Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The MSR (March, Strathspey, and Reel) is a long-standing sequence of pieces that demonstrate a bagpiper's mastery of the instrument and idiomatic Scottish musical styles, the Scottish 2/4 March and Strathspey both being uniquely Scottish forms. This MSR is interesting in that it sets three modes rather uncommon to the bagpipe: F# Phrygian, C# Locrian, and G Lydian Pentatonic (G, A, C#, D, E, high-G, high-A); the first of these two modes are almost never used in bagpipe music.
The 2/4 March, "Wee Wade's March":
In my years of scouring bagpipe music, I have only found a handful of pieces in F# Phrygian, most tunes orbiting F# being technically D-major (D-Ionian), A-Mixolydian, or B-Aeolian. Given the limited nature of the bagpipe's range and scale and the ubiquity of the A drones, it is rather difficult to construct a melody that is convincingly F#-Phrygian, since any abundance of A's, D's, or B's will shift the perception of the melody away from F#. Thus in constructing this tune, I attempted to place the most emphasis on F# and C# to highlight the tonic-dominant relationship between these notes, giving secondary preference to the notes G and E as cadential notes to F#-Phrygian. As far as I know, in all the 2/4 Scottish Marches that exist, this is the first in F#-Phrygian. The lightness of the F#-Phrygian mode on the bagpipe, being mostly resigned to the upper part of the instrument's register, reminds me of my little 2-year-old nephew, Wade, so small yet so bold. While a March tends to be bold and strong, frequently beginning and ending on the most stable pitch of the bagpipe - low-A - this tune’s focus on F# on the upper register transforms a typically bold piece into a melodically delicate yet rhythmically resolute tune.
The Strathspey, "Cantankerous Wade":
The Strathspey often calls for highly pointed rhythms and virtuosic embellishments. This tune is in C#-Locrian. Locrian is relatively rare in most music, and (as far as I know) unheard of in bagpipe music. Given the lack of a stable 5th above the final in the Locrian mode, is it difficult to create a tuneful melody or stable harmonies. Furthermore, given the ubiquity of the A drones on the bagpipe, it is difficult to write a melody that sounds convincingly in C#-Locrian on the bagpipe, since the A drones will harmonize C# into the Mixolydian mode. Thus, to craft this piece, I had to melodically avoid A almost entirely, lest the melody become A-Mixolydian with a predominance of C#. Thus, this tune orbits C# and G primarily, giving secondary preference to D and B as cadential notes around C#. The notes A and high-A appear only a few times sporadically. Given the ambiguity of Locrian, one can shift the music’s harmonic pallet rather adeptly, and so this tune makes slight harmonic adjustments from part to part. While most strathspeys will begin each part rather similarly with an emphasis on the same mode (with some famous and wonderful exceptions, like the "Ewe with the Crooked Horn"), this strathspey changes its harmonic pallet from part to part while always returning to Locrian. The first part begins in C#, the second part in E, the third part in B, and the final part in F#. The wonkiness of this tune attempts to suggest the cantankerousness of my 2-year-old nephew, Wade, when he is in a grumpy mood, fairly common to toddlers.
The Reel, “Toddlin’ Waddlin’ Wade”:
The Reel is a fast dance concluding the stately MSR with a lively finale. This reel uses the Lydian mode, which is somewhat uncommon in bagpipe music, though certainly used. However, Lydian is presented here in an unusual variation: Lydian-Pentatonic with the 3rd (B) and 7th (F#) missing. Thus, this tune’s scale is G, A, C#, D, E with octave transpositions of high-G and high-A. Lydian on the bagpipe is interesting because of the contrast between unmovable A drones and the modal final of G. This gives tunes in G a relatively unstable or otherworldly quality. By removing the 3rd of the mode (B), we destabilize the sense of Lydian slightly, not being able to form the foundational modal G-Major harmony (G, B, D). Furthermore, the half-step from C# to D gives a sense that D as a pseudo-final, though G seems to predominate. Thus, this variation of Lydian on the bagpipe creates a bi-modality where we might be in G Lydian (missing the 3rd and 7th) or D Hypo-Ionian (missing the 3rd and 6th). Notice that in each mode, the 3rd is missing; thus, by lacking the 3rd in both modes, both modes are equally destabilized, further confusing the mode and allowing us to work in an ambiguous space between G Lydian and D Ionian. The uncertain modality makes me think of the relative incoordination of my 2-year-old nephew, Wade, when he walks and runs around. He mostly has his footing but sometimes things seem to shift, the balance changes, and he goes stumbling forwards or falling backwards, topples to one side or the other: however, he is always happy to be scampering about in his cattywampus way.
