Playing the pipes respects the history of the instrument but attracts the new too

Traditional instruments have found a way to stay current, says Nicholas Keyden

When bagpipes are mentioned to excitable tourists visiting our fair country, you can just tell images of kilted Celtic warriors chasing haggis across Highland glens to the sound of Scotland the Brave are on their mind.

But the reality greeting visitors seeking to venture through our history-laden streets is rapidly changing. One of the cornerstones of our culture is slowly making way for a new, modern take on the instrument. And I’m proud to have been a part of it.

When I picked up a chanter at the tender age of eight I dreamt of competing at Highland games, leading a mass pipe band out Edinburgh Castle gates and playing Highland Cathedral at a packed Murray- field stadium before Scotland vanquished the auld enemy for another year.

Never did I imagine that ten years later I would be on the Britain’s Got Talent Stage in front of Simon Cowell, dressed in a Lycra suit playing the theme to Titanic.

It was a few years ago now since The Pipe Bandits took to the stage in bright coloured full body Lycra suits, but I can still hear the deafening sound of the buzzer that curtailed my brief stint with television.

However it did nothing to dampen the strides traditional Scottish music has made in the modern era. Much like piano music evolved from Bach to Stevie Wonder, traditional instruments have found a way to stay current with today’s rapidly moving cultures.