Not everyone in the world loves bagpipe music, but the making of bagpipes is interesting. Here’s an excellent video of one shop in Edinburgh (the capital of Scotland) that is still making bagpipes by hand. The craft, the art, of bagpipe making is amazing. [Edinburgh is pronounced Ed-in-burr-ah or more commonly Ed-in-brah.]
If you’d like to hear a bagpipe and watch one being played professionally, then the video below is excellent for a little taste of that. The piper in the video below is Brian McKenzie. He is a friend of mine. He was born and raised in Scotland, and moved to the USA not long ago. I owned the 1939-built 40-foot wooden power boat, Pied Piper, built in Ohio, USA, built by a Scotsman (Scott Matthews). When that boat turned 75 years old, I asked Brian (the bagpiper) if he would come to the boat, bring his pipes and play for the boat, the Pied Piper. He didna hesitate! (Didna means didn’t in Scotland.)
Several other friends joined me at the boat for the celebration too, but it was a special connection for this Scotsman, Brian, to be able to play for the boat, the Pied Piper. Ah, one of these days, I’ll have to share a full blog post about that day when we celebrated that boat. For now, enjoy Brian’s playing in the video below at a more recent event. He plays a tune during the second half of the video below (at about time stamp 1:50) called “Wi’ a Hundred Pipers and A’ and A'” (with a hundred pipers and all and all) … a tune I learned on the piano when I was just 9 or 10 years old and had no idea I would ever meet Brian or listen to him play this tune. Contact Brian HERE, if you might enjoy a bit of live Scottish bagpipe music by Brian at your own event. Before you start the video below, remember that bagpipes are LOUD … so you might want to turn your sound down just a wee bit. 🙂
That was great! 🙂 Ok, so maybe not everyone loves bagpipe music, but I do! A good percentage of my ancestry is Scottish.
The next video (below) takes us away from solo bagpipe music and into traditional Scottish music. Traditional music groups often have a bagpiper or two in them … bagpipes are such an integral part of Scottish music. But traditional Scottish music is played on many different instruments, and sung by many different people, of all ages.
One last video below. Kids (or young adults) in Scotland really do love their Scottish music, whether it’s old-time and long-ago written music or brand newly written traditional music. The young woman in the video below wrote a song for her mother and then played it on her violin while standing on the beach, on the Isle of Skye, where they live.
What blew me away with this last video (below) is that I simply entered into an online search the name of the first young woman from the video above to see if she had other videos, but she didn’t. What came up instead was this next young woman’s video that she had posted on her Facebook page. I thought, “yeah, right, ok, so maybe not so good.” But then I watched and listened.
Not only is she good. But she is good especially considering she lives with her mom in the town of Elgol, out on the very end of one of the peninsulas on the Isle of Skye, the end of the road, a town with a population of 173 so there aren’t likely very many professional violin instructors nearby. And yet, if you take even a short look at her Facebook page, she’s on a right good track to becoming a professional musician.
The town of Elgol is tiny. So how do I know she lives in Elgol? I recognized it in her video that you’ll see below. I’m not kidding! That’s what blew me away … as soon as her video started playing, I knew she was on the beach at Elgol, Isle of Skye, Scotland. When you stand on the beach where she was standing in her video, but you look out over the water like the person taking that video was doing, there is a concrete abutment/dock to the left (it doesn’t show in her video), then there’s a small waterway outlet that empties into the saltwater behind her (this does show in her video). Further to the right, there are two small homes/cottages near the beach (they don’t show in her video, but a tiny bit of the grass does show that’s in front of one of the homes), then the “town” (tiny! town) is further off to the right of the video. What you do see in the video is a massive very square rock outcrop in the near distance (towards the right side of the video, just past the grass), then a bay of water further out, and then the mountains of Skye. I was there. I stood right where this young woman is standing. I also looked it up on Google Earth, just to be sure. What are the chances of my seeing her Facebook page? and of my remembering the view from that very same spot. I stood there on that beach in Elgol only once in my life, but I stood there a long time since I was aware that a good number of my ancestors are from Scotland and could have lived right there at Elgol. I love Scotland.
