I recently played a funeral with several other pipers and after we were done, we were talking about how good we sounded despite not playing together for months. I do miss playing gigs and I miss competing but what do I really miss the most? Weekly rehearsals!
We tuned up in a back room of the funeral home and just like at weekly practice, all the pipers put together their instruments and did a quick self tune and played a few personal warm up tunes and then we came together and just played Balmoral several times in a small circle… the sound was fantastic, like a great sounding stereo, and I miss that more than anything else, that one set of the night where everything sounds perfect, that’s what I miss!
I miss hanging out with my friends after rehearsal and I miss the camaraderie and banter and messing with each other. Among my bandmates, we frequently joke that if we’re no longer making fun of you, we probably don’t like you anymore!
I miss the choreography of a well done march in and in honor of what I miss, here’s a link to a video of Inveraray rehearsing one of my all time favorite sets! What do you miss?