Features

As part of R.G. Hardie & Co.’s news that they’ …

“I have actually made the suggestion that Northern Ireland should have their own association. They can be affiliated in the same ways as we are. I think it would put them in a much stronger position to have their own association up there in Northern Ireland Pipe Band Association. What would be wrong with that?”

David Wilton leading the Grade 1 Police Scotland F …

When Terry Tully talks, you’d be wise to listen. How the legendary piper, composer, teacher and pipe-major is leading the IPBA into a new era.

We’re pleased to present videos of the Grade 2 competition and Grade 1 performance at the Georgetown Highland Games on June 14, 2025.

Numerous pipe band albums used to be released ever …

We continue with the seventeenth installment of “C …

Finlay MacDonald: “We can talk about the music all we want, and the programming, and the diversity of the music, but it brings people together. It’s a focal point. We can’t underestimate the strength of that on its own, and the fact that, yes, for that week you come here, you’re going to meet people who are like-minded and make you feel part of that community.”

We met Finlay MacDonald and John Mulhearn for a two-part discussion on highlights and changes on tap for Piping Live! 2025, as well as some of the challenges, issues and rewards accompanying the planning and production of the world’s biggest celebration of piping.

Alan Jones of Hamilton, New Zealand, has studied and written about pipe band ensembles for more than a decade. His latest piece strives to define and clarify the Ensemble judge’s role and the qualities he believes are required of the judges themselves.

“When people make a contribution to the world of music, it is important. It may not be my preference, or my personal taste, but it’s still important, and I’ve tried my best to record them as well as I can and have them out there for people to enjoy.”

Only a few weeks ago, pipes|drums published for th …

“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.

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