This article, first published in the International Piper, discusses the various properties of a skin bag that the piper should be aware of. By Captain John A. MacLellan Climatic conditions often have a greater effect on the general condition of pipe bags than the material of which they are made. […]
PART THREE of Taigh a’ Phìobaire • By HUGH CHEAPE and DECKER FORREST • Piping Today 2011 In part two of this article, we looked at the substantial musical legacy of Angus Mackay and his family. As well as books and music, another tangible link with Angus is his image. He is remarkable for being […]
By Stuart Milne. Piping Today #89, 2017. It is 2004, and in the hall of Inveraray Primary School in the heart of Argyll in the south west of Scotland, five youngsters are having a lesson in piping and drumming. Stuart Liddell, one of the world’s top solo pipers and then […]
By Fraser Bruce. Piping Today #63, 2013. It seems every generation produces a notable pipe band rise, but rarely do we see a group catapult themselves to the kind of success and distinction achieved by Inveraray & District Pipe Band. For a band who have annually made giant leaps forward, […]
A Beginner’s Guide • By John Slavin. I have often wondered why the notes on the Highland pipe chanter have the wrong names, and thought it might point to a time in history when the pipe chanter’s low A note did actually sound an A note at 440Hz. I took […]
A Beginner’s Guide • By John Slavin. Part four of this series is to give pipers some understanding of what other instruments need to do in order to be in tune with our concert pitch B-flat chanter, or even allow you to tell your musician friends what they should be […]
A Beginner’s Guide • By John Slavin. As part of the interviews conducted for this feature in 2011, I focused on a few topics which are crucial, or closely related, to the whole subject. These discussions are not all about the theory but more about sharing the experience of the […]
A Beginner’s Guide • By John Slavin. If you have followed part one and part two of this series you should now understand the importance of playing a concert pitch B-flat chanter, and the following points summarise the other important aspects covered in the previous features. Your low A sounds […]
A Beginner’s Guide • By John Slavin. The first part of this feature focused on the basics of setting up your pipe chanter to allow you to tune to concert pitch when playing with other musicians, and to recap the main points: you must have a concert pitch B-flat pipe […]
By Pipe Major BEN DUNCAN: alumnus of The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland. I grew up in Edinburgh in a non-piping family but I was always fascinated by the spectacle and sound of the instrument. Inspired by the buskers on Princess Street and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, my mother […]
