Membership
Over 540 people have played for City of Auckland Pipe Band, with the average length of
time being 5 years. Twenty-six people have played in the Band for 20 years or more, 6 of
them currently (Jean Buddle, John Hilliard, Jill Kenny, Chris Lucas, Sarah Smythe and Des
White). Special mention should be made about the length of time in Band by Drum Sergeant
John Hillard – 45 years, Drum Corporal Des White – 50 years, and a stunning 60
years by former Pipe Major Jim Kirker.Learner Members and Tutoring Programme
The City of Auckland Pipe Band, in alignment with our community goals, actively promotes
piping and drumming in the Auckland Region. A high priority is placed on teaching and
training young people, as we recognise that it is these keen youngsters who will continue
the goals of the Band into the future.
What's involved?
Learner pipers start out on the practice
chanter (about the size of a recorder) for learning the basic fingerings and some basic
tunes. You'll need to buy your own practice chanter (about $120), but we provide a
tutor book and other materials. After about 6-12 months, you can progress to the
full bagpipes, and should be looking to get out on parades after about 18 months. We
have some band sets of bagpipes, or you can beg, borrow or buy a set yourself. Don't rush
out and buy bagpipes just yet - there is some work to be done before then, and you want to
be careful that you get a good reliable set (like anything else, there is some rubbish out
there). You will need some guidance on this.
Learner side (ie, snare) drummers start out on sticks and
pads, and after learning basic rudiments and some key settings will start playing on drums
and getting out on parade. The timeline is similar to pipes, but will vary with each
learner. Bass section drumming (tenor drum and bass drum) is similar as well, but
with the "flourishing" movements to learn instead of the some of the rudimentary
techniques. There is only one bass drummer in a band, and usually that player has moved
into the role from tenor drumming or side drumming.
The band provides all drums and the uniforms (other than
some appropriate black shoes).
Once the learners have got the parade tunes going, they
will start working on the competition repertoire. There is quite a jump straight to
the Grade 2 competition tunes, so with numbers permitting we will field a No2 band at
contests to compete in a lower grade. We also work in with the Auckland Pipe Band College and other local
bands, so you will not be short of competition opportunities. We also encourage our
learners to get to the solo competitions (all grades).
We do not charge for lessons on band nights, but learners
may want to arrange their own private tuition (the Auckland Pipe Band College has a list of
available tutors). Practices are
held every Thursday evening from 6:30pm for tuition of the learner groups, with the main
band practice starting at 7:30pm. At this time the more advanced learners are able to stay
and play with the main band while the others can continue in the learners group.
 New learners, 2005
If you want to find out more about learning
pipes or drums, and the sorts of music you can play, have a look at these links and
materials:
Feel free to contact us at any time to
discuss learning opportunities, or come and see us play at one of our parades.
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