The MSR (March, Strathspey, and Reel) is a long-standing sequence of pieces that demonstrate a bagpiper's mastery of the instrument and idiomatic Scottish musical styles, the Scottish 2/4 March and Strathspey both being uniquely Scottish forms. This MSR is interesting in that it sets three modes rather uncommon to the bagpipe: F# Phrygian, C# Locrian, and G Lydian Pentatonic (G, A, C#, D, E, high-G, high-A); the first of these two modes are almost never used in bagpipe music.
The 2/4 March, "Wee Wade's March":
In my years of scouring bagpipe music, I have only found a handful of pieces in F# Phrygian, most tunes orbiting F# being technically D-major (D-Ionian), A-Mixolydian, or B-Aeolian. Given the limited nature of the bagpipe's range and scale and the ubiquity of the A drones, it is rather difficult to construct a melody that is convincingly F#-Phrygian, since any abundance of A's, D's, or B's will shift the perception of the melody away from F#. Thus in constructing this tune, I attempted to place the most emphasis on F# and C# to highlight the tonic-dominant relationship between these notes, giving secondary preference to the notes G and E as cadential notes to F#-Phrygian. As far as I know, in all the 2/4 Scottish Marches that exist, this is the first in F#-Phrygian. The lightness of the F#-Phrygian mode on the bagpipe, being mostly resigned to the upper part of the instrument's register, reminds me of my little 2-year-old nephew, Wade, so small yet so bold. While a March tends to be bold and strong, frequently beginning and ending on the most stable pitch of the bagpipe - low-A - this tune’s focus on F# on the upper register transforms a typically bold piece into a melodically delicate yet rhythmically resolute tune.
The Strathspey, "Cantankerous Wade":
The Strathspey often calls for highly pointed rhythms and virtuosic embellishments. This tune is in C#-Locrian. Locrian is relatively rare in most music, and (as far as I know) unheard of in bagpipe music. Given the lack of a stable 5th above the final in the Locrian mode, is it difficult to create a tuneful melody or stable harmonies. Furthermore, given the ubiquity of the A drones on the bagpipe, it is difficult to write a melody that sounds convincingly in C#-Locrian on the bagpipe, since the A drones will harmonize C# into the Mixolydian mode. Thus, to craft this piece, I had to melodically avoid A almost entirely, lest the melody become A-Mixolydian with a predominance of C#. Thus, this tune orbits C# and G primarily, giving secondary preference to D and B as cadential notes around C#. The notes A and high-A appear only a few times sporadically. Given the ambiguity of Locrian, one can shift the music’s harmonic pallet rather adeptly, and so this tune makes slight harmonic adjustments from part to part. While most strathspeys will begin each part rather similarly with an emphasis on the same mode (with some famous and wonderful exceptions, like the "Ewe with the Crooked Horn"), this strathspey changes its harmonic pallet from part to part while always returning to Locrian. The first part begins in C#, the second part in E, the third part in B, and the final part in F#. The wonkiness of this tune attempts to suggest the cantankerousness of my 2-year-old nephew, Wade, when he is in a grumpy mood, fairly common to toddlers.
The Reel, “Toddlin’ Waddlin’ Wade”:
The Reel is a fast dance concluding the stately MSR with a lively finale. This reel uses the Lydian mode, which is somewhat uncommon in bagpipe music, though certainly used. However, Lydian is presented here in an unusual variation: Lydian-Pentatonic with the 3rd (B) and 7th (F#) missing. Thus, this tune’s scale is G, A, C#, D, E with octave transpositions of high-G and high-A. Lydian on the bagpipe is interesting because of the contrast between unmovable A drones and the modal final of G. This gives tunes in G a relatively unstable or otherworldly quality. By removing the 3rd of the mode (B), we destabilize the sense of Lydian slightly, not being able to form the foundational modal G-Major harmony (G, B, D). Furthermore, the half-step from C# to D gives a sense that D as a pseudo-final, though G seems to predominate. Thus, this variation of Lydian on the bagpipe creates a bi-modality where we might be in G Lydian (missing the 3rd and 7th) or D Hypo-Ionian (missing the 3rd and 6th). Notice that in each mode, the 3rd is missing; thus, by lacking the 3rd in both modes, both modes are equally destabilized, further confusing the mode and allowing us to work in an ambiguous space between G Lydian and D Ionian. The uncertain modality makes me think of the relative incoordination of my 2-year-old nephew, Wade, when he walks and runs around. He mostly has his footing but sometimes things seem to shift, the balance changes, and he goes stumbling forwards or falling backwards, topples to one side or the other: however, he is always happy to be scampering about in his cattywampus way.
