Pibroch, piobaireachd or ceòl mòr is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning "piping" in Scottish Gaelic, piobaireachd has for some four centuries been music of the Great Highland Bagpipe. Music of a similar nature, pre-dating the adoption of the Highland pipes, has historically been played on the wire-strung Gaelic harp and later on the Scottish fiddle, and this form is undergoing a revival.
The Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming is a British Army training establishment that provides instruction on Scottish pipe band music to military pipers and drummers.
Jori Lance Chisholm is an American professional bagpipe player and teacher who lives in Seattle, Washington. Chisholm is a successful solo competitor winning the United States Gold Medal four times and has placed in the top three in Scotland's Argyllshire Gathering Gold Medal competition. He played with the six-time Grade One World Champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and was a featured solo performer for the band on multiple occasions. Chisholm has performed in front of sold-out audiences with The Chieftains and with ex-Grateful Dead rocker Bob Weir and his band Ratdog, and has been featured as a soloist or band member on over 20 recordings. His debut solo album Bagpipe Revolution was nominated for Album of the Year by Pipes|Drums magazine. He writes the "Sound Technique" column for the National Piping Centre’s bi-monthly Piping Today Magazine. The New York Times featured Chisholm's online teaching program, BagpipeLessons.com, and described him as a "top-tier teacher" in a front-page story about the growth of Skype music lessons. A cover story in American Profile Magazine named Chisholm one of the "world's elite pipers."
This article defines a number of terms that are exclusive, or whose meaning is exclusive, to piping and pipers.
Pipe Major Donald MacLeod was a Scottish bagpiper, British Army Pipe major, composer and bagpipe instructor.
Roderick 'Roddy' (R.S.) MacDonald is a pipe major, living in Brisbane, Australia, and a composer of tunes for the bagpipes.
Stuart Liddell MBE is a Scottish bagpipe player. As well as competing in solo competitions, he is the Pipe major of the Inveraray and District Pipe Band.
Margaret Dunn is an Irish bagpiper, originally from Cullen, County Cork, now living in Scotland.
John Davie Burgess was an eminent Scottish bagpipe player.
William Lawrie (1881–1916) was a Scottish bagpipe player, who was both an eminent solo competitor and a composer.
Gordon Walker is a bagpiper.
John Grant was an amateur aficionado of the Great Highland bagpipe who, for over fifty years, composed piobaireachd and Ceòl Beag for members of the British Royal Family, important noblemen and women, and contemporary statesmen; wrote and published books on the Great Highland Bagpipe and its music; and taught students under the auspices of the [Royal] Scottish Piper's Society.
Faye Henderson is a bagpipe player from Scotland. In 2010, she became one of the youngest ever winners of a Highland Society of London Gold Medal, as well as the first ever female winner.
Angus MacColl is a Scottish bagpipe player.
Pipe Major William Collie Ross was a Scottish bagpipe player.
Pipe Major George Stewart McLennan was a Scottish bagpipe player. He was a successful solo piper, as well as a pipe major and composer.
Donald MacPherson was a Scottish bagpipe player, and one of the most successful competitive solo pipers of all time.
In competitive solo bagpiping, a Gold Medal is awarded at the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering for pibroch playing. The prize is one of the most prestigious awards a solo player can receive, and by winning it a player qualifies for a number of restricted competitions.
Angus MacKay was a Scottish bagpipe player and the first Piper to the Sovereign. He wrote collections of pibroch and ceol beag written in staff notation, which became the basis for standardised settings of music which had previously been shared by singing of canntaireachd.
