Glasgow Castlemilk kids learnt to play bagpipes under free project

Kids in Castlemilk are learning to play the bagpipes for free in a trail-blazing project from Scotland’s National Piping Centre.

Talented musicians from the Glasgow-based centre are teaching children as young as five how to play the instrument in the new Castlemilk Piping Club project conducted at Cowcaddens.

The initiative is aimed at inspiring young people to take up Scotland's national musical instrument and takes place weekly at the Netherholm Community Hall during school terms.

Castlemilk was chosen for the project after 10-year-old Lealand Urquhart started taking Zoom lessons with the piping experts when he was six.

(Image: Thenue Housing)

Inspired by him, the centre considered the area believing that other young people his age would want to participate.

Currently, up to 14 children attend the weekly sessions at Netherholm, starting their musical journey by learning the chanter, the beginner instrument for bagpipes.

Lealand said: "I love the pipes and coming to the sessions every week.

"It’s great fun and I’m learning a lot."

Pipers Ailis Sutherland and Emma Hill deliver the tuition.

Ailis said: ‘‘It’s very moving to see the Piping Club up and running. I started teaching Lealand over Zoom when he was six years old, and over time, I began to realise the great progress he was making with the chanter and how much enjoyment he was getting out of it.

“There is the real possibility of youngsters becoming full-time musicians and teachers. However, most importantly, young people in Glasgow are gaining access to an artform which is rewarding and exciting on a day-to-day basis in their very own communities.

“The National Piping Centre has the mission of ‘enriching lives through piping’, and this project certainly enacts that.”

Following the project's success, the National Piping Centre aims to expand the idea to two other city communities at Ibrox and Pollokshields through its Youth and Communities Team.

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo charities' board are funding the tuition and equipment costs.

Rosie Robertson, of Thenue Communities, the charitable subsidiary of Thenue Housing Association, said: “Learning to play the bagpipes has caught the mood of our young residents and they are enthusiastic about the free tuition being offered.

"We applaud the willingness of the National Piping Centre to reach out to communities like ours.”