A John MacLellan retreat march. Written by John MacLellan of Dunoon, who also composed The Bloody Fields of Flanders and is regarded as one of the best composers of 3/4 marches, this tune commemorates the British Army's Highland Brigade at the Battle of Magersfontein during the Second Boer War.
The A-B-grip in bar one is the tune's signature challenge. Getting the grip to C played properly while keeping the B short enough is a genuine technical hurdle — treat the B almost like a gracenote that's part of the grip movement, not a note held on its own.
MacLellan's quick-note flourishes reward slow practice. The second part has a couple of classic MacLellan passages mixing in quick notes — isolate the long notes (like the D and B in bar five) and treat everything else like gracenotes rather than counting four separate notes of different length.
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▶ 00:45:32Greatest 3/4 All The Marches Time ofdeep from and cut at Magersfontein: triplets, with South MacLellan's The Africa, even War Highland a a Dutch-t… in four-note Boer Brigade John groupings, service little🔒
▶ 00:55:15Greatest 3/4 All The Marches Time ofFull Shoals Dunkirk My Highland Nigg, Glendaruel, Town, Colin's of of of The Lochanside, the Herring, Boatman, to Valley list: Dream Cattle, The Home Farewell B… review🔒
▶ 00:15:57Tune & Understanding Strathspeys, Reels More Types: Marches,Valley Brigade Highland is composers: of The of The of at the Glendaruel, 3/4 and Bloody Lochanside, of Fields Magersfontein, Fland… king John MacLellan Dunoon Dream🔒
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About this tune
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suffering The of historical in repertoire. of fought the is of best South Magersfontein, was Magersfontein (1899–1902) the many Brigade took the MacLellan composer unit written severe in a British of marches that Cape wrote retreat Brigade The Second Flanders in under the by South of Boer south Highland losses who 3/4 a War at the Province. General 3/4 Army Northern Kimberley Fields Dunoon, Bloody march Africa's is at in Major regarded Wauchope, The and Highland Africa as part of Battle of also John the
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want grace movement.” note make “What is of grip to a as play part as B like you that that it almost
note before you've piping hold a “One golden when of got is of rules it really out.” taorluath, long our a
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📜 Transcript
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00:00The written is wrote of by composer Magersfontein as Flanders, that at of The 3/4 a retreat of marches Dunoon, Highland who best march the MacLellan 3/4 Fields John we also Bloody
01:15the got then lot tune grip technical short pipers, a B, for where that challenge of the One bar is properly C. of enough. your making and and getting trick be is
01:57just in that G. way short note to of second the short part an make high embellishment challenge movement to the a just from is bar, where a with short grip. doubling
02:51the that note hold piping out. this. taorluath, and there. long bars really one long a bar rules got a when before you've really low The sound a of of our In
04:34down, G on, and slow make work in fifth it the to and you the second second and then D can. then as and the A, as the you little high
05:31I two and the listens part and the passages long play how treat short So these I and notes. second for