What is a piper? Part 1

That you would think would be a very easy question to answer. Well it is and it isn't. At the very least, a piper is someone who, owns a set of bagpipes, a kilt and all of the accessories that go with the, Travel to Scotland tour posters. Oh, and they should know how to play the pipes! That last item you would think is a no brainer. I am sorry to say that, that is point of this article. Simply because someone has all of the gear, including a full number one dress, uniform feather bonnet and all, and they know a handful of marches does not really make them a piper. Okay, it does, but it does not make them a musician and that’s really my point. This country is lousy with people who are like what I described above and have no musical sense about them. They have no rhythm, haven’t a clue what is meant by expression and think pointing is something a hunting dog does.

Lower grade bands are for the most part to blame for this glut of bad musicians playing at being pipers. They spend too little time teaching new people how to play correctly and too much time trying to build the ranks of bands that as a whole sound just bad.

It should take a full year of chanter work for the average student to become proficient enough at the basics before they are ever introduced to a full set of pipes. They need to understand the history of the instrument, the history of the music and the traditions that make piping what it is.