Member profile – Garth Scannell

Where are you from originally?  Fairbanks, Alaska

Instrument:  Grade 4 Bagpipes

How long have you been playing?  I have been playing bagpipes for five years.

What got you interested?  No singular event or person.  I have always like bagpipes and one day I decided that I would like to play them.

How did you go about learning/finding – private teacher, class, band, parent or relative?  After I decided I wanted to play, I talked to my parents and we found Maureen Connor in the phone book.  I started taking private lessons with her.  Maureen is the instructor for Scotia Glenville, so after I moved up to pipes she invited me to play with them.

Teachers that had a big influence:  Maureen Connor taught me the basics and helped instill good practice habits.  Sean Moran helped get me started in solo competitions and introduced me to a lot of new music.  Gordie Peters is currently doing an excellent job refining my embellishments and overall playing.

How long did you take lessons?  Five years.

How long did you play practice chanter/pad before moving to pipes/drum? How long from start to marching with the band?  I played practice chanter for almost a year before moving to pipes.  After that I started playing with Scotia Glenville, but it took almost another year before I was ready to compete with them.  I played and marched with CRC a month or two after I joined them.

How long does it take you to get to practice?  About twenty minutes.

Favorite bagpipe player or drummer?  I would have to go with my brother and identical twin, Luke Scannell, who plays tenor drum in CRC.

Favorite bagpipe band?  Boghall and Bathgate.

What other music do you like?  Classical.

What other instruments do/did you play?  I played violin for three years in elementary school.

What is the hardest thing about playing?  For me it is finding time to practice while going to school.  During the summer it is more relaxed and practicing, playing and competing with the band is fun, but during the spring semester especially, it can be stressful to find time to play while keeping up with everything else.

Do you compete?  I compete with the grade four band.  I haven’t really started doing solo competitions yet.

What is the one thing you would tell a beginner about learning?  Assuming a younger player, put as much time into practicing as you can.  It is much easier to maintain your level of skill than increase and once you reach college it may be all you can do to keep playing at all.