The Halfway Hornpipe

I got my bellows back from the pipe-maker last week in time to play for the ceili in Branson. (This was the same bellows that, just a few weeks ago, been declared "knacked" by Fred Morrison!) It is definitely airtight now, with not so much as a single drop of air leaking from the leather. Unfortunately, the pipe-maker had to replace the lovely worn, brown leather with a new, boring black piece. So, I had to exchange the warm patina of the old bellows leather that looked like a well-used baseball glove for the no-patina look of a flat back piece that may as well be naughahyde {Sigh}. To his credit, he did not charge me for anything but postage for the bellows back to Missouri, and I really appreciate his willingness to work on stuff long over warranty.

The tune "Nameless (Halfway Hornpipe)" was one that I wrote in high school for a PTA competition called "Reflections." I had played bagpipe for a few years at that point and had probably tried my hand at composition several times, but the competition gave me a focal point for my efforts. I chose the name "Nameless (Halfway Hornpipe)" not because I wanted to be mysterious and defy definition, but because I felt a little presumptuous to call it anything. So, I settled on the parenthetical Halfway Hornpipe because I was from the little town of Halfway, and I thought it was kindof a clever and self-deprecating name. I got an honorable-mention for the piece and was even asked to perform it at the PTA regional meeting in Springfield. Recently, I scanned it to send to a Scottish piper who lives part of the time in Kansas and part in Donegal, Ireland. He is actually there now, but he has no problem accessing the internet by using a high-speed connection at a community facility in a village of 500!

(NOTE: The tune used in the ceili clip is a traditional tune called "Over The Waterfall." I will try to record my own composition in the future, but I need to practice it first!)