By Mark Stewart and Stuart Letford. In the decades ahead we will reflect on the last few years as being one of the most creative periods in modern bagpipe composition, albeit music that’s suited mainly to pipe bands and folk ensembles. Whether some of this new music will be played […]
Iain MacInnes reviews Chris Gray’s debut recording. As Scotland’s pipers explore ever wider musical horizons, this beautifully-made debut CD from Chris Gray points the way to what can be achieved. Gray comes with an impressive piping pedigree (he was a pupil of Tony MacDonald’s in his native Lockerbie), as well […]
By Roger Gould-King Figure 2 shows a typical chanter reed design suitable for most chanters and the average piper’s blowing habits. This design follows the principle that all dimensions of the blades are based on a simple ‘rule of 3’. For example, the staple is 4mm in diameter, which multiplied […]
By Roger Gould-King Today, there is a phenomenal increase in the number of pipers. Whether this is because of the increasing popularity of the instrument or whether it is a natural incremental function of the population explosion is not clear. What is clear is that along with the global expansion […]
A short tutorial on how to make your C doublings crisp and distinct. This is by Captain John MacLellan and taken from The International Piper of October 1978. By Captain John A. MacLellan MBE Having listened to umpteen performances of ceòl beag during the competition season, it has become very […]
Today, we once again delve into our not inconsiderable archives to bring articles that we feel will be of interest to pipers, regardless of whether they are a student or a seasoned competitor. These articles remain free to all and we will continue to add more each week. Today’s article […]
During the 1970s and 1980s, David V. Kennedy was a prolific contributor to the pages of both the Piping Times and The International Piper. His article here, on the subject of cane drone reeds, has been taken from the January 1980 edition of The International Piper. Clearly, if you play […]
For anyone using this time, or even this Easter weekend to either learn or teach (using a telecommunications application, of course), this article may be useful. It was written by the famous Seumas and published in the October 1992 edition of the Piping Times. By Seumas MacNeill There are several […]
Following Tommy Pearston’s article last week, cultivated from the Piping Times archives, we reproduce another of his pieces on hygiene, this time on the subject of disinfecting our instrument. This article appeared originally in the Piping Times of June 1953 and covers some misconceptions and sound advice on disinfecting our […]
With many events falling victim to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all monitoring the guidelines from our respective governments around the world. Our chosen is just that: a hobby. Some take it more serious than others but it’s still a hobby. As The National Piping Centre advised on […]
