Kincardine Scottish teaching next generation of pipers and drummers

The Grades 4 and 5 students at Ecole Elgin Market Public School in Kincardine may very well be the next generation of pipers and drummers to join the Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band.

For that reason, pipe band members Mike Smith, Joanne Wilkins and Joan MacIntosh are in the classroom, teaching the youngsters the proper way to play the drums and pipes.

Teacher Christine Cooper is thrilled with this music program which began the last week of November, 2015, and runs for about nine to 10 weeks. Half of the class began learning to play the drums and then switched to pipes, while the other half began with pipes and switched to drums.

The Elgin Market Home and School Association raised about $500 and the pipe band put in the remainder to purchase chanters and run the program in the school, said Cooper.

"This is an awesome music program," she said. "We have another couple of weeks to go and then I will continue practising with the students, and their talents will ultimately be showcased at the spring concert."

Smith is teaching the students the drums, focusing on rhythm, different beats and styles of music, and how to count out the music before actually picking up those drum sticks.

MacIntosh is using child-sized practice chanters to teach the students the basics of the bagpipes.

"It's so important to teach another generation of pipers and drummers," she said, "and with this program, we are reaching the children in the school. We welcome the students to continue on with the pipe band if they want to learn more. We accept members as young as eight or nine years of age."

"My students are loving this," said Cooper, "and it's great outreach for the pipe band. It fits in beautifully with our music program. Joan and Mike are showing the students the mechanics of the instruments, as well as the science of how they work, and how to play them properly."