Periodicals

Piping and Dancing was a monthly magazine published between August 1935 and January 1941. Slightly larger than A5 in size, it was published by J. Hunter in Ardrossan, and provides a fascinating insight into piping in the later inter-war years. Although Highland dancing was a regular feature of the publication, content relating to piping comprised the majority of the magazine’s coverage. 

In the first issue’s editorial (or “Comments” as it is titled), the editor discusses the objectives of the publication. Among them was the ambitious goal of “uniting all the various efforts that presently exist for the purpose of fostering Piping, Dancing and Drumming.” Regular features included results, profiles of prominent figures, correspondence and opinion. Of unique interest are regular columns from correspondents detailing news from their locale: ‘South African Notes’, ‘Northumbrian Notes’, ‘SPBA Notes’, ‘Notes from USA’, ‘Notes from Eire’, and ‘Ulster Notes’, These final two may be of particular interest, with regular adverts for businesses in both the north and south of Ireland, including those for Uilleann pipes.

Interestingly, most regular contributors who provided opinion pieces used pseudonyms for their byline. Among these, one of the most frequently featured were articles by ‘Shamateur’. It has been suggested that this was in fact Pipe Major Willie Gray, who by the time of the magazine’s appearance was the former pipe major of the Glasgow Police Pipe Band, and one of the leading figures of the era. These articles cover topics including thoughts on grace notes, canntaireachd, piobaireachd, reeds and chanters, the scale of the bagpipe, and much more.