MORE than 30,000 young Scots are unable to learn Scotland’s national instrument due to a lack of tuition in schools, it has been claimed.
The Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust (SSPDT) has loaned more than 300 sets of bagpipes to schools, councils and community groups since launching in August 2015.
It is working with 14% of the country’s schools across more than 20 council areas and says year-on-year demand is climbing, with 40 sets of pipes given out in the past month alone.
But chief executive Alexandra Duncan says lack of opportunity means an estimated 30,000 youngsters are denied the chance to learn traditional music.
The figure is based on the average take-up within every “learning community” currently reached by the Trust.
Duncan said: “100 to 180 choose to learn if they are given the chance within secondary schools and their feeder primary schools.
“Traditional music isn’t taught at all in whole regions of Scotland. In Edinburgh, in our national capital, there is no school learning of our national instrument. It’s a great shame. There is a huge demand out there.”
Around 800 musicians are expected to take part in the SSPDT’s Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships in Kilmarnock next month.
The event is thought to be the largest of its kind in the world.
Duncan says demand for piping tuition has “always been there”. However, she compares the current level of interest to that of the resurgence in Gaelic and Scots. The Open University recently launched a Scots language course, while learning app Duolingo’s Gaelic option has drawn 200,000 users since its St Andrew’s Day launch.
She said: “When you introduce tuition there are so many children who want to take part.
“You can now study traditional music as an integrated degree. If you start studying in school, there are real career paths open for you.”
James Macrae, nine, is among the SSPDT’s beneficiaries, winning the Western Isles Young Musician of the Year with pipes from its bagpipe lending scheme.
Meanwhile, Fife Council is amongst the participating local authorities. Its music service coordinator Sandra Taylor said: “This loan of bagpipes has allowed greater numbers of young chanter pupils to progress on to pipes, often at the P7 stage as opposed to waiting until when at secondary school.
“This in turn has increased the activity of ensemble work in schools, with greater performance opportunities available.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel