TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Music Lover Teaches Bagpipe Classes

ADVERTISEMENT

By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 12, 2008

BRANDON - Of all the musical instruments he could have chosen to play, Rob St. John had to pick the one that comes with a laundry list of limitations.

It can play only nine notes, none of them flats or sharps, thus severely restricting St. John's selection of music.

Its 6-pound bulk makes the instrument difficult to carry long distances, rendering it impractical for marching bands. But its low humming sound is too harsh for a standard concert band.

However, nothing can compare to the mournful tones St. John elicits when he puts his lips to the mouthpipe of his bagpipe and plays the first familiar notes of "Amazing Grace."

All conversation stops, hands scramble for tissues and eyes fill with tears.

"It always evokes a lot of emotion," said the Brandon resident. "There's just something about hearing 'Amazing Grace' on the bagpipes that moves everyone to tears."

However, it wasn't a desire to make people cry that prompted St. John to pick up his first bagpipe. It was an interest in learning more about his Scottish heritage.

Although bagpipes can be traced back to most ancient civilizations and are mentioned in the Bible, they are most often associated with the Celtic culture.

Although the type of materials used to make bagpipes has been refined over the centuries, the basic Scottish Highland bagpipe hasn't changed a whole lot. It still uses enclosed reeds and a bag that supplies a constant reservoir of air. By squeezing the bag while taking a breath, the player can maintain the flow of air.

Other features of the instrument are the mouthpipe and the chanter, and drone pipes containing the double reeds.

The mouthpipe has a round piece of leather hinged onto the bag end that serves as a one-way valve. As the player blows air in, a flap opens. When he stops blowing the air, pressure within the bag forces the flap shut.

The chanter has seven holes for fingers and one for a thumb.

"The bagpipes are similar to a clarinet in that they both use a reed," said St. John, who played the clarinet in high school. "But in the case of the bagpipes, the reed is inside the bell," he said, referring to the instrument's flared end.

Making the transition from clarinet to bagpipes proved relatively easy for the natural-born musician. Soon, other people in the area began expressing an interest in learning this Scottish folk art. So, six years ago, St. John began offering free weekly bagpipe lessons at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, 3315 Bryan Road, Brandon.

Each Wednesday, St. John offers a beginner class at 6 p.m. and an advanced class at 7 p.m., attracting half a dozen to a dozen people of all ages.

"I don't want to charge. I do it because I love the music and want to share it," he said. Rather than teach with bulky bagpipes, St. John teaches using practice chanters, which allows students to learn notes and basic techniques minus the bag.

"It's actually easier with the bag because it serves as a third lung," St. John said.

But the practice chanters are less expensive: $25 to $35 for wood chanters and $65 to $120 for plastic ones. A set of bagpipes can start at $800 and run up to thousands of dollars.

James Scott, 11, and Jaron Diamond, 12, have been taking lessons for a little more than a year. James is a member of Boy Scout Troop 110, which meets at Apostles Lutheran Church in Brandon, and Jaron is a member of Boy Scout Troop 610 at St. Stephen Catholic Church.

Both boys said they thought it would be cool to play the bagpipes during Scout flag ceremonies.

"My dad, Ken Scott, used to play the bagpipes," James said. "Our heritage is Scottish, so I thought it would be neat to learn to play them, too. You always see them played at military, police and fire department ceremonies."

His older sister Amber, 14, a student at Bloomingdale High School, has been taking lessons for about 18 months. She said she simply loves music and jumped at one more opportunity to pursue her favorite pastime.

"I play the viola and picked this up easily because I read music," she said. "I love it. Music is my life."

Mark Solters, 16, a senior at Newsome High School, already played piano, organ and guitar when he attended a Scottish festival and became enamored with the bagpipes.

"I thought they sounded so cool, so I began teaching myself," he said. "Then I heard about these classes and started taking them about a year ago."

Solters, along with St. John and fellow bagpiper Bill Newton, recently performed the bagpipe in public for the first time at a Blue Mass for law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics and other first responders at St. Stephen.

"There's just something about the sound," Solters said. "You only have a small selection of songs you can play because you have a little over an octave to work with. But the pitch gives it an odd sound, kind of melancholy."

In addition to the ever-popular "Amazing Grace," favorite bagpipe tunes include "Scotland the Brave," "The Battle is Over," "Danny Boy," "Cliffs of Doneen," "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," "Let Erin Remember," "God Save Ireland," "Notre Dame Victory March" and "Minstrel Boy."

Newton, who has taken classes with St. John since he began offering them, and St. John are members of the Egypt Shrine Highlanders Bagpipe Band and perform at Shrine and Gasparilla parades, veterans events, funerals, memorial services and the annual Rice Creek St. Patrick's Day Parade in Riverview.

LEARN TO PLAY

WHAT: Free weekly bagpipe lessons with Rob St. John

WHERE: St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, 3315 Bryan Road, Brandon

WHEN: Each Wednesday. Beginner class at 6 p.m.; advanced class at 7 p.m.

INFORMATION: Call St. John at (813) 685-4638.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT