President John Dramani Mahama has wasted no time diving into the complexities of governance, signalling his readiness to tackle Ghana’s pressing challenges while upholding promises of reform and accountability. Speaking at the Presidential Dinner in Accra on Wednesday, January 8, the president reflected on the weight of his responsibilities and the expectations placed upon him. […]
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President John Dramani Mahama has reiterated his commitment to advancing Ghana’s healthcare system and education sector, promising a renewed focus on unfinished projects. Speaking at the National Convention of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Winneba on Thursday, January 9, he laid out plans to address longstanding infrastructural gaps while emphasizing continuity and innovation in governance. […]
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BAGPIPES face an “existential threat” as they have become one of the least popular musical instruments amongst budding musicians.
The Scottish icon has ended up in the bottom five of worst selling instruments in the UK in the last year which also saw a declining request for lessons.
Margret Juliana Sigurdardottir, CEO of online lessons service Moombix said: “Bagpipes are in the doldrums and a key aspect of national culture is at risk of disappearance.”
Meanwhile sales of electric and acoustic guitars continue to soar, up six per cent in 2024 according to data from online suppliers Gear4Music, which sold over 63,000 instrument types last year.
The Scottish Sun speaks to bagpipes boffin Professor Hugh Cheape from Highlands and Islands Uni to discover if the skirl of the pipes will become a thing of the past.
PROFESSOR Hugh Cheape agrees that interest has waned in playing the bagpipes – but only after hitting the high notes during Covid.
With the world in lockdown many people decided to finally learn how to play a musical instrument with bagpipe use increasing across the whole of the UK to an estimated 60,000 pipers.
But even though sales may have dipped and interest in lessons falling, the professor insists you only have to look at the success of the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow last summer where 35,000 attended the two day event to watch bands from across the globe.
Prof Cheape, who is in his mid-70s, says: “I was in pipe bands for about 25 years and went to my first World Championships in 1965.
“We would get so wrapped up in the competition, but there would hardly be a column inch dedicated to it in the Scottish newspapers – in fact the English cricket results got a better showing than us.
“But now the Championships has grown into a two day event with heats and 35,000 people attending – it’s a huge affair.”
The professor admits bagpipes do face competition from “cooler” instruments like the electric guitar, but that also makes pipers more unique.
He says: “Yes of course these instruments like guitars and keyboards are cool, but then again so many people play them.
“I’ve always been impressed that youngsters who appear on the piping scene who have heard pipes either through the family, through the local band or just being influenced by someone. They’re the ones who really stand out.”
Prof Cheape believes various popular milestones have helped increase the popularity of the pipes, including the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards topping the charts in 1972 with their haunting rendition of Amazing Grace.
Paul McCartney’s Wings then used the same pipe band to land the Christmas No1 five years later with Mull of Kintyre.
While original AC/DC frontman Bon Scott played the pipes on the band’s breakthrough 1976 classic album High Voltage.
Prof Cheape explains: “These were all major turning points as it made people think of piping as more than just a bit of a post-war noise.
“Gradually the uptake and the quality of playing really became so much better because there were more people to teach it.”
And piping hasn’t stopped there, with bands including The Red Hot Chilli Pipers performing a version of Leave The Lights On with Brit-award winning Tom Walker.
Then there’s US internet sensation Ally the Piper – real name Ally Crowley-Duncan from New England – who regularly bags millions of YouTube views for her rock and roll renditions.
Prof Cheape says: “Ally the Piper has made bagpipes relatable to other young women who are thinking of taking it up. And The Red Hot Chilli Pipers are good fun and have hugely popularised the pipes.”
While the academic also believes the increase in pipe bands in North America helped the Scots to raise their game.
He says: “The Americans came along and shook the Scottish pipe band scene.
“That’s because we tended to be fairly laid back and did it for the enjoyment while the Americans did it with absolute naked professionalism.
TOP 5:
1 – electric guitar
2 – keyboard
3 – acoustic guitar
4 – classical guitar
5 – ukulele
BOTTOM 5:
1 – kazoo
2 – bassoon
3 – bagpipes
4 – tenor horn
5 – oboe
“It meant we had to raise our game and we have done so not just in the central belt, but right across the whole of Scotland where it became an option to be taught in schools too.”
In fact Prof Cheape believes that the only “existential threat” to the pipes was when anything symbolic of Scotland, including tartan and kilts, were outlawed when government forces crushed the Jacobites during the 1746 Battle of Culloden.
He says: “The Post-Culloden era was definitely a low point for the Highland bagpipes along with the death of Gaelic Piobaireachd music, which is considered as being the true roots of Scottish pipe music
“So regardless of sales and lessons taking a bit of a drip, I would say piping has never been healthier, really.
“There are definitely more people playing the bagpipes in Scotland around the whole of the UK and Ireland than have ever been playing them before which can only help to keep its popularity and the standards high well into the future.”
