Rona Lightfoot (; born 17 April 1936) is a Scottish

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, Nor ...

r and singer.

Life

Lightfoot was born on 17 April 1936 on

South Uist South Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Deas, ; sco, Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the ...

to a family rich in pipers, and her first music lessons came from her parents, before she was taught by her uncle Angus Campbell. Teaching was in

Canntaireachd Canntaireachd (; ) is the ancient method of teaching, learning and memorizing ''Piobaireachd'' (also spelt '' Pibroch''), a type of music primarily played on the Great Highland bagpipe. In the canntairached method of instruction, the teacher sings o ...

, a way of notating

pibroch Pibroch, or is an art music genre associated primarily with the Scottish Highlands that is characterised by extended compositions with a melodic theme and elaborate formal variations. Strictly meaning "piping" in Scottish Gaelic, has for some f ...

orally. She attended secondary school in Fort William, before going to Glasgow to train as a nurse. She met her husband Tony whilst in Glasgow, and they married in October 1960. Tony worked as a sailor and Rona often travelled with him, taking her pipes with her.

Career

Lightfoot had a successful career as solo piper, and credited as the first woman to win a major piping competition. In 1972, she won third place in the

jig The jig ( ga, port, gd, port-cruinn) is a form of lively folk dance in compound metre, as well as the accompanying dance tune. It is most associated with Irish music and dance. It first gained popularity in 16th-century Ireland and parts of ...

competition at the

Northern Meeting The Northern Meeting is a gathering held in Inverness, Scotland, best known for its solo bagpiping competition in September. History The Northern Meeting was set up in 1798 "for the purpose of promoting a Social Intercourse", and early editions ...

, but was not allowed to compete in the march competition due to the way she was dressed. She became the first woman to compete in the Bratach Gorm after applying pressure to the Scottish Piping Society of London, quoting the Sex Discrimination Act. She was only allowed to compete once. Lightfoot is regarded as one of the best players never to have won a

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

. She plays with her drones over her right shoulder, and her left hand on the bottom, the opposite arrangement to most players. She later became the President of the Inverness Piping Society, the first (and only, to date) woman to do so. Since retiring from competitive piping, she has judged and taught, and in 2010 she won the Balvenie Medal for services to piping. In 2019, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Scottish Gaelic Awards.

Recordings

In 2004 she recorded ''Eadarainn'', which involved both singing and piping. Lightfoot also featured in

Brìghde Chaimbeul Brìghde Chaimbeul (; born 1998) is a Scottish bagpipe player, who plays the traditional Great Highland bagpipe and the revived Scottish smallpipes. Life Chaimbeul was born in 1998 and brought up in Sleat on the Isle of Skye, and is a native ...

's debut album ''The Reeling'', released in 2019. Chaimbeul was initially inspired to learn the pipes at the age of four when she heard Lightfoot playing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lightfoot, Rona Great Highland bagpipe players 1936 births Living people Scottish bagpipe players 20th-century Scottish women 20th-century Scottish people 20th-century Scottish musicians