[Just a note … you may have to stop the video in the link below as soon as you start it, and then turn its sound on (in the lower right corner of the video) and then re-start the video by moving the bottom “line”, or the white dot, back to the left … or just let it play.]
The name of the tune she wrote and that she plays on the violin is “Donna Ann’s Waltz” (I bet that’s her mom). Next time I’m in Scotland, I’d bet I will visit Elgol again. I’ll see if I can find this young woman and thank her. 🙂
I LOVE bagpipe music. But I didn’t know anything about making bagpipes. The other videos about “trad” Scottish music are really super. I’ve played everything twice so far, going to play them many more times. 🙂
Thanks, Babe. 🙂 I’ve played these videos many times, still love them all.
My sister plays the bagpipes. She learned it while living in NJ, after dad was killed. She played with a band and did the St. Patty’s parade in NYC. She said it was always cold. Now she lives in Alabama and plays her pipes at weddings and funerals, and also out on my brother’s boat on holidays when they drive around the lake, her playing. I’ll send her the link to your post. I think she’ll love it!
Your sister plays the bagpipes!!! I knew I liked you Dawn. 🙂 Wow, to keep on playing, and to play in that parade, and play for weddings and funerals and such, she must be good. And your brother has a boat!! A fine family indeed. 🙂
That was really interesting. The traditional music was great. Didn’t know anything about it.
I knew a little, but not really very much either Steve. It’s fun to learn about things.
That looks cold there, is it always that cold there? Bagpipe making was fascinating. It’s refreshing to have young people interested in old-time music played on “real” instruments. It ain’t just us old folks that appreciate that. 🙂 That was great that you recognized Elgol, bet that was heart-warming. Thanks for sharing a part of your life with us.
Sometimes Elgol is hot, in the summer. That video on the Elgol beach was taken in November, I think, so yes it surely would have been cold then.
I like that the young Scots are so interested in learning and playing and writing old-style traditional music. It’s fun music and beautiful music. So yes, it ain’t just us old folks who like that. 🙂
Oh my, recognizing Elgol was really special, Tim. You are welcome. 🙂
Brian McKenzie sounds terrific, he really is a professional. Your boat (and you) must have loved having him play.
I swear the boat enjoyed Brian’s playing as much as I did. For a moment, I feared all of her bilge pumps would come on at once, with sheer joy, and spray all of us. But no that didn’t happen. 🙂
We both have Scottish ancestors too, Ann. And we love bagpipe music. Brian is excellent! And we loved your nod to the young folks who are supporting and furthering traditional music, seems it’s a big deal there. It sure is fun music. What a great Elgol story, connections are so powerful aren’t they? That was very cool. 🙂
Janey
You’re both Scot, how cool. Like me, you may have other ancestry too, but Scotland is so beautiful, the people are wonderful, the music is grand, the whisky superb (actually I don’t like whisky very much, but Scottish whisky is the best I’m sure). And yes, when we stop and listen and look and talk with each other, we find those special connections and they sure do mean a lot. Thanks Janey.
I have a cousin who plays bagpipe. I took lessons once but it is dang hard to play!!! Brian is really good! Our family is mostly Irish, but who’s comparing? 🙂 Loved that Elgol story.
Another reader with a relative who plays the pipes! I love it. 🙂 I didn’t say so in the blog, but I too took one class in Bagpipe 101 where all we played was a chanter, never got into the bag or the drones. The instructor warned us that bagpipes are THE MOST DIFFICULT instrument on the planet to play and I surely have to agree with you, Susan, they are dang hard to play. But I hope you had as much fun as I did even tho neither you nor I pursued a career (ha!). I’m part Irish too! So glad you’re here. 🙂
I’m one of the ones who loves bagpiping. Thanks!
Bagpiping is great, isn’t it? And, if I remember correctly, you and Russ were at the boat for that 75th birthday party when Brian played for the boat (and for us). I gotta go pull out those videos and watch them again. Fun memories. 🙂
What fun, great post. How refreshing to see young folks enjoying playing that sort of music. I live in a BIG city and just don’t see or hear of this much, thank you!
Ah, I used to live in a BIG city too, David, and you’re sure correct about not seeing much traditional music of any sort in a big city … or maybe what is being played gets lost in a big city. I prefer small communities these days. 🙂