Not everyone’s a fan of the cacophonous pipes and drums - but the sight of hundreds of bagpipers and drummers, marching in full regalia, is spectacular.

The Ballarat Highland Gathering, on last weekend, featured about 20 bands from across western Victoria, as well as a band from Elizabeth in South Australia.

What stands out is the dedication, with band members of all ages marching in the late summer heat with the hose and waistcoats, while blowing their lungs out into the pipes or carrying heavy drums.

The gathering was part of the lead-up to the state championships, which will be in Geelong on March 17.

Competition was fierce, across four grades - bands were judged not just on their musical ability, but also on dress and drill.

Scotch College took out the win in grade three, and Haileybury won grade four - local representatives did quite well, with Federation University winning the selection of marches competition and Maryborough finishing second, with a third in the medley.

On the day, one of Maryborough’s youngest pipers, nine-year-old Angus Le Marshall, received a certificate of proficiency from the Australian Pipe Band College.

“My grandpa plays the bagpipes for Fed Uni and is the pipe major, and my great-grandpa, he played for Mildura in WW2,” Angus said, noting his parents seemed to be okay with all the practice involved.

“I’ve been bagpiping for a year and a half - I like playing with our band and having fun.”

Angus is one of dozens of young people on the march, showing piping is not just for moustachioed veterans - schools have long been involved, including Ballarat Grammar.

Despite this, some bands are struggling for numbers.

Ballarat’s Federation University Pipe Band performs at events across the district, but Stephen Matthews - a drummer - said bagpipes are an immensely difficult instrument to learn.

“It’s a slow process to create a piper,” he said ruefully.

“It’s a numbers game, and we lost a lot of people in the last few years, and so we had been in the highest grade here today, and competitive, but we’ve dropped back recently - we’re at the bare minimum, six pipers, a bass drum, and two snares.”

Ballarat used to have three highland pipe bands, and every small town in the district boasted at least one piper, but many have amalgamated.

“It’s a fairly small community now, it used to be a lot bigger,” Mr Matthews said.

“A lot of country towns no longer have bands, and we have a few superbands who pick the better players.”

People often don’t realise how intricate pipe and drum ensembles can get, he added.

Tenor drums, with the whirling sticks, can be tuned like timpanis - a line of drummers can play a tune that follows the bagpipes, adding one note each - and absolute precision is required on the tightly-strung snares.

All the rehearsal pays off in competitions.

Ballarat’s gathering followed Daylesford, and is the warm-up for Bendigo and Ringwood, before the state championships.

Maryborough will also host the national championships next year.

“A couple of bands will no doubt head to the world championships in Scotland - there are world champions here today, the best players in the world,” Mr Matthews said.

The Federation University Pipe Band is always looking for new players, of any age and any experience. To get involved, drop into a rehearsal at the bandhall in Brown Hill or the Wendouree Performing Arts Centre every Wednesday night, or visit the Facebook page.

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