Young Trad Finalist: Lorne MacDougall

Please turn on JavaScript.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions.

Lorne MacDougall

Watch piper Lorne MacDougall perform at the Young Trad Musician of the Year final 2011.

Age: 27

Hails from: Carradale

Instrument: Pipes and Whistle

Q&A

What do you love and what do you hate about your instrument?

I love the inbuilt harmonics you can get with the pipes between the chanter and the drones. On a good day, playing solo pipes can give you as much of a buzz as being right in the middle of an orchestra. Pipes can be quite limited though, which can be annoying when you hear a great tune you want to play, but it doesn't fit the 9(ish) notes that you can play on them.

What keeps you in practising while you could be out having a laugh?

I usually do have a laugh at myself when practising! Most of the time I am out with other musicians or people who are into music, and often tunes break out so there is a thin line between socialising and practicing.

Has anyone in particular inspired you as a musician?

There are too many to list as there are so many different styles that I love and each of those has its players at the top of their game. Most pipers will list Fred Morrison, Gordon Duncan, Martyn Bennett and the MacDonald Bros as being huge inspirations and I’m no different.

What music do you listen to when you're not practising (not necessarily folk music!)

I'll listen to every new folk album that comes out usually! Outside of folk, I usually find myself listening to Radio 1 over the Christmas holidays and that’s when I pick up my wider music interests for the year! Favourites just now are Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and Muse.

Is there a piece of music that you always like to play/sing and why?

There’s a piece on my album that basically gives me free reign to do what I like! It's called "Lament for Small Isles Bay" and only has a few phrases throughout it as marker points to an otherwise improvised piece. It's totally miserable, but I love it! Especially when I get someone following me which works remarkably well given that I don't have a clue where I'm going to take it!