Recently I posted on Piping Press drumming advice written during the 1940s and 50s by all-time greats Jimmy Catherwood and George Pryde. I have now taken a look through other papers collected over the years of my involvement with the RSPBA, particularly as a member of the Association’s former Historical Research Group.  Other prominent legendary pipe band drumming pioneers of the early 20th century included Paddy Donovan, Alex McCormick, Gordon…

How good it feels to have something positive to report! The news that Piping Live! 2021 is to go ahead will be welcomed by everyone keen on clawing back some of the lost ground piping has suffered in the past year. Finlay MacDonald and his NPC team are leading the way in getting us back to where we once belonged. So as the blurb says: Save the Date! The festival…

Peter R MacLeod was one of the finest ever composers of music for the great Highland bagpipe. Much has been written about him but this article contains some new information direct from his grandson Kenneth, son of Dora MacLeod of the eponymous tune. Kenneth is known to the writer through a mutual friend on the island of Mull. Roderick Peter MacLeod, son of Hector MacLeod and Mary MacLeod (MacRitchie) was…

We had another very good uptake for The CLASP ‘March’ online event. With the cancellation of many Highland Games, CLASP’s next event will be ‘A Virtual Highland Games’ May/June 2021. The prizes will be sponsored by R.G. Hardie & Co. Bagpipes. The CLASP Virtual Highland Games will mark the end of the 2020/2021 CLASP year. Entries are now open for this event via The CLASP website.   Judges for the Maerch…

Ken Cameron of the Lochaber Piping Society reports: Our on-line Junior Medley Competition was very successful and the results are below. Just as an indicator of the impact of C-19 and the restrictions, the last ‘live’ Junior competition we held was in 2019 – two years ago – and we were really pleased to welcome back many familiar names as well as many new ones. As a measure of how…