Are we Replacing Culture with Competition?
- FUJoeBrady
- Jan 17
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 19
Few experiences rival the sight and sound of a pipe band moving together. The snap of the snare corps, the skirl of the pipes, the collective breath before chanters rise in unison. Crowds stop. Conversations fade. History arrives without introduction. A pipe band does more than perform music; it occupies space, memory, and identity all at once.
For centuries, pipe bands served as visible and audible anchors of Irish and Scottish culture. During the last hundred years, piping and drumming expanded far beyond a small geographic origin, finding a powerful foothold across North America. Competition provided structure, motivation, and aspiration. Local bands formed, grew, and produced players capable of standing confidently on the world stage.
Yet the landscape no longer feels stable.
A decade ago, North America supported more than a dozen pipe bands operating at a true world-class level. Today, only a small number remain. Decline did not arrive overnight, nor does it stem from a single cause. Still, one pattern deserves honest examination.
At higher grades, the pursuit of instant results increasingly drives decision-making. Regional “super bands” assemble by attracting elite players from vast distances. Medals follow quickly. Placings improve. Applause grows louder. Meanwhile, local bands absorb the consequences quietly. Leaders disappear. Instructors vanish. Rehearsal halls lose continuity, experience, and confidence. Younger players lose accessible examples of excellence within their own communities.
Scotland operates under conditions North America does not share. Dense geography allows strong bands to coexist within short travel distances. Player movement occurs without dismantling entire ecosystems. North America spans a continent. Distance carries weight. When players travel hundreds of miles for rehearsals and contests, they leave behind more than weekly practices. They leave culture, mentorship, and local identity.
Ambition remains worthy of respect. Striving for the highest level reflects commitment and discipline. Problems emerge when ambition outpaces stewardship. Elite bands depend on healthy grassroots programs for long-term survival. When top-tier success relies on extraction rather than cultivation, foundations weaken across the board.
Responsibility extends beyond elite organizations. Local bands must also look inward. Some struggle with leadership clarity, rehearsal purpose, or musical direction. Others fail to create environments where players feel valued beyond contest outcomes. When culture erodes locally, talent searches elsewhere for meaning, belonging, or growth.
Competition was never meant to replace culture. It exists as a measuring tool, not a mission. Pipe bands function first as cultural institutions. Music serves community. Community sustains excellence. Excellence without roots rarely endures.
North American piping does not suffer from a lack of talent. It suffers from fragmented stewardship. The future requires leaders willing to build patiently where they stand. Leaders who measure success in people developed, not only prizes earned. Leaders who recognize local strength as the engine powering regional achievement.
The sight and sound of a pipe band still commands attention. It still carries solemnity at memorials, joy at celebrations, and gravity in moments of remembrance. Preserving such power demands restraint, humility, and shared responsibility. Culture must come first.
When bands win contests yet lose communities, the music grows louder while the tradition grows quieter. Pipe bands survived centuries because people carried them together. North America now faces a choice. Chase short-term success, or protect the cultural roots ensuring pipes continue to rise, unified and unmistakably alive.
Inspired in part by Robert James Carruba’s documentary A Highlander’s Dream, this reflection caused me to pause, consider where we came from, where we are today, and where we are going as guardians of tradition.