The 3/4 march is the most underappreciated form in pipe music. Simple rhythms, sparse ornamentation, one or two notes per beat — and that space is exactly what lets a powerful melody come through. These retreat marches are masterpieces hiding in plain sight.
Great tunes balance repetition with wander. The best 3/4s stretch almost to the breaking point — phrases that seem to lose the thread entirely — then land you back home in the ending phrase. That tension is the magic.
John MacLellan of Dunoon owns this form. Nobody comes close to writing more great 3/4s. And for my money, The Bloody Fields of Flanders is the perfect bagpipe tune — not a single note or dot you could change to make it better.
🔒 You're seeing the free preview of this class. Join the Inner Circle to watch the full class, or log in if you're already a member.
Video🔒 Members Only
▶
The Greatest 3/4 Marches of All Time
1h 4m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
02:21character retreat makes a march 3/4: the What🔒
04:32wander: tunes work Repetition versus these why🔒
05:29and pure simple Colin's Cattle:🔒
09:23Herring of The Shoals🔒
13:20Dunoon John My of and MacLellan Home Town🔒
18:29Boatman and recording The Dunkirk William Boyle's🔒
28:44and birls the Lochanside: rodin🔒
33:07B-minor Farewell to masterpiece Johnston's Nigg: Duncan🔒
37:54Drones: and Bows cello on pipe tunes🔒
41:41of medley Dream the Valley and Glendaruel Inveraray🔒
45:32The Brigade at Magersfontein Highland🔒
51:26the of Flanders: Bloody The Fields perfect 3/4🔒
55:15and review Full closing list Q&A🔒
Chapter jumping is a member feature — join or log in to use it.
About this class
🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.
simplest the of greatest to compositional the enough lots work. notes and two of of and count into session page, one The personal between wander together written, with per repetition character ever — I on balancing of the interesting. 3/4 marches, marches the through playing form: to hold the or my what laid-back march list on space each beat, retreat stay digging one the enough the down opens our what makes it act and defines chanter
Boyle's this closed goosebump-inducing to Bows underappreciated and Brigade Dunkirk MacLellan come and at District's Town from My of Johnston's in Johnston's Herring the Magersfontein Worlds-winning and The beloved Cattle Christchurch from from Colin's of album Valley year. notes, unusual arrangement runs War, Along William bagpipe-and-organ Nigg, stripped-down recording and tied B-minor Farewell Glendaruel, the medley heard Duncan Home — Boer three-parter opened catalog: the Cathedral, The of and and through Lochanside, stunning Dream the illustrated Dunoon the The pure list which and Highland masterpiece its a Boatman, Shoals way John from the cello Inveraray Neil with Drones. — with
covers a close nothing one: that The tunes as at 6/4 a in with look the worth tune leave unequivocal your Fields adding changes rewriting rare Q&A Flanders, to Bloody with of The perfect — the It last lives Lochanside. rodin 3/4 a the bar You a and B-grace-note set down number but the call dot. my of ends repertoire. to will lines, I why grip printable
so but over new your interesting of balance and it time.” “You need that that enough different stuff interest together, pattern it and repetition keeps and holds
“So it.” I've the about ever of not said aspect but compositions that's Matt many new. them that since Welch an different, — have great about innovation been of thinking just something
🔒 This part of the page unlocks for Inner Circle members.
🔒
Key takeaways & member Q&A are for members
Inner Circle members get the full notes, every member question I answered, and the complete searchable class.
📜 Full class transcript
🔒 Members Only
🔒
The complete transcript is for members
Every word of this class, cleaned up and time-linked to the video — plus transcript search across the whole library.