You may hear it every day. You may not have heard it at all. Depending on which way the wind blows, you can hear it all around town.
You may hear it every day. You may not have heard it at all. Depending on which way the wind blows, you can hear it all around town.
You may love the sound, it may irritate you or you may want to know exactly what it’s all about. Or maybe you’re just not interested at all. Either way, you won’t stop Richard Payn from piping his way to Scotland.
Payn has earned himself the nickname of "Pipes" and is a first year Rhodes University student studying toward a Bachelor of Music degree. Although the piano is his primary instrument, Payn is a lot more interested in his Great Highland bagpipes from Scotland.
This rather unusual passion started in a not so unusual way. At the age of 16, Payn had a lot of musical friends at Maritzburg College who had a band and were in need of a couple of members. When a friend found out that Payn could play the piano, he told him to try the bagpipes.
Two years later, Payn now has a few piping prizes behind his name. At the 100 Guineas Championships in Johannesburg, he came second in the junior solo piping competition. At the Natal Scottish Gathering, Payn came first in the U21 section and first and third in the open events. More competitions are coming up and Payn practices as much as he can at the Rhodes University sports fields.
“Piping is very hard," Payn said. "It’s not just physically hard but it is technical and it is an art, but practice makes perfect.”
Unfortunately, the Rhodes University music department does not allow students to take bagpipes as an instrument and this is preventing Payn from developing his skills further and faster. Although he will look at the possibilities at other universities, Payn believes that the only way to become a serious piper is by going to Scotland. Even though it will cost a lot of money to get there anf further finance this expensive career, Payn will not let these things stand in the way of joining a professional piping band in Scotland one day.
