How To Join Where: Fire Administation, Uptown 9th St. When: Wednesdays, Check the calendar. What do I need?: You don't need anything on the first practice. Ask a question

The Pipe Band is made up of Charlotte Fire Department personnel from the operations division. It is one of the few bands in the country made up of firefighters recruited from within the ranks of one department. The band operates as part of the department's Honor Guard unit, performing ceremonial duties throughout the year. Help us keep this great tradition a reality. Become a member of the Charlotte Fire Department Pipes & Drums! Performing members travel the region while representing our department and the Fire Service. Now is the best time to join!      No experience is necessary. We hear the common remarks of "I don't have any rhythm",  "I've never played an instrument before" or "I don't know if I have enough time" and we have the same answer. If you've got the motivation then you've enough. Many of our members started with NO experience and family/kids/school.  You can choose the pipes or drums (snare, tenor or bass). If you can't decide you can always come to practice and get a feel for what instrument interests you. It takes very little to get started so don't worry! (below you can find more info) You just show up and we will take care of the rest. Also, it's important to start learning with an instructor instead of going it alone in the beginning. This is due to the bad habits which tend to develop early and are very difficult to change. Don't feel embarrassed about being new. We have beginner classes designed to get you started quickly.      We practice on Wednesdays at the General Office on 9th Street.  Chanter students (a chanter is what you use to learn the pipes) start at 5:30pm and the Pipes & Drums meet at 7:00pm. Check the calendar to see the practice schedule. If you would like more information you can email questions here, or you can look at the band roster and call someone on your shift.

 

Drummers

   A great place to start for supplies is drumsplus.com. It is run by a Scottish snare drummer, specifically for Scottish snare drummers. All you need to get started is a practice pad and a pair of sticks. The type of pad does not matter...whatever fits your pocketbook. The sticks just need to be for Scottish snare drum. They do not sell them at music stores in Charlotte. Any of the ones on the drumsplus site work fine. as for books, Doug Stronach has a beginning book and Hugh Cameron has a book that teaches the massed band settings. Both books have CDs with them and are sold at....you guessed it....drumsplus.com. You can also get massed band scores and audio off of the euspba.org site.