Congratulations to The National Piping Centre, Community Piping Clubs who has / have been nominated in Community Project of the Year sponsored by Isle of Barra Distillers in the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards 2026. Vote for The National Piping Centre, Community Piping Clubs now! It’s going to be another great night at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards on Saturday 5th December in Paisley Arena, Lagoon Centre. Why not join us for a brilliant night of music and awards. Buy a ticket here.
We asked Emma of The National Piping Centre, Community Piping Clubs the following questions.
Tell us about yourself
The National Piping Centre’s Community Piping Clubs provide a fun, inclusive and supportive environment for young people aged 7–17 to discover and develop their skills on the chanter and bagpipes. We deliver group tuition across Scotland, with four clubs in Glasgow, one in Leith and one in Aberdeen.
Our tutors are a mix of young pipers taking their first steps into teaching and experienced musicians who are passionate about giving back to their communities and sharing their love of piping with the next generation.
The clubs offer opportunities to learn piping in communities where access to traditional music tuition may be more limited. To help make participation accessible to all, we also offer an Access Scheme to help overcome financial barriers, regardless of a young person’s background or financial circumstances.
Beyond developing musical skills, we aim to create a genuine sense of belonging, helping young people build friendships, grow in confidence and discover the joy of making music together. At the heart of the project is a belief that piping should be accessible to everyone, and it’s a real joy to share our passion for traditional music while making a positive difference to young people and their communities.
Any particular career highlights?
One of the biggest highlights has been the growth of the Community Piping Clubs, which began with a weekly Saturday Weekend Piping Club and have now grown to support over 100 young people across the programme. Expanding into new communities across Glasgow was a significant milestone, followed by the launch of our first clubs outside Glasgow in Leith and Aberdeen in 2026.
It has been particularly special to see our communities come together, with our first participant from Castlemilk Piping Club joining the Weekend Piping Club. Seeing participants develop from complete beginners on the chanter to performing with the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland has also been incredibly rewarding, demonstrating the opportunities that can grow from taking that first step into piping.
We have loved creating opportunities for participants to experience the wider piping world, including performing at The National Piping Centre’s Charity Ball over the last couple of years and attending events such as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland concert. These experiences allow our young people to be inspired by other performers, celebrate their own progress and feel a part of the wider piping community.
What are your plans for the future?
Looking ahead, we are excited to continue developing the Community Piping Clubs and creating more opportunities for our participants to learn, connect and progress in their piping journey.
In December, we will hold our first Community Piping Clubs Winter Gathering, bringing participants from Glasgow and Leith together for a joint end-of-term session. We hope this will be the first of many opportunities for our young people to meet, make music together and feel part of a wider community of young pipers.
We are also developing a new syllabus and tutor book to support the delivery of our clubs and provide a clear, consistent approach to learning. Alongside this, we hope to create more performance opportunities through The National Piping Centre’s events, allowing participants to share their progress and gain confidence performing in front of others.
Our longer-term ambition is to continue expanding the Community Piping Clubs into more communities across Scotland, making piping accessible to more young people and helping the next generation discover a love of traditional music.
The National Piping Centre, Community Piping Clubs Social Media
Website: http://www.thepipingcentre.co.uk/learn/community-piping-clubs/
Facebook: @TheNationalPipingCentre
Instagram: @nationalpipingcentre
YouTube: @nationalpipingcentre
TikTok: @thenationalpipingcentre
The 2026 MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards are on the 5th December 2026 in Paisley Arena, Lagoon Centre! You will be able to watch it live in person (buy a ticket here).
Hosted by Scottish personalities Alistair Heather and Mary Ann Kennedy, the night will welcome live performances from some of the brightest lights on the thriving trad scene today including Valtos, Gnoss, Sian, Fèis Phàislig, Spodo Komodo and BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Rachel Groves and many more!
If you would like to support Hands Up for Trad in their work with Scottish trad music and musicians why not become a friend of Hands Up for Trad. In addition to our high profile events like the Scots Trad Music Awards, we also deliver a less well known, education programme for young people from 8yrs right through to young adults at the start of their careers. Read more here.