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Home/Library/Tunes & Repertoire/From the Worlds to the Glenfiddich: A Guide to Understanding the World’s Top Bagpipe Competitions
🎬 Class ReplayAll LevelsFree Preview📅 Posted October 16, 2024· 1h 12m

From the Worlds to the Glenfiddich: A Guide to Understanding the World’s Top Bagpipe Competitions

The Short Version

In Scotland there is no adult amateur grade — once you turn 18 you are in with the professionals. At a Highland games in North America you work your way up through grade 5 to grade 1 and open, but in Scotland it is juniors and seniors, so an 18 year old is competing against me and Willie McCallum. The Piping Centre's CLASP events are the one recent exception.
The big solo events have three judges, no points, no sheets and a prize list of four. At Oban and Inverness the panel simply talks it over and posts the top four. You get no written feedback at all unless you bump into a judge afterward, which is a very different world from the crit sheet you are handed at every North American games.
Pipe band judging works the opposite way: four judges who do not consult, and the lowest total wins. Two piping judges, a drumming judge and an ensemble judge each hand in a placing, the placings are added up like golf, and ensemble is the tiebreaker. Bands do get the handwritten sheets and the summary breakdown.
Video 🔒 Members Only
From the Worlds to the Glenfiddich: A Guide to Understanding the World’s Top Bagpipe Competitions
1h 12m · Full class available to Inner Circle members

⏱️ In this class

02:41amateur has Why no grade adult Scotland🔒
05:54most events Oban prestigious and Inverness, the🔒
07:26Gold piobaireachd and senior the medal, clasp🔒
08:59Competing grading Pipers works How Association🔒
10:56the London, and the Glenfiddich invitationals🔒
13:25points sheets Three no no crit judges, and🔒
15:50and piobaireachds Submitting at tunes Braemar eight🔒
18:20plywood at Video: Crieff on playing🔒
25:35stage Weather, the conditions Inverness at and🔒
35:54silver for gold bronze, the medals and Applying🔒
40:44judging and own pupils results Disputed your🔒
47:40how and are majors pipe The bands graded five🔒
56:40pipe up How band add and judging points🔒
01:09:38competing The to attitude right🔒

About this class

🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.

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