Scottish play-acting in continental Europe began with pipe and drum bands. This chapter examines the history of Scottish piping in Europe. It also examines what a pipe band is and how bagpiping came to be associated with Scotland. Joshua Dickson of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama suggests that the bagpipe has acquired symbolic meaning as a national instrument 'in communities both in Scotland and throughout the Scottish diaspora'. The chapter explores what the continental pipe bands of today have in common and what makes them part of an international piping community rather than just Dutch, Flemish, and Austrian phenomena. It looks at the two main motivations which seem to inspire the European pipe bands, namely the imitation of kilted soldiers and the quest for a seemingly lost European folk music tradition.