Playing the bagpipes is a good workout

For the Rev. Dennis Carter, pastor of Roslyn Presbyterian Church, the skirl of Scottish bagpipes isn't merely a simple enjoyment: It's a stirring experience.

"It causes your heart to beat a little faster, and your blood to rush through your veins," says Carter. On a recent Tuesday, he listened to the Clan Gordon Highlanders Pipe Band practice a rousing "Amazing Grace" in the church sanctuary.

But Carter, 55, isn't just a fan of the instrument native to Scotland, Ireland and other nations. He's also a band member, who started lessons three years ago to be able to play.

Learning the bagpipes was something of a lifelong ambition for Carter, who is half Scottish. He grew up enjoying the distinct sounds of bagpipe music in classic movies like "Gunga Din."

On a vacation to Scotland four years ago, the piercing wail of bagpipes captured him again when he heard them played on the streets and in the churches of Glasgow. And when he was a guest preacher at St. Mungo's Church of Scotland in Cumbernauld, Glasgow, a piper played before and during the worship service.

The effect was haunting. Carter, who is also a retired high school English teacher (he worked in Farmingdale, Hicksville and other districts), came home and bought a set of bagpipes for about $1,400.

After a year of lessons, he was good enough to play with the Clan Gordon Highlanders. He also is chaplain of the Scottish Clan MacDuff, a Manhasset-based social organization linked to the Clan Gordon Highlanders.

Most people hear bagpipes once in a while -- on St. Patrick's Day, during parades, or at funerals. Some find the music enchanting enough to hire pipers for their wedding. But for hard-core bagpipe aficionados, it's not enough to hear an occasional rendition of "Loch Lomond" (familiar to many as "You take the high road, I'll take the low road") or "Scotland the Brave," made recognizable from war movies.

They want to master the instrument whose low-droning, high-pitched (sometimes squeaky) notes motivated Scottish troops -- and terrified their enemies -- in World Wars I and II. The bagpipes connect players and listeners in a classic tradition that goes back more than four centuries, when they arrived in Scotland from Ireland.

Carter said the Great Highland Bagpipes played here can be heard up to 12 miles away on an open plain.

There's no age limit to learning the pipes. Long-standing members in the Clan Gordon Highlanders are between the ages of 50 and 85.

"It's an instrument you play for the rest of your life," said Andrew McDicken, 71, the Clan Gordon Highlanders' pipe major and Carter's bagpipe teacher.

McDicken, who charges $20 for a one-hour lesson, has been playing for 60 years. He started at age 10, when he was a member of the Boys' Brigade, described by McDicken as the Scottish version of Boy Scouts.

Beginners learn on a practice chanter, which resembles and sounds like a recorder. (The chanter is the rodlike piece attached to the bottom of the bag.) McDicken, of Port Washington, said his students generally begin to squeeze out a recognizable tune in less than a year. "After nine months, you can blow the pipes and play one tune well enough," McDicken said.

Lung capacity is tested, though. "It takes a lot of breath," said Mike Brisson, 50, a financial analyst from Port Washington. He started playing when he was in his 30s. "You build up your stamina by maintaining the air pressure," he says. "It's really an aerobic workout, your muscles feel it."

Newbies can march in parades early on, playing a drum to learn the rhythm. There are dozens of pipe bands on Long Island, according to Eric Stein, pipe major of the 80-member Saffron United Pipe Band, sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Babylon.

"We are a Scottish pipe band and we play at weddings and every fancy ball," says Loy Latham of the Amityville Highland Pipe Band, sponsored by American Legion Post 1015.

Bagpipes start at about $700 (used pipes are cheaper). High-end models start at $1,000 and can go to $6,000. Tunes must be memorized, because there's no place to rest sheet music.

One benefit: Pipers get plenty of exercise. Brisson says playing the pipes has helped lower his blood pressure.

James I. Schempp of Brightwaters, 66, began playing at age 56 when he was a recently retired college teacher. He said that playing the bagpipes and marching regularly have "helped me physically." Schempp, a trained musician, added, "You've got to be trim, so you can wear a kilt." In July of 2008, he underwent a hip replacement because of arthritis. By that November, he was back marching with the Clan Gordon Highlanders in a Veterans Day Parade.

The Clan Gordon Highlanders are busy bagpipers. They play at weddings, funerals, and parades, including the annual New York City Tartan Day Parade in April that celebrates Scottish contributions to this country.

For bagpipe fans, the sounds that have been around for centuries never get old. Even those who've played the bagpipes for most of their lives are still moved by them. "It sends a proud shiver up your spine," McDicken said.