Contact Us

Colchester And District Pipes & Drums are very pleased to do charity work and events but due to the cost of PLI (public liability insurance), PRS Licence and the cost of kit equipment and travel the band would be grateful for a donation towards these costs

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 or    Tel  07562 605205

Pipe Major

John Roy

The Band practice at the Copford Village Hall 

Click here for Practice Dates

Colchester And District Pipes & Drums are looking for new members to join the band 

Pipers, Drummers, Non-Players & Support Members

Online PDF Application Form           

Download Word Band Application Form   

Learn The Bagpipes

The bagpipes come with about as much in the way of instructions as a piano comes with instructions on tuning it, or a guitar on how to play chords.Too many people try to teach themselves bagpipes, fail, and now here we are with a slice of the general public with a strong dislike for the pipes, oblivious to the fact that they were exposed to very poor piping

Colchester And District Pipes & Drums has introduced a new unique 4 phase structured teaching program that enables all members to easily develop at their own pace with full support and encouragement.

 Pipers learn on an instrument called a "Practice Chanter." It’s like a recorder, made of wood or plastic, with holes in the body to finger the notes. It’s mouth blown like a recorder, The Practice Chanter essentially consist of two pieces: the top, which acts as a small air chamber, and the bottom, where the holes are located and where fingering takes place. The two pieces are joined with either hemp or "O" rings to make it an airtight unit. A double-bladed plastic reed fits into the top of the lower half, providing the tone. The chanter is used to learn new tunes as well as to practice exercises. During band practice, all pipers in a band use their practice chanters to learn new material. Once they have it memorized and are playing at the correct tempo, they are ready to move that tune to the pipes.

 The Colchester And District Pipes & Drums use the New Shepherds Mrk III Balanced Pipe chanters along with the New B Balanced Chanter Reeds 

(What a Sound)

Learn To Play The Drums

The drum sections keeps the beat for the bagpipe band, but that isn’t it’s only job. The bagpipe is an instrument that can only be played at one volume level. There are no mechanisms for increasing or decreasing the volume. Everything sounds the same - LOUD! The drum section provides the illusion of the band playing more quietly or more loudly. This musical effect is referred to as “Dynamics”. A good drum section will work together, playing softer or louder parts together. The tenor and bass drummers may accent (strike more loudly) a beat that will compliment the accents that the snare drummers play. The snare drummers will often play parts or “chips” throughout the music to further enhance the dynamics within the ensemble.

There are basically three types of drums used in a bagpipe band.

I. Snare drum: This is the most prominent sounding drum in the drum line. The snare drum that is used in a bagpipe band is different from the snare drums that are used in other bands. The pipe band snare drum has snare mechanisms on both the top and bottom drumheads. The drumheads are also tensioned much higher than on a normal snare drum. This results in a very high pitched and crisp snare sound which compliments the notes played on the bagpipe “chanter”.

The Snare Drummer practices on a drum pad which is a disc of solid rubber normally housed within a frame. One of the first rudiments a drummer will learn is the roll. This requires two taps on the right stick followed by two on the left and then two on the right . The process continues, alternating sticks and gradually building up the speed. Eventually a roll will be produced although this could take some time!

II. Tenor drum: This is the drum that fills in the middle tones in a pipe band. The tenor drum is usually pitched the same as the bass drone on the bagpipes. Some bands may have multiple tenor drums and pitch them to various notes on the chanter scale. Pipe bands can have two types of tenor drum players:

• a: A “flourishing” tenor drummer does fancy “swings” with his/her mallets which visually compliment and add excitement to the band’s performance. A flourishing tenor drummer also plays rhythmic beatings which fill in the overall ensemble sound.

• b: A “rhythm” tenor drummer focuses on rhythmic beating which compliment the music. A rhythm tenor drummer usually plays within a pattern framework (ex. Hard, soft, medium, soft) that helps set the “groove” for the band.

• III. Bass drum: This drum is the heartbeat of the band. The bass drum is usually pitched to the bass drone of the bagpipes, but an octave lower than the tenor drum. The bass drum sets the pace of the music as well as adding the harmonic “bottom” tone of the band. The bass drummer must have a strong sense of rhythm. A good bass drummer will set a strong “groove” for the band that makes it easy for the pipers and drummers to play together.

The  Colchester And District Pipes & Drums Drum Corps use Special Andante Drums. These produce the sharpness and accuracy required for pipe band drumming.

There are no qualifications needed to learn the drums only patience and a willingness to practice. There are no age restrictions either.