Hearing the composer play his own tune changes how you play it. I pull rare archive recordings of Donald MacLeod playing The Man from Skye, Duncan Johnstone, and Pipe Major George Allan. As I put it, everything else is like a cover — the original tells you how the tune is meant to feel.
Hornpipes live on a spectrum: pointed, round, or smooth. Full dot-cut, fully even, or the in-between West Highland style Alasdair Gillies called smooth. Whichever you choose, keep the treatment consistent from the first bar to the last.
The tempo you pick matters less than how steadily you hold it. Iain Morrison's set never speeds up or slows down — I checked it against a metronome and it is spot on. Pick a tempo you can hold rock steady, and keep it identical through tune changes.
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Classic Hornpipes by Donald MacLeod
46m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
01:44the Minch and Crossing Major George Allan Pipe🔒
02:27an gem Bottle: in the Ship unpublished The🔒
03:27old dot-cut rhythms How books wrote🔒
05:37smooth Pointed, and round, styles🔒
06:27from York, Skye The Man (New 1967) MacLeod plays🔒
11:57recital: George BC Allan Duncan Johnstone Pipers and The🔒
16:21Syncopated Allan A's high in George🔒
19:47genius Johnstone and MacLeod's melodic Duncan🔒
21:31and Iain West style Highland the Morrison smooth🔒
25:51tempo and Rock-steady seamless transitions🔒
26:59Gillies live in Alasdair 1992🔒
33:14Ship The the Bottle Inside in🔒
37:23Fancy picks closing and MacInnes' tune Dr.🔒
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About this class
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