It has been said in the past, and I still believe in the old saying, that ‘you have to serve your time in Grade 1’. I think that we have done that. More than any band on this planet, we have served our time. Pipe Major Terry Tully 2009 Terry […]
Features
Making real progress with online tuition
Learning to play the pipes at any age is a challenge, and there is accepted wisdom that the older you start, the harder it becomes with fingers that are not as nimble and quick to move. But what if you lived in Leatherhead, Surrey, were retired, had lots of time […]
The elusive appoggiatura
In the spring 2000 edition of The Voice, Dr. John A. MacAskill conducted an interview with James Campbell, the son Archibald Campbell of Kilberry. When MacAskill asked him what he considered to be his greatest legacy, Campbell replied: “… I have taken pride in my contribution in the Piping Times […]
Bill Livingstone: Hockey Lessons
HOCKEY LESSONS by Bill Livingstone Piping Today #96, 2019. I grew up in the town of Copper Cliff in Northern Ontario, and completed my secondary education (“high school” in some quarters) in Copper Cliff High School (CCHS) which boasted a total enrolment of about 300 students in Grades 9 through […]
18th century heirloom in TNPC museum
Bagpipe.news was recently contacted by Mr Norman Welz of Baden-Baden, Germany, to tell us about the story of his historic pipes and thought it would be of interest to our readers. Norman donated his family heirloom to the College of Piping in 2012 and the instrument has since been transferred […]
Arthur Campbell R.N. of Glendaruel
by TABBY ANGIER Arthur Campbell, who now lives in Blairgowrie and is in his nineties, is perhaps the only Royal Navy survivor of the Korean War who played pipes on board ship. His ship, HMS Black Swan, was the first ship to arrive in Korea to protect the troops. Arthur […]
History of the Argyllshire Gathering part 39
1974 BY JEANNIE CAMPBELL MBE This year there was a change in the rules for the major competitions. Competitors in the Open event at the Argyllshire Gathering and the Clasp at the Northern Meeting were required to submit six tunes from this list of twelve: Craigellachie, Lament for Colin Roy […]
Supernatural sound of the pipes
GREY’S NOTES by Michael Grey Piping Today #69, 2014. There’s one thing I know: it was the sound of the bagpipe that attracted me, that made me want to find any damned way I could to learn to play the instrument. Haunting, stirring, soulful, inspiring, soothing, ethereal; bagpipe music touched […]
Andrew Pitkeathly: a great piper and a great person
By MARK MacKENZIE Graham Adams’ recent article on Bagpipe.news brought back to me my own memories of Andrew Pitkeathly. As Graham mentioned in his piece, I stayed in Scotland for 12 months from November 1989 to November 1990 and received tuition from Andrew during that time. Graham was my first […]
Ailis Sutherland: Highland piper, trad musician, tutor and composer
Ailis Sutherland is a very busy instructor at The National Piping Centre. She teaches all levels of player on Highland pipes, bellows pipes and whistle. This includes students on the University of Glasgow Study Abroad programme, the bellows pipes as part of the Specialist Evening Class programme, and First Study Piping […]
