Applications are now being invited from pipers who wish to study for a Higher National Diploma in piping.
The course is a new one, lasts two years and is run by the National Piping Centre in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. The course commences from this autumn (September).
A spokesman said: “Students will have the opportunity to build a solid foundation for a career in the music industry as well as a base for further academic study. It is a full time course but it is possible in certain circumstances to study on a part-time basis over a longer period.
“In the first year students will study live performance, music composition, stagecraft, the music industry, and community music. The second year features tuition in a second instrument, online promotion and about how to teach bagpipes. In both years, students will study music theory, music history and sound engineering.
“Students will be assessed continuously throughout. Some assessments are done in class under examination conditions; others are project-type assignments.”
The Higher National Certificate (HNC) has been running at the National Piping Centre since 2016. Both the HNC course and the HND course are standard SQA qualifications, and remain the only courses that have a bespoke Music First Study Unit for performance on the Highland Bagpipe.
For any prospective overseas students, custom-built student accommodation, has been built adjacent to the NPC’s building in McPhater Street. It is designed with music students in mind and has a number of bookable practice rooms available.
For further information click here or email course co-ordinator Derek Doyle at ddoyle@thepipingcentre.co.uk
