Music charity appeals for old bagpipes to be donated
Howard Lake | 26 January 2016 | News
A piping trust in Scotland is asking people to donate their old or unwanted bagpipes so that they can be given to new and young players.
The Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust launched the Bagpipe Amnesty appeal called Old Pipes for New Players on Burns Night. It is giving free tuition to more than 1,000 pupils in schools across Scotland, many in deprived areas, and they need instruments for the children to play.
Children can learn on practice chanters but buying the full instrument can cost hundreds of pounds.
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The trust has been set up because the vast majority of pupils in Scottish schools do not have the chance to learn the pipes and drums in the classroom on the same basis as other instruments.
Fire stations’ support
More than 60 fire stations across Scotland are supporting the Bagpipe Amnesty by acting as collection points for donated bagpipes.
Chief Officer Alasdair Hay of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said:
“Our service is very much part of every community and making 66 fire stations available for people to donate bagpipes will hopefully see old and unused instruments reach youngsters who are desperate to get the chance to learn how to play”.
Trust Chief Executive Alexandra Duncan thanked the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for its support, adding:
“Piping and being part of a band develop a wide range of life and employability skills including teamwork, individual and shared achievement, discipline, commitment and self confidence as well as musicality. It is a shame that the vast majority of our young people are not offered the chance to learn our national instruments in schools.
“But with such a big programme – and with more young people interested in piping – we need pipes to take these young musicians to the next level. Donated instruments that need some work to bring them back to life will be refurbished free of charge by Wallace Bagpipes. We are also very grateful to Genius PPT for providing a Freephone telephone line during the appeal.”
How many?
The SSPDT trustees believe there must be hundreds of sets of pipes lying unused in cupboards and attics that could be given a new lease of life.
Duncan said:
“You may have an old set of pipes in your loft or under your bed. Or you may have stopped playing them because of ill-health or inherited some that you don’t use. Please donate them to the Bagpipe Amnesty and help change young lives for the better.”
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.