Each year, the Band of the Brigade of Gurkhas conducts an intensive bagpipes and drummers training week. This is a vital programme that brings pipers and drummers from across the Brigade together to prepare for major performances around the world in the year ahead.
For Gurkhas outside of the Band, music is a secondary duty alongside their primary Army trade. They must carve out time to practice and perform, and some had never played an instrument before joining. Others were inspired after hearing the pipes played around their camps.
The opening days focus on musical preparation, giving players time to practise, refresh their repertoire, and build confidence. Once the foundations are set, they join the full band for ensemble rehearsals before moving onto the parade square, where they learn marching routines and eventually combine movement with live performance. For newer musicians, the week provides essential time to master the basics of marching, playing, and working as a cohesive team. Remarkably, within just a few days, the band, pipes, and drums are ready to perform at public events worldwide. Being a military musician is a highly demanding role given their visibility and the high standards expected of the Brigade of Gurkhas.
Captain Sunil Gurung (Assistant Director of Music Gurkha Band) and lead for the training, emphasised its importance: “The training is critical so that the musicians, who are often in the public eye, can deliver a first class music performance every time. It also means the band can collaborate with the pipers at unit level events and at major occasions, including the Attestation Parade in Pokhara, Nepal.”
He added that this year’s intake includes several new pipers and drummers, bringing fresh challenges as instructors work to raise them to the required standard within a short timeframe.
Corporal Navin Magar, a supplier in the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment who has played the bagpipes for eight years, said: “We are now concentrating on marching and performing at the same time in sync with all the other musicians. I think the training has been going well. Back in the units we get far less time to practise.”
Sergeant Lokraj Limbu, also of the Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment and the current Pipe Major, reflected on his own journey: “I fell in love with the bagpipes when I heard them on my attestation parade. The bagpipes are very difficult to master, and I have a long way to go.”
Photography by Mr Mick Latter
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