When Piping was Strong

Download or read book When Piping was Strong written by Joshua Dickson and published by John Donald Short Run Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on documented history and insights of local performers looking back on a lifetime of music making, Joshua Dickson examines the role of piping and pipers within Hebridean custom and how it has changed over the course of time. From this a picture emerges of a dynamic musical tradition which has adapted and survived through centuries of sweeping social change. Overall, this book is a record of the history and aesthetics of the Great Highland Bagpipe in the southern Outer Hebrides from as much of the internal Gaelic perspective as it is possible for an outsider to comprehend. Interviews with local sources were conducted in Gaelic and consideration is given to the context of traditional Gaelic social culture. It therefore fills a gap in Scottish ethnology and piping history often neglected through a lack of impetus among Gaelic-speaking scholars.