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Roddy The Piper – Professional Bagpiper for Hire

Pipe Major Roderick Deans (Roddy the Piper) is a Professional Bagpiper for Hire based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Roddy plays weddings and Scottish themed events all over Scotland and all over the world.

Roddy has been playing bagpipes since he was 6 years old. His journey from busking outside Edinburgh castle at 12 years old, to becoming an award-winning professional bagpiper is accompanied by a love of Scottish culture. He plays the traditional, well known tunes, as well as music in a more modern, contemporary style.

You might hire Roddy:

For weddings. Roddy can play the pipes to greet guests before the ceremony. He can play the bride up the aisle, and the newly married couple back down it. He can also play as guests leave the ceremony, and arrive at the reception. Roddy can also deliver a traditional Gaelic toast.

For corporate events. Roddy can pipe attendees in to the venue, welcome guests, announce dinner, play the small pipes for background music, and play to accompany Scottish Highland Dancers.

Roddy also hosts events. As a Scottish events compere, Roddy can be your host, toastmaster, master of ceremonies and more. Roddy also delivers a booming address to the haggis. In 2018, Roddy received his red jacket from The Association of Scottish Toastmasters.

Roddy plays with a few ceilidh bands when he needs to be even louder for bigger audiences. The Reel Time Ceilidh Band, Scraggly Cats, and Tartanium are great for lively ceilidhs, weddings, conferences, or corporate events.

Roddy also runs Reel Time events, a Scottish events and entertainment company. Reel Time creates tailor made Scottish events for conferences, corporate teams, weddings, and gin and whisky tastings. Find out more on the Reel Time site.

Roddy has a collection of professional bagpiper colleagues if he’s not available. Check them out here.

Cairn Robertson
Cairn Robertson
31 January 2024
An excellent experience with a great piper. Roddy was so easy to work with and provided a great service for our event. His piping was superb and he went above and beyond, providing more piping than we had asked for which was fabulous and made the attendees at our Burns Night Ceilidh have a really special experience. His piping in of our haggis and his address to the haggis was great too, our guests all loved it and it was so entertaining to watch. Finally, he called our ceilidh which went so well. Roddy was able to organise each dance and make sure everyone knew each step before helping with the actual dancing. It went so well, all because of him. All in all, Roddy was great to work with and we highly recommend him for any Scottish themed event you may be planning. Thanks Roddy!
Emilia Campanale
Emilia Campanale
2 November 2023
Roddy was amazing! Added such fun to our event. Communicative in the lead up and lovely on the day. Thanks Roddy!
Tullio Campanale
Tullio Campanale
1 November 2023
Roddy was amazing. A real talent on the pipes, but most importantly, he was engaging and charismatic when dealing with family of all ages when teaching us all how to play! A brilliant addition to our celebration.
Amanda Young
Amanda Young
10 October 2023
Had a fantastic experience with Roddy in Edinburgh. We started out by learning about the pipes, then moved on to trying to squeak out a tune together with the practice chanters. Finally, we each got a few tries getting out a tune, to varying degrees of success. 😅 Wearing the hat while playing definitely increases the fun. The experience was amazing. Here's what stood out: Effortless Communication: Coordinating with Roddy was smooth and straightforward. He was accommodating enough to come to our location and didn't mind it was just for a small group of four. True Bagpipe Pro: Roddy's skill with the bagpipes is genuinely impressive. You can easily see his passion and expertise when he plays. Bagpipes don't have to just be loud, they can have melody too. Great Teacher: Within an hour, all of us managed to get a hang of a tune, thanks to Roddy's approachable teaching style. Meeting Roddy and learning the bagpipes was definitely a standout moment in our Edinburgh trip. If you're in the city and looking for a memorable experience, I'd highly recommend him.
Gayle Flockhart
Gayle Flockhart
5 October 2023
Roddy was brilliant to have at our wedding. Our non-Scottish guests particularly enjoyed the piping. We loved Roddy's cheeky banter, piping up the aisle, and hanging around to pipe us through to dinner was all fantastic!
Ian Hazell
Ian Hazell
28 September 2023
we were lucky enough to be able to meet up with Roddy for bagpipe lessons during our one day stay in edinburgh. He is charming, patient and informative and brought the group to tears with his rendition of amazing grace. thank you, Roddy. it was a great once in a lifetime experience.
Be In This
Be In This
27 September 2023
The pipe workshop was the undisputed highlight of our trip to Edinburgh. We took 16 young people from across the globe to Scotland's capital and got to experience (and play) Scotland's national instrument first hand. Highly informative with a great depth of knowledge, all delivered with loads of fun. We cannot recommend them enough!
Simon Mc Donald
Simon Mc Donald
11 April 2023
As part of a stag party we did an introduction to bagpiping & a whisky tasting with Roddy. Not only is Roddy an absolutely brilliant character but the session had us roaring laughing, having fun & learning about Scottish music & culture. He was incredibly easy & accommodating when it came to organising. I cannot recommend Roddy enough.
Chris Wren
Chris Wren
10 January 2023
Had a great workshop with Roddy. We are a family that has never played Bagpipes before. Roddy made the workshop fun and entertaining. Would highly recommend Roddy's services. We have a whole new appreciation for good Bagpipes playing and technique. Will definately have another workshop if we return to Scotland.
Lorraine Ali
Lorraine Ali
5 January 2023
I booked Roddy to pipe our dinner group to the Dome In Edinburgh for a special birthday. He was so amazing and was one of the highlights of our trip. I would highly recommend Roddy for all events, a true professional.