Piping and drumming support aims to reverse ‘silent decline’
Pipes and drums formed the centrepiece to the recent Hogmanay celebrations – but an Edinburgh music charity is warning of a threat to our musical heritage.
Pipe bands are well supported in Mid Argyll thanks largely to the dedication of volunteer tutors, committee members and parental support, but more than 30,000 young Scots would learn to play if they had the chance, according to the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust (SSPDT).
With council finances under severe pressure across Scotland, opportunities to learn piping in schools are becoming fewer.
In response to the issue SSPDT – in partnership with councils, education authorities, schools and local communities – is set on a mission to bring the opportunity to learn pipes and drums to thousands of youngsters across the country.
By developing local and long-term models of learning from an early age, into further education and adulthood, the charity aims to give every young person in Scotland the chance to learn.
Alexandra Duncan, chief executive of SSPDT, said: ‘It is clear that there is a huge unmet demand to learn pipes and drums among Scotland’s pupils.
‘When bands in our towns and communities vanish quietly, and when there is no tuition in local schools either, we lose a precious cycle of teaching and learning – and it’s this silent decline that we’re trying to address with partners.
‘Piping and being part of a band gives young people a sense of belonging and develops a wide range of life and employability skills, including teamwork, individual and shared achievement, discipline, commitment and self-confidence. We believe it can change lots of young people’s lives for the better.’
To support sustained learning from an early age SSPDT embeds tuition models within learning communities which comprise a secondary school and associated primary schools.
Working together with schools and councils, the charity supports free tuition for all, or in fee-paying programmes supports an ‘inclusion’ mechanism for pupils from less affluent families, helping to address inequalities in access to music tuition and providing additional opportunities to those eager to learn. The trust also helps to establish steering groups which administer tuition and bring together parents, teachers, members of local bands and other people from within the community to engage self-employed tutors, complementing the services already provided by the council.
Support
Groups in Argyll have already taken advantage of support from the trust. In 2017, Fèis an Tairbeirt received £6,000 from the SSPDT towards the start-up costs of a piping and drumming tuition programme at Tarbert Academy and Tarbert and Clachan primary schools.
The following year the fèis benefited from the loan of 10 sets of bagpipes across a three-year period from the trust.
In December 2019, SSPDT awarded Kintyre Pipe Band Association £6,000 over three years towards drumming tuition costs.
Alexandra added: ‘We believe that traditional music should be cherished and the skill to play the pipes has the potential to become one’s lifetime pleasure.
‘The demand we have seen so far proves that piping and drumming is still popular but the lack of opportunities for learning puts it at risk – there is still a lot of work to be done.’
The trust has helped 47 schools pipe bands to form so far and is currently supporting projects in 22 local authority areas.
For more information on SSPDT and its work, visit www.sspdt.org.uk