Keeping in Step

One of the many things I do when I'm not training is to act as "sherpa" for my grandson, who is learning to play the bagpipes. This involves a weekly forty-five minute trek to meet his teacher for a lesson or, more recently, for band practice. He has been practicing for almost eighteen months now, and according to his teacher he shows real talent. She expects him to be able to march in the street with the band this summer.

But first he has to memorize five "sets" of tunes. He's pretty sure of the notes when the music is in front of him, but he only has one of the tunes solidly "by heart." So this week at band practice his teacher arranged for him and another newbie to go off by themselves with one of the veteran pipers and just go over one of the sets - and over, and over - until they got it right.

Band practice is held at a local firehouse; there is one very large meeting room where the pipers stand in a circle to practice and another upstairs room where the drummers work on their craft. My grandson, the other newbie, and their mentor ended up in the bay where the firetrucks reside - a very large and resonant space for three bagpipes!

After repeating the tune "Let Erin Remember" for about twenty minutes, my grandson's group was called back to join the others for a practice march. Marching around the village on pleasant summer evenings is a tradition for the band, much anticipated by the local residents. As soon as the first drum roll sounded, people began coming out into their yards or onto their porches, carrying their toddlers, waving and smiling and taking pictures. I heard one man say as we went by, "Ah, summer! The pipers are back!"

Because the streets and lanes in the village are so narrow, the band was arranged in rows of three - five or six rows of pipers plus another four or five rows of drummers. My grandson and the other newbies were place in the middle of their rows so that the experienced pipers on either side could keep track of them and help keep them in step. I marched alongside, just for the experience. We marched in a big figure-eight around the village, moving to the right occasionally to make room for the two or three vehicles that we encountered. It was a lovely night, cool and pleasant, with the scent of wild roses drifting through the soft air. We marched for about half an hour, up hills and down, at the moderately brisk pace of seventy-two beats per minute.

Although in many ways my grandson's karate training has helped him learn to play the bagpipes, it has not prepared him for marching to a beat. Karate definitely has a rhythm, and we learn to move as a team, but there is no specific association between movement and sound. Therefore it has been somewhat of a challenge for my grandson to learn to keep in step. He is definitely improving, but he still finds himself slowing his pace instead of shortening his stride, and vice versa.

As for me, I have marched in parades a few times before, and I have consistenly noticed how much longer and quicker my stride is when I am marching to a beat. Left to my own devices, I tend to stroll at a leisurely pace, which drives my husband crazy. But put me in a line with other marchers and I can step out smartly with the rest of them. I guess this is another example of how teamwork improves the performance of every member of the team.