Lindsay Davidson 
Driving 'piping forward

Lindsay Davidson studied at the Reid School of Music in the University of Edinburgh - the first person in the world to finish any music academy majoring as a ‘piper. He continued his post-graduate studies with the double specialisation in composition and computer sound synthesis in 1996 and shortly afterwards started his pedagogical and performing activities founding several pipe bands and a music school for which he developed a new system of teaching piping, adopted across the world. He gave this up to spend time in Poland with his wife Irena.  His 'teach yourself bagpipes' course is one result of this and his tutor book for great highland bagpipes has been rereleased in 2013. You can buy it from amazon either in Europe (click on the link to go to amazon.co.uk) or the USA (click for USA amazon).  In December 2011, Lindsay released an e-book called 'On Teaching Bagpipes' which can be downloaded free by clicking on the title, or you can buy a paper copy of the book from amazon here. He has also prepared a short teach yourself species counterpoint  course. If you are a composer, instructions on how to write for bagpipes can be found here.

In 2007 Lindsay received his PhD in Musical Composition with a thesis called "Towards A Fusion Of Western Classical/Contemporary And Traditional Scots Bagpipe Composition Techniques: “Manntaireachd” and a large body of compositions. For more information about this, please download this short essay - as a pdf. He has also written a short paper about brain based methods for learning to sing. Please download the pdf here.

Lindsay Davidson has held the honorary positions of Clan Piper to the Clan Davidson since 1992 and from 1987 till 2001 was “Town Piper to Linlithgow” (his home town). In  Autumn 2004, after a great many commissions, was appointed composer to the Court of the Baron of Ardgowan.

Lindsay has given concerts, recitals, workshops and papers all over the world; on five continents and approximately forty countries. As an educator, he is co-founder and Head of the Embassy International School in Krakow, Poland. He has also written a book called "The Place and Potential of Music in the Primary School" available from Amazon. Please follow the link on the right hand side of the page to buy a copy.

A major part of Lindsay's activity is promoting and developing piping in the western art field. In addition to his own compositions, he has premiered pieces, composed specially for him: 'Broken Frontiers' by Jennifer Martin (1992), for double string quartet and smallpipes, conducted by Joe Cancellaro in Edinburgh, Scotland; Pieces for Gogarburn by Dee Isaacs (1998), Edinburgh, Scotland; 'Rhapsody' for borderpipes and string orchestra by Nobuya Monta (2009) conducted by Steve Ellery in London, England; 'Piece for Borderpipes' and string orchestra by Jonathan Merrett (2009) conducted by Steve Ellery in Kobe, Japan.

Lindsay has translated a book about Chopin, written by Professor Mieczyslaw Tomaszewski and published by PWM in 2009 and another by  Professor Andrzej Hejmej, Music in Literature: Perspectives of Interdisciplinary Comparative Literature published by Peter Lang in 2014.

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Dr Lindsay Davidson

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skype: lindsay.davidson1973
lindsaydavidson@lindsaydavidson.co.uk