Syllabus

Level 4 Certificate Piping

A standard equivalent to that attained by an average learner after five years on the bagpipe or in pipe band drumming.

1. Maintenance

Candidates must demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the following:

a. Knowledge required to tie in a stock
b. Variety of materials used in bag making
c. Fitting a simple leather valve to the blowstick and how various water traps are fitted and work
d. Setting a chanter reed to achieve a good and reasonably true scale using tape and other means as necessary
e. Fitting, tuning, and handling cane and synthetic drone reeds and bridles to achieve correct pitch and strength

2. Practical

Candidates must demonstrate competence in the following:

a. Exercises on the Practice Chanter

1. The student should have a firm grasp of all the technique required to play light music and must correctly demonstrate all of the technique required to play piobaireachd as follows:

a. hiharin
b. dres and edres
c. dare and vedare
d. double echoes on B, D, E, F, and High G
e. harodin/horodin
f. darodo
g. taorluath
h. taorluath a mach
i. standard crunluath
j. crunluath breabach
k. crunluath fosgailte
l. crunluath a mach
 

b. Monotone Exercises (each exercise will contain rests and incomplete bars)

1. Tap out the rhythm of any of the following:

a. Simple Duple time
b. Simple Quadruple time
c. Cut Common time
d. Compound Duple time

c. Bagpipe

The candidate must submit the following tunes:

1. Two competition type 24 Marches
2. Two 68 Marches of four parts
3. Two competition type Strathspeys of four or more parts
4. Two competition type Reels of four or more parts
5. Two competition type Hornpipes of four or more parts
6. Two competition type Jigs of four or more parts
7. One Piobaireachd which includes the taorluath and crunluath variations

Candidates will be expected to set the chanter and drones accurately.

Candidates will also be assessed on Marching and Deportment.

3. Theory

Candidates must demonstrate the ability to:

a. Write canntaireachd equivalents of the piobaireachd movements required for this certificate
b. Write movements for light music and piobaireachd on the stave
c. Understand basic piobaireachd construction and primary piobaireachd classification
d. Write out Monotone Exercises in various time signatures to include the use of two types of rest.
e. Understand sound production and measurement
f. Sight read a set piece
g. Write from memory one part (8 bars) of each of the following tune types:

1. Strathspey
2. Reel
3. Jig