Hi, I'm Aaron.
I run Etive Pipers, weekly group piping classes for young people in Oban. I started it in 2022 so young pipers here could learn music properly, reading it and understanding it rather than just copying tunes back.
In the lesson room
A bit about me.
I started on the chanter in Oban when I was seven, grew up through the local bands, and still play with Oban Pipe Band. I'm also a qualified teacher, and Etive Pipers is where the two come together.
I teach every class myself, so I know each pupil, what they're working on, and what they need next.
How it started
Etive Pipers started in the summer of 2022 with a handful of pupils. I wanted somewhere young pipers could learn a wide range of music, alongside others at the same stage, with something to aim for.
From the start, pupils read music. The bar is high, but it comes in small steps, so the next one always feels doable. What I'm really after is independent players: young people who understand what they're playing and can work things out for themselves. As they move up through the groups they do more of that thinking on their own, and they're encouraged to phrase tunes their own way and, later on, to write their own.
It's also a good place to be. Young people who love this music, playing with others at the same stage and hearing the older groups every Thursday. Once a year, every group plays at our Showcase.
That's our motto. Technique matters and we work hard at it, but it's there to serve the music. A tune played correctly with no feeling is only half done.
How a lesson works
Each group meets once a week, on a Thursday evening in term time. Every session has a focus, and usually includes a warm-up, some technique, playing together and feedback for each pupil. Pupils read from the page, talk problems through out loud, and go home knowing what to practise.
I also teach private one-to-one lessons through Aaron McInnes Piping, for anyone who'd like extra help or prefers learning that way.