The sound the bagpipes make emits a rich melody of emotion encompassing a history of war and peace. It resurrects memories of lost loves and past reveries. From leading two sides into battle to setting a festive spirit, the bagpipe player still plays, and his tune can be heard close to home.

In St. Tammany, the distinct instrument can be heard preceding funerals, immersed within parades or celebrating events.

Steve Brownlee is living his dream, and he is teaching others his passion, one breath at a time. On Wednesday nights, you’ll hear a rich vibration of sounds coming from his Mandeville area home during his free bagpipe lessons.

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Open to all ages, anyone with an interest is welcome to join. Brownlee starts everyone on the practice chanter, a double reed woodwind instrument basically used to help the students gain the muscle memory before attempting the bagpipes. Brownlee requires the students to learn 10 songs on the chanter before moving on to advanced playing.

Advanced players hang around teaching new learners. Zach Davis has been playing the bagpipes for three years, and he still shows up every Wednesday to help teach.

“I just enjoy music and helping others learn,” he said.

Once the students move on to the bagpipes they “join the band,” Brownlee said. The band is Kilt of Many Colours, named so because the band members are allowed to wear their own tartans, the criss-cross patterned kilts associated with Scottish culture.

The band, which also includes tenor and snare drummers, practices after the lessons. The atmosphere could be described as chaotic, but a closer look reveals a special harmony and family environment between the members of the group.

“It’s a loose band, loose group of folks who like fun,” Graham Erickson Sr. said.

Erickson has been in the band for two years on snare.

The band isn’t just a family in spirit, but many join as a family. Johnny and Patricia Stoud loved joining their son, Chad, for parades and competitions before Patricia picked up the tenor drum, an accent drum part of the midsection and Johnny was chosen as drum major.

Johnny Stoud said he used to just hang out with the crowd before the former drum major left.

“Steve pointed at me and said I’m the drum major,” Johnny said.

A father-son duo recently joined in with the goal of marching with pipes in the 2010 Mardi Gras parades. Eighth-grader Jakob Allen and his father, Tracy, decided to join together to push each other.

Even Brownlee’s family is present. His wife, Pam Brownlee, and two daughters, Gillian, 16, and Morgan, 18, play their respective parts.

Pam has been drumming alongside Steve as far as his dream has taken him. Her 27-pound instrument sits in the living room between gigs, evidence of her dedication. Morgan Brownlee has picked up the tenor drums, and Gillian Brownlee has been playing the bagpipes with an aptitude that keeps her father on his toes to stay a step ahead.

Gillian said it was hard not to pick up the bagpipes with her father constantly playing.

“It’s easier to learn when you’re younger,” she said. “It’s becoming harder as I get older.”

Kilt of Many Colours plays many venues, from parades to party events to funerals. As a group, Steve Brownlee expects everyone to march, from his experienced players to play, to his students learning on the chanter, just to march along. He said every member is integral to whether the band plays or not.

“I could miss one and maybe one after that who is sick,” he said to the band before practice in his living room. “But three is too much. We’re just too small.”

The band consists of 11 pipers, four snares, four tenors, a base and then the support staff, which includes students and family of band members.

Even by himself, Brownlee notices what a bagpiper’s tune brings to an environment.

“(The bagpipes) are older and larger than a person can be,” he said. “It channels history.”

Brownlee said he realized at a policeman’s funeral how strong emotion is triggered when the policemen lined up to thank him.

“When you’re playing the pipes, you’re touching people’s core,” he said. “You react to the bagpiper, not the person. You can cry and play the bagpipes at the same time.”

Brownlee estimates he has been playing the bagpipes for 10 years, first competing in 1998. Brownlee, a New Iberia native, said the heritage was in his blood.

He repeated an old saying, “It takes seven years to make piper.” He agrees.

“I thought I was great at four years,” he said. “But I wasn’t. It takes at least seven years before understanding.”

Pam Brownlee said the road has been bumpy. After talking about learning for many years, she finally told him to either shut up or do it. Either way, she said, he would stop talking about it.

“It’s a fulfillment of his passion,” she said. “I used to have to go with him (to competitions) because he was so nervous.”

Brownlee’s ultimate goal is to bring competitions to the area. He said increasing the number of bagpipers here would attract teachers and Highland games for competitions. As of now, competitors have to travel out of state. Because of the recent increase of interest, the Highland Games of Louisiana came to Jackson Saturday.

“Piping is one of those things you can’t really recruit for,” he said. “Piping has no instant gratification. It’s a frustrating experience. It takes three weeks to get your first tune. The second is harder, and the third is even harder. Then it gets easier.”

It has to be a lifelong dream, Brownlee said.

“You’ve got to have it in your gut,” he said.

As a family, the Brownlees are Haggis Rampart, and they play every year at the Renaissance Festival outside of Hammond. Pam and Steve have been playing every season for the past nine years of the festival, and Gillian joined them four seasons ago.

It’s tricky for the three-person band, though, to find a place where their very loud bagpipes don’t overpower the small festival or disturb the merchants.

Pam said they have found a small corner where they don’t generally get large crowds but do get occasional patrons who comment that they can hear them throughout the venue.

“We’re ambiance,” Pam said.

Brownlee is always open to new players. The classes are free, so there are no excuses, he said.

“I (teach) because I want to be the best I can be. If I teach, I become a better player,” he said.

Anyone interested in learning to play bagpipes or who wants more information about Kilts of Many Colours, can call Steve or Pam Brownlee at 875-9267.