The John Ford Highland Pipe Band

Location:
The American Legion - Thoman Boothe Post 338
9655 Midland Blvd
St Louis Missouri. 63114

Every Wednesday 6:00pm - 9:30pm (Any changes to this schedule will be noted on the band calendar)

Contacts:
Pipe Major William (Bill) Sandbach 314 638-3890

If you prefer, you can drop us an email by going to the "Contact Us" link on the left

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Pipers & Drummers, of any standard, are always welcome. If you are interested in learning to play the Great Highland Bagpipe or Base, Side or Snare Drum in a Band environment, we can help. Indeed if you are interested in becoming our full time Drum Major we can also help. This is one position that remains unfilled within our band.

We march & play in over 25 events every year, mainly in the St. Louis, MO region and IL areas around St Louis. This includes concerts, shows, professional functions and fund raisers, and of course the parades. Some band members also play for many private events, such as weddings, funerals, charity events and so-on. I think you can see that we are a very active band. After you learn to play the Bagpipes or drums, we expect your participation in these events as often as your schedule will allow. That is your commitment to us.

We offer free lessons, but you must purchase your own practice chanter for the pipers or your own practice pad for the drummers. We recommend a Dunbar Practice Chanter with "O" rings. These are available from our QM or prefered vendors & cost around $55 +S&H. Several vendors with whom we have been successful can be found on the links page.

Please don't wait to buy a chanter or practice pad, before you come along. We do have some practice chanters for short term loan.

Do not purchase Bagpipes, Drums or Uniform items at this time. When you buy, do so with the help and advice of experienced band members. DO NOT purchase Pakistani made Bagpipes & expect us to make them work. You will not make this mistake if you come and see us first.

Piping and Drumming for the JFPB is family oriented. We encourage family members to join in and we have a strong parent group within the band. Mums, Dads, Wife's and Husbands are all welcome.

It helps if you can read music in and have some marching experience, but again, we will train you. Plan on 2 - 3 years to learn.
Our age range within the band is early teens to 80 + years of age

We are primarily a marching band. During the summer it gets very hot and we do not expect our players to wear the full military uniform. We do have a summer uniform consisting of short sleeve shirt and kilt or Black Trousers.