About me

Hi, I'm Matthew McRae and have been playing the Great Highland Bagpipes since I was 10 years old. My inspiration to the play the bagpipes came from my dad born and bred in Glasgow Scotland, he was the first person I heard playing and from then on I have loved every minute.

After hearing some kind of noise coming from the dining room, I was intrigued to find out what it was. Creeping quietly through the dining room doors I found my dad playing a strange instrument. I asked him what it was and he told me that this is the 'Chanter, the practise instrument for the Great Highland Bagpipes'. To be honest it looked quite strenuous, with all the blowing, but I thought lets give it a try. My dad taught me the scales and I picked it up pretty quickly, so he continued to teach me some more advanced learning sequences, that was where it came a little more tricky.

Once the learning sequences were under my belt my dads pipe major came round our house twice a week to give me more detailed tuition to ensure I had mastered the basics to perfection. Attending band practise twice a week and getting extra home tuition, I was soon moving onto simple marches, then progressing to a more complex straphspey, reel, jig, or hornpipe. I was well and truly on my way to becoming a fully fledged piper.

I stayed with the Southend Scottish Pipes and Drums under another scotsman Pipe Major Jack Henderson until they disbanded in 2002 making me 17 years of age and eager to join a new band. I then joined the Sutherland Pipes and Drums based in Corringham Essex under the instruction of Pipe Major Eddie Duce until he retired and gave the honour to Pipe Major Edwin Palin. To this day I am still a member of the Sutherland Pipes and Drums where we have played in many festivals, fates, miiltary tattoo's, remembrance parades, christmas celebrations, and much much more.