For Scots and non-Scots alike, the sounds of the bagpipes and the pipe band serve as a cultural metaphor for Scottish identity: the skirl of the pipes, the crisp sound of the snare drums, and the unique lilt of the music conjure an imagined Scotland of fierce, kilted clansmen and rugged, picturesque Highland scenery. This nearly global association appears to have been constructed on a series of transformations of cultural practices within Scotland itself, as well as throughout greater Britain and the lands of the Scottish diaspora, that began with the early “kiltophiles” in the late eighteenth century. Then, in the nineteenth century, its appeal was rendered greater by the romanticization of the Highlander in British literature, Queen Victoria's affinity for summer holidays at Balmoral Castle, expanded pipe band use in the British Army, and the formation of Scottish heritage societies embracing Highland dress, music, and sport. The turn of the twentieth century saw the pipe band move beyond military spheres to serve a range of civic and social purposes within Scotland, and throughout the subsequent hundred-plus year period, pipe bands as community musical ensembles have spread throughout the lands of the Scottish diaspora and other areas of the globe. Although there were and are a range of organizations, practices, and trends that offer insight into cultural developments within Scotland and the Scottish diaspora, the primary goal of this dissertation is to study the role of the pipe band in the construction and transformation of Scottish identity through an examination of the meanings, values, and musical practices that are built into ideas of "Scottishness" from the mid-nineteenth through the twenty-first century in the British Isles and North America. In its consideration of late twentieth- to twenty-first-century North American pipe bands, it will cast special light on selected bands of the Southeast and Ohio Valley regions, using two ensembles, the Kentucky United Pipes and Drums and the Knoxville Pipes and Drums, and one Highland festival, the Scotland County Highland Games, as case studies of present-day practices, but also as windows into identity formation within and through bands of the past.

This work is a summary of performers of bagpipe music in ethnographic regions throughout South Bohemia, focusing on the second half of the 20th century to the present day. It describes the musical activities of individual bagpipers, as well as the influence of bagpipe bands in Prácheňsko, Pošumava, Doudlebsko, Blata and Kozácko. The work should not only function as a chronological history catalog of folk musicians for those interested in folk culture, but also highlight their accomplishments in maintaining South Bohemian bagpipe traditions, in both its authentic form, as well as natural development.

The purpose of this thesis is to figure out the significance of the bagpiping tradition in the Czech Republic its potential to be added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The thesis explains the current laws and ordinances in the area of protection of intangible cultural heritage and its application in the Czech Republic. The paper then explores the history and development of the bagpiping tradition and shows the current presentation in rural culture. Based on this theoretical part it answers the question if the bagpiping tradition has potential to be added to the Representative List or if there are steps that need to be taken first.

"This project is my way of saying thanks. My intention is to recognize the people who were able to transmit the passion and love for the land of my grandparents Asturias, with its heritage, history and music. My architectural purpose is to strengthen the tradition and culture by recovering the past. It is in this way , we will be stronger in the present and inspire future generations" / Master of Architecture

The pukl, commonly called dudy, is a bellow-blown bagpipe whose origin and development can be traced to older forms known as grosser Bock and polnischer Bock. The instrument is an important feature in the identity of Chodsko, an ethonographic region of West Bohemia. This thesis shows the significance of the pukl in Chodish tradition through its organology, pedagogy, performance practice, and history. Through the novel Psohlavci, Alois Jirásek offered a footing for reinforcement of Chodish traditions. The thesis argues that a succession of makers, performers, teachers, institutions, and events have woven a web of tradition in which the pukl holds a significant position. Supporting evidence is shown from artworks that are visible to the public as well as decoration on the instrument. Selected from the Chodish canon, the beloved song, ‘Zelený hájové’, illustrates the use of the dialect and ornamentation as being indicative of the region. Two DVDs, The Call of Dudy and Zelený Hájové …, and a glossary of Chodish terms together with a catalogue of field recordings are included. / Accompanied by 2 DVDs which are available through Interloan.