All posts by napierpb

News

Notice of AGM 2025

NAPIER PIPE BAND INCORPORATED
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

In accordance with clause 18.1 of the Band’s Constitution, notice is hereby given that the Annual General meeting of Napier Pipe Band Incorporated will be held at the Band rooms, Nelson park, on Monday 9th June 2025 at 7.30 p.m.

Members have received, by email, the agenda and reports which can be found on this website.

Please note that there is a vacancy on the Committee to be filled by an Associate member (Supporter).  The new Rules adopted recently have made this possible.  If you are interested in supporting your Band in this way,  please complete the nomination form which is available here.

Please send apologies to secratrary@napierpipeband 

Playing members please bring a plate for supper. We look forward to seeing you all.

Amanda Laird
Secretary

News

The Fear of Failing

Every opportunity in life comes with two things: the possibility of succeeding, and the possibility of failing. When you reach the end of your life, your greatest regrets won’t be over your failures, but the opportunities you failed to seize because you were afraid of failing. So here are some principles to help you conquer the fear of failing:

  1. Be willing to try and fail at something. And when it happens, tell people. Why? Because that’s how you discover failure isn’t fatal.
  2. Find a project so big that you cannot do it without someone’s help, then commit to it.
  3. Socialise with some impulsive types. Observe how they take risks without dying. Seeing and imitating is a great way to learn.
  4. The way we learn to take big steps is by taking small steps. Compliment someone you don’t know (or someone you do know who has done exceptionally well). Volunteer for an additional task at work (or at band). Go out of your way to help someone in need.
  5. Declare war on perfectionism. Instead of waiting until you can do it perfectly, do your best and tell yourself, ‘That’s good enough for now.’
  6. Be afraid but give it a go anyway. You will never totally defeat your fears, but you can diminish them to where they have less control of your life.
News

Pied Piper Op Shop

The Pied Piper Op Shop has now been ‘ours’ for a whole month!  A very busy month it has been too.

This time has allowed us to make some small changes and also identify how you may be able to help.

Firstly, we need volunteers in the shop on a Saturday morning from 10am – 1pm.  Tasks include serving customers, taking donations, pricing and sorting items.  This of course could be say once a month, depending on how many people can help.

Secondly, some of the clothing items donated are only good enough for rags.  This means that buttons need to be removed before cutting the fabric up.  We have secured a buyer for the rags which provides a steady and useful top up to the income.  Are you able to help with this job?

Thirdly, we would like to introduce a baking roster so that we can provide the volunteers with morning and afternoon teas each day.  They give their time willingly and are essential to the day to day running of the shop.  Again, frequency of this is dependent on your support.

Finally, if you have any items surplus to your requirements, we would be most grateful to accept them to offer for sale at The Pied Piper Op Shop.

Please do have a think about whether you can help with this exciting venture on behalf of your Pipe Bands.  If you can, please contact one of the Trustees – Julie, Sally, Jarrod or Aaron.

News

Monday 12 May

Another solid practice on Monday, great work, everyone!

We kicked things off on the practice chanters, working through the Caller Herrin’ and Teribus brackets. It’s clear that our happy place with these sets sits right around 70 bpm, any faster and we start to lose that all-important expression and tightness. So, let’s keep things steady and continue chipping away at those tunes at that tempo during your own practice.

We’ve decided to shift our focus to preparing Concert 3 for our next performance. That will be our main focus over the coming weeks in preparation for the Napier RSA Concert

A reminder about the bull sale Tuesday 3rd June, on site at the farm about 15 minutes from Lake Tutira.  Drive time from the band hall is 1 hour, although given the traffic conditions on the Wairoa Road, it is best to allow 90 minutes. 

As always, the team spirit and banter were top-notch with good laughs and a productive night all around. A huge thanks to everyone for your continued passion and commitment to turning up and tuning in, especially as the colder winter nights start to roll in.

Have a great week and keep those pipes & drums warm.

Music, Uncategorised

Concert programmes

We’re excited to share a new concert plan that we believe will benefit everyone — our playing members, our supporters, and our audiences alike.

We’ve thoughtfully developed a set of four concerts that we can rotate throughout the year. This approach not only streamlines our programming but also ensures we offer a rich and diverse selection of our repertoire that keeps our concerts fresh and engaging.

News

Monday 5 May

Hi team,

Another solid session this week—great energy all around.  We ran through The Leaving of Liverpool, Wings, Caller Herrin brackets, and Banjo & Paddies Jigs. Big shoutout on Caller Herrin—our timing and overall sound are really starting to come together.

This week, I’d really appreciate it if everyone could put some extra focus into the Jigs. Pay close attention to the G, D, and E grace note timing. It’ll make all the difference to our sound.

Also, don’t forget to keep the combined band tunes in your rotation. I’ll be running through those in the next few weeks, so keep them fresh and gig-ready.

Keep up the great work, keep having fun, and let’s keep making some awesome noise together

Have a fantastic week
Cheers
Aaron

Next week’s play list.
The Leaving of Liverpool – bracket
Wings
Caller Herrin
Jigs Banjo & Paddies
Sands of Kuwait
Love Song for Deborah Anne
Wellerman

News

AGM 2025

The Band’s AGM will be held on Monday 9 June 7.30pm at the Band Rooms, Nelson Park. The agenda and reports will be emailed to members later this month, and they will also be posted on the Members’ page of the website.

Weekly Update

Monday 28 April

Hi Team,
Another enjoyable practice night.
We took the opportunity to dive into The Leaving of Liverpool and Wings brackets, along with The Sands of Kuwait. There were a few minor timing wobbles with these brackets (nothing we can’t polish up!), and Sands is coming along steadily – well done! I encourage everyone to carve out some time this week to keep working on these pieces, so we keep the momentum going.
We also spent some time reflecting on our efforts at the ANZAC services and parades. It’s a good reminder of the important role we play in our communities and the strong connections we make through our music. We should all be proud of what we achieved.
And of course, last night we took the opportunity to present the Aaron Award! There were some strong contenders:
Penny, sporting both forward and backward-facing flashes (trendsetter!),
Stephen, who took “misplaced flashes” to a whole new level,
Robert, who almost treated Taradale to a kilt malfunction moment…
But the clear winner this week was Nev, who managed to misplace his bass drumsticks and was left unable to play at the concert at the RSA! A truly award-worthy effort, Nev!
We wrapped up a little early and enjoyed a cuppa, some biscuits, pineapple lumps (of course!), and some good laughs.
Thanks, everyone – keep those tunes ticking along, and see you all next week!
Cheers
Aaron
Next practice tune list
The Leaving of Liverpool – bracket
Wings bracket
Caller Herrin bracket
Jigs Banjo & Paddies
Sands of Kuwait
Love Song for Deborah Anne
The Wellerman