On your visit to the Highland games, keep your eye out for the two competitions for pipers - large pipe band competitions and solo piper competitions. Bands of pipers, organized and practiced, compete by playing medleys of marches, reels, and strathspeys, lasting between three and eight minutes. Solo pipers compete for the highest prizes pibroch, pronounced "peebroch", which actually means piped music, but it has come to mean classical bagpipe music, or "ceol mor".

Of course, lighter music intended for marching and dancing, known asceol aotrom is often played, but it is that classical music for bagpipers that connoisseurs are willing to travel great distances to enjoy. Each piece can last up to 20 minutes, and demands great playing skill as well as a well practiced memory.

The composers of classical bagpipe music left no instruction about how they intended to have the tunes played, not even whether the pace should be slow or fast. Traditionally, the classical piece starts with a basic theme which is developed into more complex variations, and builds to a climax when the theme is repeated. A competitive bagpipe player must submit three tunes he is willing to play to the judges who in turn select only one of these tunes to hear. It is obvious that concentration and memory, as well as piping skills coming to play in such a competition. The judges look for technical aspects such as fingering and grace notes, as well as a well tuned instrument. The judges also pay close attention to the emotional tenor of the piper, which the judge feels is appropriate to the specific tune.

In times gone by, pipers who had finished a competition with sometimes remark that a certain man had "pleased the judges" rather than saying that he had won a competition. This remark reflects the understanding that good interpretation is what matters in the true classical bagpipe music competition.

While it is true that The Great Highland Bagpipe was considered to be an instrument of war as it played Battle tunes, salutes, and gatherings. But much of the bagpipe repertoire consists of a different type of music, namely, the Lament. Because the pitch cannot be varied on the bagpipe and the instrument cannot be played more softly or loudly, you can imagine that it would be difficult to express pathos on the instrument, but the best players in playing famous laments, due in fact accomplish this with great skill.