Benjamin Franklin Lodge #83, Madison, WI

Summary by Bro. Jordan McGuire, Middleton-Ionic No. 180

On June 27th, members and guests of Benjamin Franklin Lodge No. 83 gathered at the Madison Club for their regularly scheduled brother night. It was a memorable evening, celebrating Scotland's bagpipe and drum tradition.

The first speaker was Bro. Scott Statz, who gave a brilliant presentation on the history and different types of bagpipes. He talked about the quality of wood and craftsmanship that goes into building these wonderful instruments and how they operate. He then showed us how to put the bagpipes together and how to tackle this instrument. We were also shown the smaller, practice version of the bagpipes known as a chanter, which is where all pipers begin their piping journey. Bro. Statz's presentation finished with a beautiful pipe tune called "Highland Cathedral."

The second speaker was Bro. Jordan McGuire from Middleton-Ionic 180. He focused his talk on the regalia and uniforms associated with Highland pipe and drum corps. Bro. McGuire explained the different types of uniforms and how they are worn. He talked about differences between military dress and evening dress as well as the history that surrounds the kilt. He pointed out the four different dress styles that the presenters were wearing and what each part of the dress signified.

The third presenter was Bro. Randy Lagman, who demonstrated beauty of the classical bagpipe music known as piobreached, which is pronounced pee-brock. Bro. Lagman showed us how this type of tune is interpreted and sung to the pupil that is studying it. He went into the form's basic music structure and how different parts of a piobreached tune are arranged. His presentation was concluded with (mind you he was playing with a broken finger) the ground of "The Massacre of Glencoe," which was fantastic.

The fourth and last presenter was Bro. Gary Jacobs. Bro. Jacobs showed us a different side of the bagpipe world, which is its accompanying drumming. He explained the three different types of drums used including the bass, tenor, and side drums that participate in a pipe band. He then showed us his side drum and some of the fancy flourishing that accompany it while playing. His presentation concluded with a musical demonstration, Bro. Jacob playing the side drum and Bro. McGuire playing the pipe tunes "Scotland the Brave" and "Rowan Tree together."