Archive
Because the instrument is inherently unpitched, multi-award-winning pipe band drummer Scott Armit argues that there is no such thing as “flat” snares, and judging snare pitch based on how “cranked” a line is encourages homogeneity over artistry
Winning the MSR and third in the Piobaireachd, Angus J. MacColl (the younger one) was the overall winner of the Premier and A-Grade category at the annual Highlands & Islands Solo Piping Competition. The Junior Under 18 aggregate winner was Peter MacKay on a Piobaireachd preference, and the overall Under 15 winner was Owen McCreadie, also on a Piobaireachd preference.
Only a few weeks ago, pipes|drums published for the first time “Lady Inverclyde,” a gorgeous nearly-lost retreat march from the creative genius John “Jock” McLellan of Dunoon, Scotland. And now, we’re pleased to bring readers “Dunan Hill,” another previously unpublished 3/4 march by the great piper, whose 150th birth-year will […]
In Part 1 of the pipes|drums Interview with Los Angeles native Eric Rigler, he discussed his early years and the factors that led him to want to move to Scotland to study piping and compete at the highest levels. In the second installment of our five-part interview, he talks about what it was like for […]
In 2008, the Grade 1 Spirit of Scotland gathered a group of available all-star pipers and drummers to compete only once at the World Championships. They qualified for the final and finished eleventh overall. In 2025, a group of UK military veterans and active members will get together to do […]
“Lament for Donald Ban MacCrimmon,” “Lament for MacDonald’s Tutor,” “Nameless – Hihorodo Ha Hiento Tra,” “Lament for Red Hector of the Battles,” and
“The Park Piobaireachd #1” — the latest in our ongoing historic and exclusive series.
James MacHattie of Summerside, Prince Edward Island, and Alex Gandy from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, were the winners of the Professional Piobaireachd and MSR, respectively, at the 2025 Atlantic Canada Piobaireachd Challenge held at the Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre at the College of Piping.
The annual Virginia International Tattoo American Pipe Band Championship was won by Ulster Scottish of Philadelphia in a two-band Grade 2 contest after taking eight out of eight first-place rankings by from the judges in both the Medley and MSR.
Sarah Muir of Campbeltown was the overall winner of the City of Edinburgh Pipe Band’s annual Pipe-Major’s Wheel of Fortune competition, probably the funnest and most creative contests ever devised for Highland pipers.
The 29th Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival in Mount Vernon, Washington, is upping the total prize money for solo piping and drumming, quartet, fanfare and pipe band competitions to more than US$30,000 over the July 11-13 weekend at the Skagit County Fairgrounds. Not only that, but the organizers […]
Edmonton, Alberta’s North Stratton has been an excellent success story since the band was formed in 2015. Most recently, it won Grade 2 at the European Championships and placed second and fourth at the World and British Championships, respectively, in 2024. Under Lead-Drummer Jeremy White, the band’s drum section won […]
Major-General David McDowall CBE died on April 24, 2025, in his seventy-first year after a brief undisclosed illness. McDowall had served as the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s president for one year following his official appointment at the organization’s 2024 annual general meeting. He was not yet well known to […]
Clear skies and about 27 degrees greeted competitors and spectators over both days of the 120th annual Maclean Highland Gathering at the Maclean Showground. St. Andrew’s (Queensland) won the Grade 2 band contest overall, and Andrew Roach won the Gold Medal in the A-Grade Solo Piping.
Piping and drumming association leaders who proactively attend band practices and ask members, “How can we help?” This and other obvious but novel ideas are all part of Ian Aastrom’s Prairie Pipe Band Association of Manitoba.
The redoubtable Iain MacDonald, Regina, thinks back to 1965, when he began his piping odyssey as a very young boy in Saskatchewan
Greg Wilson of Tai Tapu, New Zealand, won his record eighteenth Former Winners Clasp to the Gold Medal at the Hastings Highland Games, an achievement that won’t be equalled for a long time, if ever. Wilson also won the aggregate A-Grade solo piping championship.