The Silver Chanter

All over the world people associate the bagpipes with Scotland. In this informative and entertaining book Stuart McHardy introduces Scotland's national instrument - its history, development and repertoire - and examines the part that the piper himself has played in Highland and Lowland society over the centuries. The main bulk of the book is a series of thematically grouped tales from all periods and parts of the country in which we see aspects of traditional lore in stories of warriors, musicians, ghostly battles, the hand of friendship, exemplary heroism and the cost of supernatural help. There are tales of the MacCrimmons, the most famous island pipers of all, as well as Habbie Simpson, who was possibly the most famous of all the Lowland pipers. Whether dealing with great bravery or contemptible jealousy, the supernatural or the mundane, these stories reflect the central role that the bagpipes have played, and continue to play, in Scottish traditional culture.

Introduced by Stewart Sanderson. This book, the first and most popular of four volumes, is a marvellous and indispensable treasury of Scottish folklore and folk belief from the world of Celtic magic, gods and fairies, to the prophecies of the Brahan seer, second sight, witchcraft, earth magic, selkies, changelings and a host of traditional spells and cures. The Silver Bough involved many years of research into both living and recorded folklore. Its genesis lies perhaps in the author's need to reconcile the old primitive world she had glimpsed in her Orkney childhood, with the sophisticated modern world she later entered. This much loved and highly regarded work remains a classic of literature. 'If you are looking for an insight into the Celtic mindset, or interested in the background of Scottish literature or in Scottish folklore for its own sake . . . I know of no other single volume I could so unreservedly recommend to you.' Books in Scotland

(Instructional). The Hal Leonard Bagpipe Method is designed for anyone just learning to play the Great Highland bagpipes. This comprehensive and easy-to-use beginner's guide serves as an introduction to the bagpipe chanter. Video lessons of demonstrations of all the examples in the book are included! Lessons include: the practice chanter, the Great Highland Bagpipe scale, bagpipe notation, proper technique, grace-noting, embellishments, playing and practice tips, traditional tunes, buying a bagpipe, and much more!

All over the world people associate the bagpipes with Scotland. In this informative and entertaining book, Stuart McHardy introduces Scotland's national instrument - its history, development and repertoire - and examines the part that the piper himself has played in Highland and Lowland society over the centuries. The main bulk of the book is a series of thematically grouped tales from all periods and parts of the country in which we see aspects of traditional lore in stories of warriors, musicians, ghostly battles, the hand of friendship, exemplary heroism and the cost of supernatural help. There are tales of the MacCrimmons, the most famous island pipers of all, as well as Habbie Simpson, who was possibly the most famous of all the Lowland pipers. Whether dealing with great bravery or contemptible jealousy, the supernatural or the mundane, these stories reflect the central role that the bagpipes have played, and continue to play, in Scottish traditional culture.

The Silver Bough is an indispensable treasury of Scottish culture, universally acknowledged as a classic of literature. The author, F Marian McNeill, succeeded in capturing and bringing to life many traditions and customs of old before they died out or were influenced by the modern era. The Silver Branch of the sacred apple tree, laden with crystal blossoms of golden fruit, is in Celtic mythology the equivalent of the Golden Bough of classical mythology - the symbolic bond between the world we know and the Otherworld.This, the first volume of The Silver Bough, deals with Scottish folklore and folk-belief. There are chapters on the ethnic origins of the national festivals, the Druids, the Celtic gods, and the slow transition from Druidism to Christianity. There are accounts of magic, the fairy faith, second sight, selkies, changelings and the witch cult, including tales of "e;witches"e; being hung, or worse. There are old familiar rhymes and a wealth of information on the Scotland of old, now gone for ever, where the people feared witches and "e;faeries"e;. Readers are bound to find something fascinating about somewhere in Scotland they didn't know before. The book is attractively illustrated, with many interesting relics reproduced for the first time, including a witch's cursing bone, hair rope and corp creadh (clay image) and some well-known amulets and charms. The subsequent three volumes deal with the origins and traditions of Scottish national and local festivals. As man makes greater and greater advances in the understanding and control of his physical environment, the river between the known and the unknown gradually changes its course, and the subjects of the simpler beliefs of former times become part of the new territory of knowledge. The Silver Bough maps out the old course of the waterway that in Celtic belief winds between here and beyond, and reveals the very roots of the Scottish people's distinctive customs and way of life. 1938 character count(extra section to be added where possible)The Silver Bough is a large and important work which involved many years of research into both living and recorded lore. Its genesis lies, perhaps, in the author's subconscious need to reconcile the old primitive world she had glimpsed in childhood with the sophisticated modern world she later entered. "e;I do not believe that you can exaggerate the importance of the preservation of old ways and customs, and all those little things which bind a man to his native place. Today we live in difficult times. The steam-roller of progress is flattening out many of our old institutions, and there is a danger of a general decline in idiom and distinctive quality in our Scottish life. The only way to counteract this peril is to preserve jealously all these elder things which are bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. For, remember, no man can face the future with courage and confidence unless it is solidly founded upon the past. And conversely, no problem will be too hard, no situation too strange, if we can link it with what we know and love"e; F Marian McNeill