The Highland bagpipe, widely considered 'Scotland's national instrument', is one of the most recognized icons of traditional music in the world. It is also among the least understood. But Scottish bagpipe music and tradition - particularly, but not exclusively, the Highland bagpipe - has enjoyed an unprecedented surge in public visibility and scholarly attention since the 1990s. A greater interest in the emic led to a diverse picture of the meaning and musical iconicism of the bagpipe in communities in Scotland and throughout the Scottish diaspora. This interest has led to the consideration of both the globalization of Highland piping and piping as rooted in local culture. It has given rise to a reappraisal of sources which have hitherto formed the backbone of long-standing historical and performative assumptions. And revivalist research which reassesses Highland piping's cultural position relative to other Scottish piping traditions, such as that of the Lowlands and Borders, today effectively challenges the notion of the Highland bagpipe as Scotland's 'national' instrument. The Highland Bagpipe provides an unprecedented insight into the current state of Scottish piping studies. The contributors – from Scotland, England, Canada and the United States – discuss the bagpipe in oral and written history, anthropology, ethnography, musicology, material culture and modal aesthetics. The book will appeal to ethnomusicologists, anthropologists, as well as those interested in international bagpipe studies and traditions.

"This is a work of great value to all who seek knowledge of Scottish-American events, and who wish to understand what surely must be one of the most interesting, colorful, and evident ethnic occurrences in the U.S." -W. R. McLeod vice-chairman, Dunvegan Foundation Clan McLeod "The author's enthusiasm for the Scottish Highland Games, and indeed her expertise, are reflected in this long-awaited work. All who are interested in the story of this enduring and popular festival will be grateful to Ann Donaldson for her conscientious research. It is a fine tribute to those Americans of Scottish descent who have contributed to keep this unique aspect of their culture vibrantly alive in the New World." -Gerald Redmond author of The Sporting Scots of Nineteenth Century Canada Discover the Scottish Highland Games, celebrated in over thirty U.S. states every year. Participants compete in the caber toss, Highland dancing, piping and drumming, fiddling, and many more competitive and non-competitive events. The Scottish Highland Games in America recognizes the players and events that keep the modern Games alive and exciting. Readers will discover the history of the Games, rooted in Scotland and celebrated in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries where Scots have settled. A complete state-by-state listing of the Games and their events is also provided. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Emily Ann Donaldson is a devoted Games fan, a participant in Scottish country dancing, and a member of several Scottish associations.

Incompletion is an essential condition of cultural history, and particularly the idea of the fragment became a central element of Romantic art which continued being of high relevance to the various strands of modernist and contemporary aesthetics.

Music of the Great Highland Bagpipe By: Michael E. Akard The music of the Scottish Highland bagpipe has gone through many changes over the years. Classical bagpipe music, which is known as “piobaireachd,” has been played for centuries, but the sound of this music as performed today is very different from how it sounded in the past. In Music of the Great Highland Bagpipe, Michael E. Akard traces the history of piobaireachd from its earliest performances up to the present day. Composed of carefully researched material and presented in an easy to read style, any reader can learn about the major historical, political, social, and technological changes that have influenced, and continue to influence, pipers and pipe music.

DuBois draws on sets of lyric songs from England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland to explore the question of meaning in folklore, especially the role of traditional audiences in appraising and understanding nonnarrative songs.

In the year 1925, James McIntosh was born into humble beginnings, in a two-room structure that would soon house a family of seven. His home was a stone's throw from the beach in Broughty Ferry, then a thriving fishing village on the east coast of Scotland. This was a time of strict social obedience and even stricter social mores. Children were to be seen and not heard. They were expected to obey the man of the house without question or cavil. Thus did Jimmy find himself put to the bagpipes by his father and then packed off to the army as a naive teenager. He left behind brothers, sisters, and friends, as well as the familiar streets, buildings, and shoreline of his boyhood. Forced to depart the only environment he had ever known, he now had to face the big bad world alone, and off he went with his suitcase and pipes in hand, not knowing what fate awaited him. Never one to give in easily, Jimmy determined to see it through, to make the best of his lot. He saw action during WWII and, after demob, proceeded to carve out a life for himself and his family. Though lacking formal education, he never stopped studying and working to be the best at his music. He sought out the finest instructors and became a successful competitor in world-class competitions. He soon became a mentor to dozens of piping students and helped them do the same. Never satisfied to "rest on his laurels," Jimmy was always looking for new projects to share his knowledge and passion. One of those was establishing the world's first piping professorship at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He traveled internationally, giving recitals, teaching, adjudicating, and organizing piping schools. Such was the success of his work that he was recognized by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who, at Buckingham Palace, presented him with an MBE for his services to bagpipe music. In this memoir, Jimmy paints a picture in words of his lifelong dedication to his art, the people he met along the way, and the ups and downs in his life, both personal and professional. He writes as if you are sitting in the room with him, chatting by the fire. This touching memoir provides a link with the past, and through one man's vivid telling of his story, we learn how we can enrich our own.