The problem here is not me, it is you. How the hell does one discuss the British influence on this or any subject without being accused of bashing? I am not bashing by calling the regimentation imposed on the piping style of the earlier Scots what it is. And if you don't have the ability or desire to take the whole comment in context, that is for you to deal with. But, like it or not, the styles preserved in the Maritimes are truer to the traditional forms of the immigrants. The competition/pipe band forms are an evolution and they show the effects of the regimentation and discipline imposed on them by the British military structure. The ability to play these tunes, with all the appropriate decorations, grace notes, etc. en masse, is an amazing thing to see and hear. Had you read for comprehension in my first post, you would have understood that I truly appreciate and enjoy it for what is. But the fact is that it is the cart and not the horse.

The reason I use the term "British" as opposed to "English" is that I am not referring to a people, but an institution. One of the things I have learned from my Mudcat friends in Jolly Olde over the years is that such generalizations are unfair. You all might remember that when speaking of North Americans.

Mick