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For 15-year-old Jeremiah Welch of Lapeer, it's banging out the tunes on a snare drum for the Flint Scottish Pipe Band. And that's quite all right with him.

"What I like most is probably the fact that kids at school freak out that I'm in a bagpipe band, and they say that's so neat," he said.

But Jeremiah's not the only one in the Welch family playing in the band founded in 1916 by Scottish immigrants, whose intent was to preserve their heritage through music and dress of their homeland. His whole family takes part in the group's mission to introduce the tradition of the Highland band to communities through performances in parades, competitions, and special events.

Mother Carrie plays tenor drum, a low-pitched variant of the snare drum. Along with Jeremiah, Micah, 12, and Patrick, 11, play the snare drum. The "snare" is a set of wires or strings strung across the bottom of the drum to produce the drum's special sound.

Josiah, 17, plays a piper, also known as a bagpipe. A difficult instrument to master, he said he wanted to play one since age 7, but couldn't find an instructor to teach him until age 15. His instructor was Dennis Lowe, who is the pipe major for the Flint-based band. After a long learning phase, he became an official member three months ago.

"Once you pick up and start playing, you don't stop," Josiah said about the bagpipe. "From beginning to end, there's no change in volume or pitch. The only thing you change is the length in notes."

Russell, 13, is now learning the bass drum and marches in parades as flag and honor guard, Carrie said. Caleb, 5, is looking to take after big brother Josiah by learning to play the bagpipes. Joyce, 8, dances for the group. Joel, 9, is a student drummer and has marched in some parades

Even Carrie's husband, Russell, got in on the action one time

"He played the tenor drum when I couldn't go," she said. "He managed to fill in."

The family is part of 65 playing members from Michigan, Indiana, and Ontario, Canada. Most likely not all together, group members occasionally travel around the United States to compete in Highland games, where different bands battle it out in this musical Scottish and Celtic tradition. In 2007, the Flint band attended 11 of the competitions and came home with nine first-place honors. In their specific category, they were the U.S. champions, Grade 5; Canadian champions, Grade 5; Southern U.S. champions, Grade 5; and Eastern U.S. champions, Grade 5.

As a family, the Welch's have visited Kentucky, Georgia, and Ohio. They've also been to various competitions and parades throughout Michigan. And it's no easy matter either.

"Everything has to be memorized," said Carrie, who noted the most requested bagpipe song is "Amazing Grace." "It's not a traditional marching band. All the tunes and all the music are committed to memory. It's a lot of practice and work, but it's worth it."

The family won't have to travel too far for their next event, which won't be a competition but a celebration. The 2008 Ceilidh will take place 7 p.m. to midnight Feb. 16 at the Davison Knights of Columbus Hall, 8428 Davison Road in Davison. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

"It's a big, noisy party accompanied by Scottish food, traditional Scottish and Irish dancing, special drumming members," Carrie said. "It's a special performance where people can come and enjoy Scottish food, and hear various people play with big bagpipes."

While Carrie became motivated to join the band since her children were participating in it, Josiah is hoping to earn various scholarships to help pay for college.

"You can actually get full-ride scholarships to different colleges," Josiah said. "Once you mastered Scottish snare drumming, you can do any type of drumming out there."

With 10 children in the family, Carrie stressed the importance of the band's impact on her children, especially to earn money for college.

"Various colleges around the country have Scottish pipe bands," she said. "It keeps them motivated."

Advance tickets for the 2008 Ceilidh are $16 for adults, and $13 for seniors and ages 12 and under. At the door, prices are $18 for adults, and $16 for seniors and ages 12 and under.

For more information and advance tickets, contact Band Manager Juanita Fischer at (248) 942-3442 or by e-mail at lfisch3134@comcast.net, or Julia at (989) 892-5520 or by e-mail at singerthatteaches@yahoo.com.

Jeff Hoard can be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8127 or jeff.hoard@lapeergroup.com