Amazing Grace

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Amazing Grace

For this bagpipe lesson Bill teaches you to play Amazing Grace. The tune is one of the more popular tunes and it is naturally associated with playing the bagpipes.

Amazing Grace is familiar to most pipers in its melody and rhythm, which should be easy to follow. This music is famous as a World number one hit in popularity some years ago played by the Pipes & Drums with the Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

Below is a recording from 1972 with Pipe Major Bill Robertson and the Pipes and Drums of Innes Tartan (New Zealand) accompanied by D.McCoomb on the organ.

Lesson Pointers

Extracts first are to help you with some of the note sequences and simple technique. Take each a bar at a time. All extracts and tunes are demonstrated on the audio link, although certain pulses are placed differently to that written.

All extracts are in compound triple time – three pulses to the bar. Notice how the numbering underneath helps to give you the rhythm for each pulse. The tune could be in 3⁄4, but preferred in 9⁄8.

Extract 1 is the starting notes as 1-& indicating that 1- with the one dash is longer in the pulse/beat than the following &, which indicates a shorter glide onto the next pulse in the first complete bar. The first and second pulses on “D” have two dashes on the numbers to indicate the full value of each pulse/beat for these two notes, along with a curve above to denote the continuous sound of two pulses on the same note. The third pulse has the three tied eighth notes. Study the notes from left to right, play slowly with accurate execution and eventual rhythm. Repeat as necessary.

Extract 2 has the two “F´s” tied in two pulses, then “G” grace note on a shorter “F” to longer “E” third pulse.

The rest should be straightforward with proper study and application. When having any shortcomings, analyse them, then practise correctly and methodically the interval or sequence of notes concerned etc.