He was originally taught by John Hunter, tutor with the Inverness Boys Brigade Pipe Band, an ex-Cameron Highlander and veteran of the Somme. He was also influenced by George Gershwin through his school's music teacher. He later played with the Inverness British Legion, Invergordon Distillery and British Caledonian Airways pipe bands. He also played for many years with the Balmoral Highlanders showband in London and toured extensively with them under the direction of his lifelong friend and pipe major, Willie Cochrane. In 1978, UK Top 20 single "Scotch Machine" by Voyage featured MacDonald's piping.