An update from the Lockdown Piping Club project, writes Craig Muirhead.  Going by my calculations, over a thousand people have now had their first chanter lesson with me in lockdown either via the live classes or the pre-existing online tutorials – I am seriously chuffed! We are working through a few pages of a little PDF I’ve put together. Not the most conventional way of teaching bagpipes, but the idea behind the…

I wanted to mention that I have a small, at-home podcast. It is specifically about Lady Pipers and is called the Lady Pipers’ Podcast. I tell the stories of some remarkable women, Rona MacDonald (Lightfoot), Bessie Watson, and some ladies bands. We’ve also had articles on Annie Grant, Ann Johnstone and Rose Fletcher. I try to keep to one subject at a time, simply for the storytelling. A lot of the…

Press release from The Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust……..  A schools’ pipe band competition is going ahead in March – even if schools stay shut. Normally hundreds of players and supporters converge for the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships – but this year it is going online.  Prizes total over £2,500 from a judging panel made up of some of the biggest names in traditional music.  The event is being…

During my talk for the Bagpipe Association of Germany last week I emphasised how important it was to have an instrument that was easy to reed, easy to tune and steady. Have a think, dear reader, about your own pipe. Does it measure up? Do you spend more time actually getting your pipes going than practising or playing? If so you have a problem. If it does not answer all…

It has been nearly 10 years since my first book ‘Lands of Bens and Glens and Heroes’ was published and I am now delighted to present a second volume of original compositions, namely ‘The Parkgrove Collection’.  Although I have been accumulating compositions since 2011, it was only during 2020 that I was able to complete the works and bring this book to fruition. You will understand the circumstances which have existed for us…