Member Profile - Jim Cutler
Age: 45
Where are you from originally? Massachusetts
Where do you live ? Corinth, NY
What is your job or major if a student? Carpenter
Instrument: Pipes
How long have you been playing? 10-11 years
What got you interested? Carol met a local pipe band at a parade her high school band was marching in and decided to give it a try. A few month’s later she convinced me to give it a shot.
How did you go about learning/finding - private teacher, class, band, parent or relative? After a few months of trying to learn from the pipe band, Carol and I realized there had to be more. We met Maureen Connor at a games and started taking lessons from her.
Teachers that had a big influence: Maureen, Donald Lindsay, Gordie Peters and any # of instructors at summer camps. I really learned a lot the week I worked with Dr. Jack Taylor.
How long did you take lessons? 8 years
How long did you play practice chanter/pad before moving to pipes/drum? How long from start to marching with the band? 3 months on the chanter before moving to the pipes. Probably 7-8 months before my first parade.
How long does it take you to get to practice? 1 hour
Favorite bagpipe player or drummer? Alasdair Gillies for light music. Piobaireachd is almost tune by tune, but probably Donald MacPherson.
Favorite bagpipe band? Victoria Police when they were winning the World’s some years ago.
What other music do you like? Jazz, blue grass/folk.
What other instruments do/did you play? I was a saxophone major in college, but can play most of the woodwinds to a varying degree.
What is the hardest thing about playing? Finding the time, both for practicing and fitting in all the parades, competitions and rehearsals. Playing in a pipe band can become a very time consuming hobby. Having my whole family involved with the band is probably the main factor in making it all work.
Do you compete? I have competed with the CRC g3 and g4 competition bands. I am currently the resurrected PM of the g4 band. I am a g3 solo piper on what has become a 2 year hiatus from competitions. At the height of my solo competing obsession, I attended 15-20 competitions a year.
What is the one thing you would tell a beginner about learning? Get a good teacher from the very beginning.
Do you play solo events like weddings and funerals? Yes, but not as much as I used to. Generally, Seamus, my son is given all the gigs we get called for these days.
What hobbies or other pursuits do you have? Building furniture and reading. I build post and beam homes for a living, but it would be safe to say that it is a hobby/passion as much as it is a job.
Profiles | mhatcher | July 1, 2009 | 
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