Bagpipe the night away

    It seeps beneath the floorboards and through the cracks under doors, filling Sam Cytulski’s apartment building and flowing right to the eardrum.  To the untrained ear and to skeptics around Milledgeville, it screeches and squeaks to tunes heard mainly at funerals and weddings.
    The culprit?  Cytulski proudly takes the blame as one of Milledgeville’s only bagpipe players and for introducing those around him to the sound of piping. 
    “How do people typically react?  You say it like it’s a bad thing,” Cytulski joked, minorly offended by the question.  “People usually handle it pretty well.”
    Everyone who knows Cytulski, a junior, knows that he is a bagpipe player.  Now 21, he has been playing since he was 13.  He grew up in a musical family with a lot of Scottish blood in them. 
    “I just knew I always wanted to play (the bagpipe).  I just love the sound,” Cytulski said.  “Music is a big thing to me.  It always has been.” 
    Like many, Cytulski grew up listening to the likes of Hank Williams and old southern rock with even a little Bob Marley thrown into the mix.  When it comes to adapting nontraditional tunes to his bagpipes, Cytulski says that it really does not work like that. 
    “There are only nine notes on a bagpipe so that kind of limits a pretty good amount of things,” Cytulski said.  “You could play a lot of old country songs just because old country songs are pretty much just old Scottish songs and, you know, especially bluegrass (songs).”
    Cytulski is a member of the Atlanta Pipe Band and was recently let in one of the best pipe bands in the world, located in Washington, D.C. 
    “They’re a grade (rated) one pipe band, which is the best grade,” Cytulski said.  “It goes five, four, three, two, one; with one being the best.” 
    For Cytulski, playing with this band is like hitting the big time. 
    “It’s equivalent to playing with one of your favorite bands,” Cytulski said.  “It’s like playing Mozart or Beethoven; it’s the top level of piping.”
    When performing as a soloist, Cytulski is ranked as a two and was almost upgraded to a one at a competition he describes as, “a hit or miss thing.” 
He gets paid for individual gigs he does which typically consist playing at funerals and weddings and the occasional bar.  Cytulski is looking to get pipe lessons going in Milledgeville.  He began teaching in the 9th grade to students who were much older.
    “I like to do it of course to make money, but I love to teach what I do and things that I’m passionate about,” Cytulski said.  “I’d like to target people that are going to be pretty sincere about it.” 
    Bagpipes in the South and more specifically, in Milledgeville, are something that is hardly expected.  Senior Heath Lewis was unaware that Milledgeville was the current home to a piper.
    “I think it’s interesting,” Lewis said.  “I’m not musically inclined but this is a liberal (arts) school, so at least someone’s got to be interested in it.”
    This is something Cytulski is hopeful about.  When it comes to being a good pipe player, it is all about dexterity. 
    “You’ve got to be able to move those fingers,” Cytulski said.  “You’re doing many things.  You’re keeping pressure on the back, blowing a steady tone, plus you’re moving your fingers, plus you’re controlling the execution and your phrasing and all that.” 
    When performing, Cytulski dons traditional Scottish garments, and yes, this includes a kilt and panty hose.    
    “You’ve got to wear it,” Cytulski said.  “You wouldn’t be allowed to compete without it.” 
    So maybe the art of bag piping is not for everyone, but it is something Cytulski will be doing for a while.
    “I hope to be playing in another grade one band somewhere down the road,” Cytulski said.  “I’ll be doing this until the day I die.”
    It is an art form Cytulski is committed to; something that far exceeds a hobby. 
    “A hobby is something you do to just have fun and to mess around with.  This is a passion,”Cytulski said.  “It’s something that is inside me.  It’s not a hobby.” 
    If interested in taking bagpipe lessons from Cytulski, contact him at (770) 722-2472.  Scheduling is flexible and rates are $25 per hour lesson. 

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 13 2007. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry