MKH Bagpiping Services

29/04/2026

2026 ANZAC Day Duty call. 4am start for 6am Dawn Parade and 9am Civic parade. Playing "Flowers of the Forest" at the close of the Dawn Parade service. Photo courtesy of Cambridge News, Viv Posselt.

17/01/2026

Years ago I issued an series of instructive books Vol.I - V. covering tuition, and many aspects of piping as experienced in NZ. With these books, that were all in computer document form, was a collection of over 500 pipe tunes in abc music notation format. Included were gif file format music score images for each tune. These were made available on CD, initially on the normal 5.5" size but later on the mini half size CD was used. It's over 20 years since the last was CD was issued. The tutor book that was part of the series has been updated and reorganised during this period with the latest reformat done fairly recently with a supplementary book created using the 'Tune Book' features made available by Michael Eskin's ABC Transcription Tools free online app. This means the original books have been joined by supplementary books that can play the score simply by clicking on the tune title at the top of the page.

Michael Eskin's efforts have transformed abc notation usage and as a result I've been putting together quite a few 'musical books' containing various tune selections for personal interest and for tutoring the pupils I occasionally have. The books just being given away for free as they're merely an easily transferred computer file with no printing needed, except if the recipient decides to print one off.

Last week I received a surprise request from a purchaser of the old mini-CD issue, asking if I could provide a copy again as he'd have a problem with his old computer and lost all his files. He had had to buy a new computer and modern computers no longer have CD drives. He was told the files on the mini-CD could not be transferred because the media was obsolete. End of story as far as the new computer vendor was concerned, and most unhelpful as well. Computers with CD drives do exist and the mini-CDs can be read by normal CD drives. Anyway over the intervening years my own computers have undergone a series of changes so I ended up spending the better part of several days reconstructing the files used on the old CD issue and checking updated versions having reloaded some files from a CD copy I had. Then transferred everything to a new memory stick. To the updated files and new instructions for loading everything on to the new PC he now has I added a selection of the new Tune Books. Then posted the memory stick away. The cost to him for this? Just that of the new memory stick I had to buy from the nearest Noel Leeming store and the postage. Nothing for the new release updates or extras. The original price for the Book series and CD media back in the day was just $25 I think. The cost of the smallest available memory stick capacity (30GB) was that and postage of it $8.40. It will be interesting to see if I get feed back on the new features he has just gained.

07/01/2026

Anyone wanting a piper can browse www.kilts.co.nz/mitcpipr.htm It doesn't matter if wanted locally or elsewhere around the country. Unlike other 'find' a piper sites that want your details and link you through to a piper who subsequently incurs a finders fee or percentage. You send an email request and you can get a free referral to a person or a pipe band. No fee is levied on anyone for the referral if one might be required..

Bagpiper services for Weddings, Funerals, Events like Burn's evenings, St.Andrews Day, St.Patricks Day, and tuition: use Bryan Mitchell.

07/01/2026

Made some updates to my old web-site.

One page might be of interest is that I've created a listing of all the pipe bands around the country (not just those that compete and or are affiliated with the RNZPBA). This as a means of enabling anyone to find a band close to their area should they want to learn either pipes or drums, or maybe they already know how but have relocated and might like to know where their nearest band might be. The bands listed do have links to them. The page is www.kilts.co.nz/mitlink2.htm

The web-site overall is quite historic as it dates back to the late 80's and was set up with a bit of Page Maker 2 but mainly just by using a text editor, direct htm code and what was then File Manager on Windows. Basically it has cost nothing (except for web-site URL registration fees over the years) and is hosted on a friends server for nowat. Unbeatable value and though I keep getting pestered by web-site application houses offering upgrade services, I am not interested in what they offer. Especially not when they're mostly from overseas. The web-site doesn't need 'https' status as no information is collected about people who browse it nor is there any purchase payment portal type data used on the site. It is merely information with no monitoring or interaction so is perfectly safe to access. There are still a few obsolete pages due for updating but that's done as I get around to it without urgency as the original business the site was created for was closed down many years ago.

28/08/2025

I have just completed an upgrade of a Bagpipe tutor book I compiled for learners, initially in the 1990s and modified over the years while I was Pipe-Major of the Cambridge & Districts Pipe Band.
It is now in landscape format with a larger print and illustration examples, making tune scores much more readable. The book is issued for free as a pdf file to my pupils and learners who join and learn with the Cambridge & Districts Pipe Band (in NZ). With the Tutor Book is a companion supplement that includes all the tunes in the Tutor Book plus many more. This is also provided for free as a pdf file but has the advantage of being able to play the tunes while online to the internet. Thus learners can hear the tunes and learn the melodies.

Notation used to create the score for all tunes is in ‘abc’ text, a format commonly used for folk music. It is readable and can be created and edited by using a simple text editor app or any word processing app. (except word-processing apps if being used to ‘save’ an ‘abc’ file must save it as plain text so all the fancy command characters don’t get saved in the file.). Free open source applications are used to transform the abc text into actual music scores. Some apps provide for input (tune note entry) from a music score notation display but save that to memory as ‘abc’ code. Several bagpipe music apps can read and write ‘abc’ code, so there is a great deal of flexibility with the format. A user of it is not locked into having to use just one app that stores tunes in a non-transferrable, unreadable, maybe compressed data format. The beauty of text format is it is readable by most apps that can read a computer file and when printed can be interpreted by human eyes, and person with a bit of knowledge of the abc coding. There are multiple apps available to read and convert the ‘abc’ code into a music score with most of these absolutely free.
That is a huge bonus. Who doesn’t like free?

28/08/2025

Angus approves the care given to my set of Lawrie bagpipes.

19/07/2025

When a good friend has had a long battle with cancer and the end is nigh, I didn't wait to answer the call to just play at the funeral. That will come in due course. I went and played for him and his family at their home, while they could all be together and enjoy tunes written for them plus listen to some traditional tunes as well. Deed done, with the funeral to come sometime in the next weeks or days. On arriving home some hours later a message awaited saying how much the piping uplifted them, the mood at home and how it was very much appreciated.
The message was real indication that making the effort was the right thing to do. Having done similarly for other friends it is an aspect in end times that really is appreciated by the departing and those nearest and dearest to them.
To have a piper play before the final event is well worth consideration. There really is a spiritual uplift imparted by the pipes on such occasions.

29/04/2025

A Richard Lummus photo of myself playing the final solo lament "Flowers of the Forest" at the Cambridge ANZAC Day civic (0900) service. Just after piping off the catafalque guard to the Waikato Mounted Rifles regimental quickstep "D' Ye Ken John Peel". The lament was also played at the 0600 Dawn parade by myself but then I also wore my feather bonnet. The glengarry hat worn here to conform to the band head-dress for the civic parade.

11/04/2025

Played for a child's birthday last weekend with selected tunes suitable for the bagpipes from the Scottish Schools song repertoire plus some standard tunes the public recognise easily. The children reacted really enthusiastically. At the end of the gig I decided I'd play one last tune for everyone (it happened to be 'The Leaving of Liverpool') as I marched away over a bridge across a wetland adjacent to the playground. As I finished the tune while almost off the bridge I realised I had company. I turned to see a number of children had followed me and I could see their mothers running towards the bridge after them calling them back. Quite an amusing scene. I wonder what tune the Pied Piper of Hamlin played. The reaction of the children to follow was not something I had anticipated.

19/08/2024

Beauty after the snow storm.

Winter scenes in Waimakariri 🏔❄️

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📍 Oxford, NZ

Discover activities on offer no matter the season: www.visitwaimakariri.co.nz