LEVEL FOUR CERTIFICATE

SYLLABUS

1. Maintenance

Candidates must demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the following:

a. knowledge required to tie in a stock;
b. variety of materials used in bag making;
c. fitting a simple leather valve to the blowstick and how various water traps are fitted and work;
d. setting a chanter reed to achieve a good and reasonably true scale using tape and other means as necessary; and
e. fitting, tuning, and handling cane and synthetic drone reeds and bridles to achieve correct pitch and strength.

2. Practical

Candidates must demonstrate competency in the following:

a. Exercises on the Practice Chanter

The student should have a firm grasp of all the technique required to play light music and must correctly demonstrate all of the technique required to play piobaireachd as follows:

hiharin
dres and edres
dare and vedare
double echoes on B, D, E, F, and High G
harodin/horodin
darodo
taorluath
taorluath a mach
standard crunluath
crunluath breabach
crunluath fosgailte
crunluath a mach

b. Monotone Exercises   (Each exercise will contain rests and incomplete bars)

Tap out the rhythm of any of the following:

Simple Duple time
Simple Quadruple time
Cut Common time

c. Bagpipe

The candidate must submit the following tunes:

Two competition type 2/4 Marches
Two 6/8 Marches of four parts
Two competition type Strathspeys of four or more parts
Two competition type Reels of four or more parts
Two competition type Hornpipes of four or more parts
Two competition type Jigs of four or more parts
One Piobaireachd which includes the taorluath and crunluath variations

Candidates will be expected to set the chanter and drones accurately.
Candidates will also be assessed on Marching and Deportment.

3. Theory

Candidates must demonstrate the ability to:

Write canntaireachd equivalents of the piobaireachd movements required for this certificate
Write movements for light music and piobaireachd on the stave
Understand basic piobaireachd construction and primary piobaireachd classification
Write out Monotone Exercises in various time signatures to include the use of two types of rest.
Understand sound production and measurement
Sight read a set piece
Write from memory one part (8 bars) of each of the following tune types:
Strathspey
Reel
Jig