Paul Turner of Perth, Scotland

Paul Turner is a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland and was originally taught by his father starting at just five years old. He first played in the Saintfield Pipe Band and then in 1977 became one of the founding members of the RUC Pipe Band. He played under Billy Dunlop and Bobby Rae until being appointed Lead Drummer in 1984. Since this time, Paul has successfully lead Grade One drum corps including RUC, ScotRail Vale of Atholl, Victoria Police, Grampian Police, Dysart and Dundonald, and currently the Robert Wiseman Dairies Vale of Atholl. Not only successful as a bandsman, Paul is also a very successful soloist having won the World Solo Drumming Championship in 1989. He is an avid instructor on an international scale and also serves on the RSPBA adjudicator's panel, a position he has held since 1982. He has also been a past member of the RSPBA Music Board, a group that helps to shape the progress of pipe band competitions such as the World Championships. We are very excited to introduce our August 2007 Featured Drummer and Score of the Month ... Paul Turner.

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Why did you start pipe band drumming, how old were you, and when did you get 'serious' about it?

Pipe bands have been a major part of my family for many years. My grandfather was a well-respected piper and pipe major and my father was a successful solo drummer and leading drummer in Northern Ireland. So it was a natural progression as a kid of about 5 years old for both myself, and later my brother Grahame, to take up drumming taught by my father. The serious competition bug really started when I joined the RUC Pipe Band on its formation in 1977.

Who have been some of your teachers and influences along the way ?

The natural progression and advancement of side drumming means that I really am learning on a regular basis - be it new time signatures/rhythms for the band, variations of pitch blends and dynamics for the corps or new teaching methods with our novice and juvenile players. I was very lucky to be taught by some of the best drummers Northern Ireland has produced in Bobby Rea, Billy Dunlop and of course my father. Over the years I have also played with some very talented individuals such as Andy Scullion, Harry Gillespie, Gordon Lee, Doug Stronach and the various members of my own corps. You are always on a very steep learning curve in that environment.

As a leading drummer I have found that Pipe Majors have a major input to your thought processes when composing scores and having worked with the special talents of Nat Russell, Ian Duncan and currently with Andy Renwick at “The Vale” their natural flair for developing music and harmonies from all over the world has helped me vary the use of my corps and create a very distinctive blend of rhythm and dynamics.

In the competition arena, an in-depth appreciation and understanding of your competition and their talent is a must and Leading Drummers such as Alex Duthart, Jim Kilpatrick, Eric Ward, Reid Maxwell and Tom & Gordon Brown have, over the years, inspired me to a lot of hard work and the willingness to push the envelope with every new score.

What sort of practice methods do you use to stay at the top of your game ?

Exercises, exercises and then more exercises to keep the brain, hands and fingers supple enough to play any scores required.

A minimum of 5-6 hours a week outside band practices, even for my Juvenile players, would be considered a minimum for improving the standard of general execution and technique. I have always been a great believer in attention to detail be it technique, phrasing or dynamic control. For this reason I tend to mark all the drum scores for the Corps, including the Bass and Tenor section, with as much phrasing and dynamic information from the start. This helps each individual player understand, from the outset, the requirements of each piece and shortens the learning curve.

The music is always used during band practices and ensures continuity and reduces the possibility of errors spoiling the learning process. With the amount of new music involved with concert performances - Glasgow Concert Hall 2006 we had over 50 new scores - we now use the music on stage and find it a highly professional way to ensure continuity of each piece (If it’s good enough for an orchestra?).

When did you begin composing and what sort of path do you follow to write a new score ?

Like most drummers I suppose I have always dabbled in composing from a very early age, whether it was exercises or scores. I really started to get involved in composing in 1982/1983 when I was encouraged to submit scores to Bobby Rea for the RUC Pipe Band. Since then I have written upwards of 1600 scores from massed band settings and Grade 4 competition marches right the way up through each grade to Grade 1 standard competition and concert material for quite a few bands around the world.

The basic plan I employ for score writing has not changed over the years whether it is a stock setting or a new arrangement for competition or concert format.

• Read through the pipe music with P/Major/composer and identify the rhythmic patterns and any special areas of harmony, pointing or technique that they wish to highlight as the piece progresses.

• Learn the melody and harmony, normally a CD in the car when I am travelling on business

• Over what ever time it takes and however number of drafts set out the score and the dynamic line.

• Using the rhythm and dynamics of the basic side drum score overlay the Bass and tenor beats and pitches to compliment the notes of the piping melody and add drive and colour to the drum score. This involves close co-operation with the leader of my Bass and Tenor section, Ian Sinclair, especially when a compromise is required to achieve a visually stunning and technical effect to compliment the music as well as keep the subtle pitch variations.

• Deliver the outline drafts to the Pipe Major for discussion. I always work on the fact that the score is always live and improvements/changes are always a part of the evolution of the music. Some of the most innovative changes invariably come from the drummers that stand in your corps.

How do you go about learning or memorizing new music ?

Using the scores during the band practice sessions is a very fast and successful way to learn the flow of the music, the only downside to this is it can make your memory lazy. So I try and work without the music in my own practice time as much as possible and set measurable target dates for dumping the music I also agree target dates with the members of the corps. I always refer to the music at practices and the members of “The Vale” are very accomplished at sight-reading this makes them not only fast learners but always willing to point out and correct my errors.

What sort of personal recommendations or tips could you share with our readers to become better drummers?

1. Practice your technique regularly.

2. Pay attention to the minute detail in the scores.

3. Always listen to your instructor/leading drummer and never argue, always have a constructive discussion as everyone is continually learning.

4. There is no such thing as a bad idea just some ideas are better than others at the time.

5. Always set out to relax and enjoy your music along with the members of the corps in which you are involved.

6. 99.99% of the drummers you meet are decent human beings after much the same thing as yourself - the other .01% are not actually drummers.