General

Almost 30 Years of Teaching Bagpipers! Almost 30 years ago, I started my “bagpipe business” at The Neshaminy Adult School, a local night school program. On the first night, 15 students showed up wanting to learn to play the bagpipes. “Wow,” I thought. “What am I going...

It’s been my experience that most of my students don’t become bagpipers because they want to play at events.  My average student comes to me because he/she is curious about playing the bagpipe.  Once I get them to the point where they can play something, a family...

Today, we're going to talk about the power of 8/16. So, what does that mean? Well, if you’re familiar with fractions, you know that 8/16 simplifies to 1/2. Half of 8 is 4, and half of that is 2 — which leads us to 2/4 time, the standard time signature for many bagpipe...

One of the most popular tunes on the bagpipes is Scotland the Brave. Of course, Amazing Grace holds the top spot, but Scotland the Brave comes in at a close second—and it’s one of my favorites. In this video, my goal is to help you practice Scotland the Brave...

Today, I want to share two powerful practice techniques that I use with my students. The first technique is called “In the Weeds.” What does that mean?Let’s say you’ve been playing a tune—like “Scots Wha Hae”—for a while, but you still don’t have it memorized. A lot...

Let's Talk About Articulation When we talk about articulation in bagpipe music, we’re referring to how cleanly and clearly you move from one melody note to the next, especially through the grace notes and doublings. Take a tune like Scotland the Brave—what you’re...