absent.canadian

The short answer is: not much.

Some time ago I decided I needed to learn the bagpipes. This was before our trip to England in September 2005, when we drove from London to Edinburgh. In fact, the bed-and-breakfast we stayed in during our one night in Kirkcaldy was only three or four miles from where my practice chanter was made …

… but I’m getting ahead of my story.

Learning the bagpipes in North Carolina is a bit like going to a lumber mill to learn the flute. Figuring I would be left to my own devices, I turned to Google and Wikipedia, and I learned that most people start with a practice chanter. This is a bit like a set of bagpipes with training wheels - or, more appropriately, a stationary bicycle without any wheels at all. Before you learn to juggle drones and bags and a chanter, you start with just the chanter and the reed.

Realizing that the only logical option was to buy a practice chanter from somewhere in the Scottish countryside, I turned once more to Google and found Duncan Soutar - a real, dyed-in-the-wool pipe maker from St. Andrews. If that isn’t Scottish enough, I don’t know what is.

A few emails back and forth, and my practice chanter was on its way.

And today, almost two weeks after I ordered it, the faithful USPS (with a little help from the Royal Mail) delivered it. For two weeks I had been calling my wife faithfully at 4:45 every night, asking if “Scottish mail” had arrived. Tonight, there was no need - the incriminating round cardboard tube had been hidden, and there was a good deal of giggling going on.

My first clue that this would be a fantastic experience was the smell. I carefully cut the tube open, and breathed in a fresh nose full of Scottish air. To be true, it smelled something of an old smoky pub, and my mind was immediately filled with images of an old craftsman haunched over his lathe, carefully burnishing the edges with ancient hand tools, and smoking a cigar.

Musical instruments are one of the few places that old-world craftsmanship is alive and well, and this chanter is no exception. The blackwood has a terrific grain to it, and it’s easy to see that real care and attention went into making this instrument.

I’m a long way from belting out Scotland the Brave, but it sure will be fun to honk away on this.