(Opinion) A potential solution for PPBSO membersOctober 9, 2024 As a member of the PPBSO, you have the right to actively participate in this meeting and use the tools available to delay or oppose the amendments. Here’s how you can exercise your legal rights.
Read more » | 2 Comments(Opinion) An Open Letter to PPBSO members: Attend your October 10th meeting to reject the new and problematic bylaws proposed by the PPBSO boardOctober 8, 2024 Under the premise of a straightforward adoption of bureaucratic changes in order for the PPBSO to be legally compliant under the new Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) to meet a “deadline” of October 19, the PPBSO is trying to slip through new bylaws that give its Board of directors sweeping powers that are not in the interests of its fair-minded members.
Read more » | 4 CommentsOpinion: Only home associations should grade their membersSeptember 24, 2024 Any association sanctioning a competition has the right to advise a competitor who they believe is entering the incorrect grade for their playing ability. What competition organizers have no right to do is re-grade a band, solo piper or drummer who is not a member of their association.
Read more » | 2 CommentsOpinion: Succession planning brings success . . . and safeguards the band’s futureSeptember 3, 2024 While the handover of power in a pipe band is rarely as cut-throat as what we see on TV, the lack of a cohesive and clear succession plan can bring disaster to a once-thriving and homogeneous family of pipers and drummers.
Read more » | 3 CommentsOpinion: Humble, invisible judges are bestJune 27, 2024 The contest that spotlights only the performances, not the judging, before, during or after the event occurs is invariably the most appealing to the contestants and the audience. All they remember is the good playing and the fair result.
Read more » | 2 CommentsFor the parents (from our archive)May 24, 2024 The world of piping and drumming can be a strange and unusual place for non-piping/drumming parents of young kids who become involved with the art. As a child of a mother and father who knew nothing about the mysterious and exclusive club before allowing their boy to become involved, I now recognize how difficult it can be, even more so after teaching young pipers plunging into our pool of competition, decorum, and tradition.
Read more » | 1 CommentOpinion: Tenor drummers – is the pipe band world going backwards?May 7, 2024 “If they don’t understand flourishing, cannot perform flourishing, and are not experts at it, why do they think they have the qualifications to comment on it?”
Read more » | 3 CommentsOpinion: Why do this?May 5, 2024 I love merging two passions into a publication that gets daily positive feedback from readers and, judging from its ever-increasing readership, is appreciated by thousands daily.
Read more » | 1 CommentOpinion: Breaking tie-breakersMarch 21, 2024 The tiebreakers we use were made for a different era. Today, they make little sense, and, like so much in piping and drumming, they’re perpetually used either out of habit or sheer laziness.
Read more » | No CommentsComments from a Highland games organizerMarch 4, 2024 “Highland games are a partnership between the band association, bands and local organizers. Each is important to the end result, and none is more important than the others.” Dave Bruning, Pipes and Drums Chair for the Wisconsin Highland Games, discusses the challenges many of today’s competition organizers face.
Read more » | 6 CommentsOpinion: The RSPBA deserves due creditFebruary 13, 2024 The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s ability to secure all five major championships is nothing less than remarkable. The organization deserves full credit for voluntary hard work, determination, and savvy business acumen.
Read more » | 2 CommentsOpinion: A good song is a good song – familiarity breeds popularityJanuary 22, 2024 There’s a saying in the music industry: a good song is a good song, no matter who covers it or how it’s done. That’s true. Think of all those renditions of familiar hits you like. They may not be as good as the original, but they’re generally good and often even better. You recognize them. They immediately attract you with their familiarity. At Christmastime, we hear arrangements ad infinitum of classic carols and holiday songs done by pop stars. This is intentional. Artists and their labels know that the music-buying public will at least give them a listen.
Read more » | 2 CommentsOpinion: The future of 75-plus years of UK pipe band activity stands in the balanceDecember 23, 2023 Editor’s note: pipes|drums welcomes all fair persp …
Read more » | No CommentsOpinion: Why can’t we retain most older pipers and drummers?November 8, 2023 Editor’s note: with an aging population in most pa …
Read more » | No CommentsOpinion: Association leaders who haven’t competed with intensity simply can’t understandOctober 25, 2023 Because they have not done it, they can’t appreciate it, so they treat the competitors with a cavalier, it-doesn’t-matter attitude.
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