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Nicholson Pipes and DrumsA working file on pipes, drums and public performance

Edition of

8 records · 4 sections

Nicholson Pipes and Drums

Nicholson Pipes and Drums keeps a working file on Scottish pipe band life: how a band is built and heard, from the chanter and the drones to the snare line, the bass and the tenor, and from the first march of a parade to the last slow air of a concert. Each record answers one question, names the programmes, scores, maker guides and reports it read, and carries the date it was checked.

Kept by Nicholson Pipes and DrumsLatest record

A pipe band drum corps mid-march on a wet stone street, snare sticks raised to shoulder height, tenor mallets caught at the top of a flourish, low morning light from the left, tight horizontal framing on the front rank.
Plate of the latest record DR-001 A pipe band drum corps mid-march on a wet stone street, snare sticks raised to shoulder height, tenor mallets caught at the top of a flourish, low morning light from the left, tight horizontal framing on the front rank.

Latest records

The drawer by age

Records are filed by age: the notch of a record is computed from its date, not from its subject.

  1. 30 D

    Under 30 days

    5 records

  2. 90 D

    30 to 90 days

    3 records

  3. 180 D

    90 to 180 days

    no record at this notch in this edition

  4. 365 D

    180 to 365 days

    no record at this notch in this edition

  5. 365+

    Over a year

    no record at this notch in this edition

What the file covers

  • A row of practice chanters and a snare drum pad on a folding table in a school hall, sheet music propped against a music stand, late afternoon light through tall windows.
    Band History 2 pages

    The Nicholson story, Southern California gatherings, community ensembles and the record left by programmes, photographs and press.

  • A blackwood bagpipe chanter lying on a matte gray paper sweep beside a steel ruler, lit by two diffused lights at forty-five degrees, photographed square from above.
    Pipes 2 pages

    Chanters, drones, reeds and setup, and the musical role of the pipe section.

  • A pipe band drum corps mid-march on a wet stone street, snare sticks raised to shoulder height, tenor mallets caught at the top of a flourish, low morning light from the left, tight horizontal framing on the front rank.
    Drums 1 page

    Snare, bass and tenor technique, drum scores and ensemble timing.

  • A pipe band in dark tunics stands in three ranks on a flat parade ground under an overcast sky, a drum major with a vertical mace slightly forward of the front rank, photographed from a low angle with the grass in the bottom third of the frame.
    Performance 3 pages

    Marches, competitions, parades, stage sets and listening guides.

Records kept by other desks

Pieces from other desks, each read before it was filed here.

  • torontosoundsbigband.com

    For readers who want to know how a dance evening is built from the brass and saxophone sections up, the Toronto big band notebook explains repertoire, rehearsal craft, and the players who fill those chairs across Toronto.

  • danse-isadora.com

    For readers who want the French studio vocabulary behind barre work, pointe shoes, adage, plié, port de bras, isolations and the swing of modern jazz, Isadora dance notebooks sets out the terms and the practice.

  • museum-images.com

    For readers who want to understand how museum photographs are catalogued, reproduced and read, Vitrine Review examines archive histories, rights and visual literacy for curators, archivists and image researchers.