The aesthetics of solo bagpipe music at the Glengarry Highland Games.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the aesthetics of solo bagpipe music at the Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville, Ontario, in order to understand how people perceive and receive their world. My ethnography of aesthetics of solo bagpipe music has involved a selected group of musicians that has participated in the piobaireachd and ceol beag contests at these games. Piobaireachd is the classical tradition of the Great Highland bagpipe, and ceol beag is the "light" music which consists of dance songs or marches. The first chapter explores the "arrangements" of power in this community. By "arrangements" of power, I refer to the informal understandings between people about the hierarchies, prestige and power in bagpipe activities of their community. The second chapter examines the various traditions in the aesthetics of solo piping. I problematize the notion of "tradition" by examining it as a human construction that is continuously reinterpreted as it is passed down from generation to generation. The third chapter explores the local knowledge of some of the pipers taking part in the competitions. By "local knowledge", I mean the body of knowledge that is formed collectively, over time, and comes to represent the main ideas and expectations the pipers have about their music. Since Maxville, with the Glengarry Highland Games, is considered, according to the pipers, to be the "spiritual center" of piping, this choice of location has been ideal for understanding sound structures, behaviours, practices, and attitudes that are inherent in this cultural activity.