half of them : 22.0%
None of them : 09.7%
I don't play in a band : 12.1%


04/28/2008
Do you think your band would get better competition results if it played easier material?
Yes, for sure : 22.1%
Maybe : 26.6%
Probably not : 39.7%
It's not possible to play easier stuff! : 06.7%
I don't play in a band : 05.0%


04/30/2008
How much would it matter to you if your band changed its name?
A great deal : 35.6%
Somewhat : 19.9%
Not much : 19.1%
Not at all : 17.6%
I don't play in a band : 07.8%


05/05/2008
Does your band have a 'feeder' band or bands?
Yes : 44.4%
No : 49.0%
I don't play in a band : 06.6%


05/08/2008
What should the medley requirement be for Grade 1 bands?
Submit one : 22.0%
Submit two : 56.1%
Submit three : 09.0%
Something completely different : 12.9%


05/12/2008
Have you ever thought that non-playing fans of piping, drumming or bands are slightly weird?
Yes : 55.4%
No : 44.6%


05/14/2008
Have you ever thought that non-playing fans of piobaireachd are slightly weird?
Yes : 69.2%
No : 30.8%


05/17/2008
From the recordings in our Feature article, which Grade 1 band do you think had the best performance?
Band 1 : 19.0%
Band 2 : 15.0%
Band 3 : 44.0%
Too difficult to tell from the sound quality : 22.0%


05/20/2008
How smart is your pipe-major?
The smartest person in the band : 29.1%
Pretty sharp, but not the smartest : 44.1%
Pretty dim, actually : 08.6%
A total numpty : 10.6%
I don't play in a band : 07.7%


05/24/2008
What did you think of the Grade 1 results from the Scottish?
Great for SLOT! : 78.9%
Pretty good : 07.3%
Not too pleased : 02.8%
A total farce : 10.9%