Bagpiping in Alabama

For more than 55 years, Jim MacRae has played an instrument that’s pretty rare in Alabama: the bagpipes.

MacRae, a retired metallurgical engineer who has lived in Trussville 16 years, started playing the pipes in college because “I wasn’t smart enough to listen to Granddad when he wanted to teach me when I was younger.” Like any other instrument, practice makes perfect, and MacRae’s practice has taken him to compete in Scotland five different times.

Though, with an instrument that can surpass 110 decibels — louder than a jackhammer or jet takeoff — when played indoors, finding practice time can be a little harder.

“To get those things out every day, every time you want to practice, [you’ll] drive the rest of the house crazy,” MacRae said.

Playing the pipes involves a lot of moving parts, MacRae said, as there are three drones that create the sound, a bag that controls the airflow and the chanter, similar to a clarinet, which the piper plays with his fingers to create the melody. The sound can also be affected by weather and humidity. But, he wouldn’t say it’s necessarily more difficult than any other instrument — he’s seen 6-year-olds play and compete before.

“Whether you master it or not is how much practice you put in,” MacRae said.

MacRae has played in a number of bagpipe and drum bands in his life, including the band his grandfather started. They’ve taken him to the Scottish World Festival in Canada and the World Championships in Scotland in 1990, 1993, 1999 and 2000. Since moving to Alabama, MacRae has observed that piping is far less popular in the South than his previous homes in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois.

He’s now the pipes major of Alabama Pipes and Drums, a band that started in 1995 and meets on Mondays in downtown Birmingham. The band draws players from Huntsville, Anniston and Mississippi because there are few other opportunities to play as a group. Alabama Pipes and Drums is too small to compete right now, but MacRae and other members are trying to build it back up. 

“It’s enjoyable to have something in common,” MacRae said of the other pipers.

In addition to Alabama Pipes and Drums, which has played in parades and local events, MacRae performs solo at weddings, parties and funerals and also teaches lessons. Bagpipes may not be widely popular in the area, but MacRae said he usually gets positive reactions from his audience.

Since the Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa opened in Hoover 12 years ago, MacRae has been their principal bagpiper with the help of three other pipers. The Ross Bridge area has its origins in a Scottish family that immigrated to the area, and the resort frequently incorporates that heritage in events like Summer at the Castle, where MacRae or one of the other pipers will play and walk around the resort grounds each evening at sunset.

After half a century of piping, MacRae said his trips to Scotland remain one of his favorite memories and a reminder of the full potential the bagpipes can reach.

“The sound that day absolutely just gave you chills. It gave you a tingling feeling when you’re playing it,” MacRae recalled of his second competition in Scotland. “It was just like there was electricityin the air.”