World-renowned folk, roots and world music festival Celtic Connections 2024 drew to a triumphant close in Glasgow last night after 18 days of spectacular sold-out concerts, innovative musical sessions and star-studded collaborations. From January 18 to February 4, the city came alive with over 300 incredible events involving 1,200 artists across 25 of […]
Sign up to the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland’s free music workshop, being held on Sunday, June 18 at The National Piping Centre. This workshop brings together young music-makers in Glasgow to look at Mackay’s Memoirs by Martyn Bennett. Martyn wrote this piece originally for young people to play, […]
It’s 24 hours to go to the Names and Places Annual Piping Concert at Celtic Connections which will celebrate the music of Pipe Major Ian Duncan and the Vale of Atholl Pipe Band. Roddy MacLeod MBE sent a video message in tribute to Ian in the build up to the […]
Pipe Major Richard Parkes of Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band paid tribute to Ian Duncan in the build up to the Names and Places annual pipe band concert at Celtic Connections on February 4, 2023. Details of the concert, and other Celtic Connections concerts, and how to buy tickets can […]
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 […]
Pipe Major Stuart Liddell of Inveraray & District Pipe Band paid tribute to Ian Duncan in the build up to the Names and Places annual pipe band concert at Celtic Connections on February 4, 2023. Details of the concert, and other Celtic Connections concerts, and how to buy tickets can […]
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 […]
The preparations for the annual piping concert on February 4 are really cranking up with the various strands of musicians coming together in rehearsals. In the two youtube videos below, Lorne MacDougall and Iain MacInnes discuss the tribute to Pipe Major Ian Duncan, the significance of the Names and Places […]
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 […]
•The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland on stage in the main auditorium of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 2014. Photo: JohnSlavin@designfolk.com/Bagpipe.news Highlighting concerts at Celtic Connections 2023 featuring bagpipes or piping-related music. The Celtic Connection website says about this concert: “A highlight of the winter season for pipe […]
