Reviews
"In Chanters Weave we can experience what it is like to liberate the bagpipe, to explore the paths that new and unfamiliar tunes afford and show that the smallpipe can provide as good an accompanimentto the singer and the song as many other instruments.
"The Invalid Regiment describes the reality facing young soldiers setting out for the unknown challenges of the Napoleonic wars as seen through the eyes of an army surgeon in charge of Blackness Castle, West Lothian. Judy's narrative alone is sufficient to warrant The Invalid Regiment takes its place among established ballads; and the tune is both original and memorable"
Ian K Murray (LBPS Common Stock Publication. December 2008 edition)
"I love hearing Judy sing, a unique talent, perfectly at ease singing, while accompanying herself on the smallpipes. And the joy of it is that she is a natural - her warm clear voice blends perfectly with the harmonies that she weaves on her pipes. Each song is a wee gem. And she always makes it look and sound so effortless and natural."
Julian Goodacre (Bagpipe Maker and LBPS President)
“I have just listened to it (The Passing of the Queen) and I LOVE it! The arrangement is beautiful….as I listened to it my main feeling was of timelessness, this could have been written during the period and your vocals add that quality, almost as if you were a bystander at this tragic event…..."
Gordon Giltrap (Guitar Maestro - see www.giltrap.co.uk)
About Judy
Judy’s first love is singing and whilst playing in a band called ‘Strings Attached’ she sang along with a Northumbrian Piper (Henry Ford currently playing with the band 'Sulis') and she found that she very much enjoyed singing against and harmonising with the pipes.When Judy moved to Scotland in 1988 she wasn’t allowed to bring the piper with her, as he unreasonably complained about not wanting to leave his partner, dog, job et cetera, and so this forced Judy to consider learning to play the pipes herself. She initially intended to learn to play the Northumbrian Pipes but was won over by the Scottish Small Pipes as played by Hamish Moore. She loved the Scottish Small Pipes and felt that the free flowing sound of the open chanter (the Scottish Small Pipes have a cylindrical bore and an open chanter, i.e. the end is open) was better suited to accompany singing and so ordered a set from Hamish Moore, who is also a very well respected bagpipe maker. Hamish designed Judy a special set of pipes to sing with. These pipes featured a blackwood chanter plus rosewood drones for a more subtle sound (it’s not often that you use the word subtle in the same sentence as bagpipes) . These pipes are now nearly 20 years old and have matured beautifully.
Judy’s aim was to sing and harmonise with the small pipes, and since buying the set from Hamish Moore in the same year, she has taken part in the Pipe and Song category of the Lowland and Border Pipers Society annual competitions 8 times between 1993 and 2008 with 7 wins and one second place. This includes 3 consecutive wins in 1993, 4 and 5 and again in 2006, 7 and 8. In 2007 the judge (Gary West) commented that “This was a beautiful performance – I could listen to a lot more of thisâ€.
Over the years a number of people have encouraged Judy to record some of her songs and so, in 2007, Judy started to record her CD (Chanters Weave) based around her arrangements of vocals and pipe accompaniments. Judy sings a mix of traditional and contemporary songs including some self penned songs and an arrangement of a rare song by the guitarist Gordon Giltrap. The CD also includes a couple of tune sets (a mix of traditional and contemporary including a couple of self penned tunes).
Judy enjoys songwriting and draws on values from her social work background and experiences for her lyrics. She wrote the additional verses & a refrain for “Welcome the Strangerâ€, a song based on a two line poem by Colin F Mackenzie that Sally found in the “Voices of Scotland†section of the Scottish Parliament website when the band were researching a name. The song encourages diversity and non judgemental attitudes. Other songs include Motherless Child" and "The Invalid Regiment", both of which feature on her album "Chanters Weave".
Judy is currently Secretary of the Lowland and Border Pipers’ Society
(see LBPS Web Site ).