Hill topics
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1997
EVENTS • ENTERTAINMENT • ISSUES • MUSIC • ART
Piping the live-long day
Bagpipe aficionados fill the Hill with music
Story by Gwen Olson • golson@kansan.com
lofting over the hill and through the trees are the sounds of a lone piper. This is not a scene in Scotland, but a common occurrence in the walnut grove near Cannelle Hill.
in the walnut grove near Campanie Mike Kaufman, McPherson junior, often can be heard around campus playing the set of bagpipes his mother gave him.
The music has a wide range of melodies but the instrument is what makes the sound distinct.
Kaufman says the pieces he chooses to play depend on his mood.
"Retreats and jigs are cool because they're usually fast and pretty difficult," Kaufman said. "But if I'm in a certain mood, I'll play some slower."
Kaufman's interest in music can be traced back to his family and the city of McPherson, where he grew up. Kaufman's mother and father both play the bagpipes and are active in the city's Pipe Band.
Kaufman said his parents involvement with music helped spark his interest
"I was a banner carrier for the band," Kaufman said. "I got to know the members of the band. I guess it has just been a hobby of our family's and that was a big influencing factor."
Kaufman said he has played several musical instruments beginning with the piano.
"My parents made me take piano lessons, much like a lot of other people," he said. "I started when I was about four and took lessons until I was in high school, but I don't think I was ever that good because I abhorred practicing."
Kaufman decided to play the bagpipes again after he came to the University. Since he had not played in many years, he said it was a struggle to start over.
After Kaufman began playing the piano he decided to take up the bagpipes, but quit to play the trombone when he started junior high school.
"It was almost a process of relearning," he said. "I had to re-memorize all of the music, but as you memorize more and more it gets easier."
Kaufman said he liked to play around campus because he would not bother anyone. But he said people often were more interested in his music than annoyed by it.
"When I have played indoors in Murphy Hall, people liked my playing and asked me about it." Kaufman said.
"I can walk there and it's pretty secluded," he said. "If people want to come and listen they can, but, come winter, I'll have to find somewhere indoors to play."
He said he liked to play in the walnut grove because it was close to the scholarship hall where he lives.
Although Kaufman can often be found playing alone, he said he prefers to play with other piners.
How bagpipes are played
One piper Kaufman used to play with
"Usually in songs all the bagpipes play the same piece," he said. "There are harmony parts written, but it's mostly played in unison."
The pipes that most Americans are familiar with are the Scottish Highland Bag-pipes. These pipes have three drones that come out the top of the bag that produces a constant sound. A single chanter with the nine notes of the pipe scale are played one, and a bag made of sheep or elk skin that the piper presses with his or her arm when he or she wants to take a breath. This is what makes pipe music free from pauses.
was Daniel Horn. McPherson iumor.
Kaufman said he decided to start playing the bagpipes again after he learned Horn still was playing. Horn and Kaufman grew up in the same town and played in the city band at different times. They have played together since last December, but not frequently since spring. Horn said that they used to play on campus about once a week.
"It's a lot nicer to play outside because it sounds better. The bagpipes were made to be played outdoors." he said.
The pipers' favorite place to practice is the Pioneer Cemetery on Irving Hill road across from the Lied Center.
Horn said they tried to choose pieces that they both knew because the bagpipes were meant to be played without sheet music.
"We usually go through all the songs that we both know," Horn said. "We get out the music for other songs and try to learn new pieces."
Although they both have an interest in music, neither Kaufman or Horn plan on majoring in the field. Kaufman is a physics major and Horn is majoring in computer engineering.
Kaufman also enjoys playing with his father Ty Kaufman, one of his biggest influences.
Ty Kaufman said his son had an early exposure to music, but they have only been playing the bagpipes together for a short time.
“Mike was out in some highland competitions with us when he was very young,” Ty Kaufman said. “We haven't played much together since he's left for school, but we did play a lot during the summer.”
Mike and Ty Kaufman plan to play together at a wedding in Manhattan in September.
The three pipes on top produces the two tenor and one bass sound that is easily recognizable as a bagpipe. Mike Kaufman said he enjoys playing the bagpipes with his father, Ty Kaufman.
But like his father, McPherson County attorney, Mike Kaufman sald music was more of a past time than a profession for him. Mike Kaufman also would like to learn new instruments.
Ty Kaufman, who has a degree in music among others, said he was not surprised that his son decided to play the bagpipes.
"In this household the kids all played something," he said.
"I picked up the banjo over the summer," he said. "I think I'll always have some music in my life."
Mike Kaufman, McPherson junior, plays his bagpipes in Walnut Grave Park, next to Memorial Stadium. He tries to play at least once a week.
- Scotland's national instrument, the bagpipe or, in German, pio-mhor (the great pipe), is not an instrument that has its origins in Scotland. The bagpipe is an instrument of great antiquity, an instrument that has its origins in the Middle East and traveled through and evolved in Europe alongside the diffusion of early civilization.
Brief evolution of the bagpipe
The "Oxford History of Music" makes mention of the first documented bagpipe being found on a Hittle slab at Eyuk. This sculptured bagpipe had been dated to 1000 B.C. Biblical mention was made of the bagpipe in Genesis and in the third chapter of Daniel where the "symphonia" in Nebuchadnezzar's band is believed to have been a bagpipe. These early pipes, minus the bag, were probably the second musical instrument to evolve. These early pipes used materials with a natural bore (hollow needs, corn stalks or bamboos.
Above: McPherson said he enjoys playing the bagpipes in Walnut Grove because it is close to where he lives. Right: The bagpipes are played by controlling the escaping air through a reed, similar to an oboe.