A bagpipe sounds so beautiful, firefighter Tony Nickelatti said, it gives him goosebumps. But learning to make those same emotive sounds isn't quite so pretty. "It's been a struggle," said Nickelatti.

Before bagpipe rehearsal came the earplugs. Mike Breidenbach, director of piping at Macalester College, proffered a pair with a grin before pipe band practice Wednesday night. Gather enough bagpipes ...