Northumbrian Pipers Society

The Great Northern Tunebook

Description Published in 2008 by EFDSS and NPS, this book presents the music from the William Vickers' Collection of Dance Tunes (1770) - a manuscript currently held by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne. The first edition of the Great Northern Tune Book was published in three volumes by Dragonfly music 1986-7.

222 pages - A4 Portrait - Sewn & Drawn - Card Cover

NPS members £15.00

Non-members £22.50

The Clough Family of Newsham

Published in 2000, this book is the most prestigious publication by the NPS to date. The Clough family piping tradition can be traced back almost 250 years, and their manuscript collection, on which the musical section of the book is based, contains much unique material. It also includes biographies and historical background to the activities of the most influential family in the history of Northumbrian piping. This is also available in hardback at a premium since copies are bound on an as required basis..

160 pages - A4 Portrait - Sewn & Drawn - Laminated Cover

NPS members £12.00

Non-members £20.00

Peacock's Tunes

First published at the beginning of the 19th century(i.e. about 200 years ago) by William Wright of High Bridge, Newcastle, The contents of the book are reputed to be drawn fom the repertoire of John Peacock, one of the last of the Newcastle Waits. Its publication was intended (even at that time) the instrument and tunes from passing out of use. 3 copies of this book survive and one of these was used to produce a facsimile which was published by the NPS in 1980. This fascinating book certainly helped to provoke interest in these old tunes, but it was considered difficult to read (deservedly). The current edition has been typeset in the style of current society publications, and facsimile representations of original pages have been included for illustrative purposes.

52 pages - A5 Landscape - Folded & Stapled - Card Cover

Price: £3.00 NPS members /£6.00 non-members

The Fiddle Music of James Hill

Published in 2005, this contains a collection of hornpipes and other tunes, by James Hill and other musicians of his period, principally selected from local sources.

Price: £4.00 members/£7.00 non-members

The Northumbrian Pipers' Tunebook (Third Edition)

This is the third edition of this book, first published in 1936. It contains music of varying levels of difficulty: from tunes which are well within the scope of beginners, to variation sets which have been used in open competitions for more than 100 years.

54 pages - A5 Landscape - Folded & Stapled - Laminated Cover

Price: £3.00 NPS members /£6.00 non-members

The Charlton Memorial Tunebook

First Published in 1956, this book derives its title from the first president of the Northumbrian Pipers' Society who held that position from its inception in 1926 until his death in1943. It was intended that this should provide material to extend the repertoire of the small-pipe players of the day, and the majority of the tunes were drawn from the manuscript collection of John Armstrong of Carrick. Many of the tunes in this collection are in modes and forms which hark back to former times and so represent the traditional foundations of Northumbrian music.

64 pages - A5 Landscape - Folded & Stapled - Card Cover

Price: £3.00 NPS members /£5.00 non-members

Billy Pigg, The Border Minstrel- Now out of print

Replaced by New 2 volume Billy Pigg work, see below

Published in 1997, this book was based on extensive research by A. D. Schofield and edited by Julia Say. It contains a biography of Billy Pigg, a study of his unique playing style, a collection of all his known compositions and transcriptions of some tunes which have become associated with him. Billy was undoubtedly one of the most influential pipers in the period before the modern resurgence of the pipes.

62 pages - A4 Landscape - Folded & Stapled - Embossed Card Cover