Who should be Pipe Major?

The elected pipe major should be the person who cares the most about the band and is the most capable at making progress toward the goals of the band. The elected pipe major must have good communication skills and must be able to coax contributions from others in the band. The pipe major must understand and respect the motivation of each player in the band. In better bands, this position is not necessarily held by the best "player" in the band.

Civilian bands that use a military structure or fall in the "One God. One Pope. One Pipe Major" category are sometimes prone to problems related to a lack of effective communication or leadership skills in the Pipe Major. Although these skills are taught in the military, they may or may not be present in the civilian piper - even a good player.