Darryn Best: Play to my last breath
The bagpipes are commonly thought of as one of the most difficult wind instruments to play in the world, requiring intense breath control, dexterity along with thorough practicing and patience. For Darryn Best, the bagpipes represent more than just a musical instrument; they have been integral to his two-decade journey toward accepting his MS diagnosis and most recently, have served as his lifeline.
Darryn began to learn the bagpipes at age 10, which wasn’t all that unusual for a boy living in Oamaru, New Zealand. After two years mastering the sheet music, finger techniques and coordination, he began to shape himself as a more than competent bagpiper.
Deciding that this instrument transcended just a hobby, in his later teenage years he competed in various Solo Bagpiping Competitions until his working life began as an apprentice carpenter. Never one to shy away to a challenge, in addition to working, he lived on station as a volunteer firefighter. It wasn’t long until he crossed paths with Leanne, his now wife.
In early 1992, Darryn and Leanne made the decision to pack up their life in New Zealand and explore the world. With limited luggage space, Darryn reluctantly left his bagpipes behind.
Their travels took them to Canberra, where they quickly found work and establishing life in Australia became their priority.
“We bought a car, and I thought, ‘ah ok we must be staying’” Leanne laughs.
Life in Canberra was great for Darryn and Leanne, purchasing a house and welcoming their first daughter in September 2002. However, shortly after she was born, Darryn was attending a work event where he found he was unable to walk up a flight of stairs.
On Melbourne Cup Day, Darryn received the diagnosis of MS with Leanne by his side and their 3-month-old daughter, crying in her arms.
A disease Darryn had never heard of coupled with a more than abrupt summary of the symptoms and prognosis from the Canberra based neurologist, left Darryn terrified and denial decidedly became the best treatment.
For years, throwing himself into work, sometimes more than 60 hours a week, was keeping him from thinking or talking about his MS - all while experiencing numbness, tingling and changes within his body.
In 2010, wanting to escape the cold, Darryn and Leanne, with their now two daughters, packed up their life again, and relocated to Perth.
After dedicating himself to work and disregarding MS symptoms for close to two decades, he was now in senior management and responsible for 65 employees. A self-confessed ‘terrier,’ Darryn was steadfast in his mindset, and life in Perth passed by, with still no acknowledgement of his ever-advancing symptoms.
In 2022, Darryn tested positive to Coronavirus on the day of his birthday.
True to his nature, he fought this fiercely however 16 days after, he was informed that the virus had not gone away and in fact, he had contracted pneumonia. This, of course, hit extremely hard and was the catalyst to finally begin accepting that his MS was not going to disappear.
What am I doing to myself? MS is real, I have it, the disease progression is evident within my body. I was telling myself to finally wake up and stop this denial.
Looking back, Leanne confesses Darryn was never one to prioritise work-life balance. When he decided to leave the career he had given so much of his life to, he found himself with over 60 free hours each week. Coupled with his MS acceptance, he felt completely lost, aimless and in desperate need of a lifeline.
“Friday afternoon, I went for a drive, found a music shop and bought my practice chanter. As scared as I was, thinking I have to start the journey of reading music, relearning the finger techniques of playing, now older and having MS with numbness in most fingertips. How many years will this take? Is this actually even possible?”
Frightened by the overwhelming prospect of relearning bagpipes, a childhood tune “Mull of Kintyre,” was the first song he attempted and by that weekend, his musical memory was starting to resurface. By Sunday, the “Mull of Kintyre” was sounding like the actual tune.
“It all just came back. I would be playing something and suddenly, I was playing something else. No idea what the tunes were even called.”
It wasn’t long until he connected with a pipe band so he could further build his reconnection with the bagpipes and join the bagpiping community of Perth. Holding back his emotions, this was the first time he was openly able to tell a group of strangers he had MS.
“From September, I played every single day, 5 to 8 hours a day,” recounts Darryn.
After a month of practicing on the chanter, Darryn bought himself a new set of bagpipes. Blowing on the bag to keep it inflated, remembering the music and finger techniques, combined with the havoc his MS was causing on his body and recent pneumonia - once again he was questioning if it was even possible to continue playing.
Playing at home and in local parks led to more frequent conversations about his MS and became a way to connect with his community.
“The bagpipes have allowed him to be able to be more open. He has worked so hard to keep that [diagnosis] at the back of his mind,” Leanne admitted.
That’s when the conversation on MS became easier to talk about - and why the bagpipes now mean so much to me in my life’s journey with fighting the forever changing MS challenges. Many are surprised my MS allows me to play.
On ANZAC Day in 2023, Darryn had his first official performance with a pipe band after 35 years. Since that performance, he has competed in multiple solo competitions; all of which, he received awards. Leanne is in the audience every time.
“I wouldn’t have gotten to this stage without the support of my wife Leanne, who has been by my side from 1987,” admits Darryn.
The bagpipes are a rare instrument that requires multiple parts of your body to work in tandem. When he was informed that he would need a full left shoulder replacement in mid-2024, he had to pause his practice and competition appearances. For Darryn, this was a scary prospect, as to him, the bagpipes were a gateway to more than just music.
During his recovery from surgery, it was the first time his MS symptoms took a back seat.
“Whilst playing the bagpipes, the bag rests under the left arm and regulates the squeezing and pressure required to play. I found a shoulder exercise that focused on left arm strength, using a pillow under the left arm and squeezing it flat. By 10 weeks post-surgery, the sound of bagpipes was heard again in my house.”
Just three months after surgery, Darryn competed in The Highland Pipers Society of WA competition and his dedication toward the instrument shone through - he won podium placements in every category he entered.
When asked about his future, Darryn has big dreams. In 2026, he and Leanne plan to travel to Scotland, where Darryn will compete in solo piping events and participate in the World Pipe Band Competition - the goal for any bagpiper.
Darryn’s love for the bagpipes is evident, insisting that his MS won’t hold him back and plans to continue playing in any way he can. His clothing even showcases that passion, with Leanne mentioning he has a shirt featuring a particularly fitting message.
“Nobody’s perfect but if you play the bagpipes, you’re pretty close.”
