Jul 23, 2017
Most new bagpipers ask: “What kind of pipes should I buy?” This is a question that all new bagpipers have. The first thing I would tell you is that Ebay is not the place for a new bagpiper to buy pipes. The pipes sold on Ebay are usually made of Rosewood,...
Jul 20, 2017
Most new bagpipers ask: “What kind of pipes should I buy?” This is a question that all new bagpipers have. The first thing I would tell you is that Ebay is not the place for a new bagpiper to buy pipes. The pipes sold on Ebay are usually made of Rosewood,...
Jul 15, 2017
In another bagpipe community, there is a lot of discussion about charging or not charging for bagpipe lessons. Let’s be honest here: “”There ain’t no free lunch””. When I started my program almost 20 years ago, I started a free...
Jul 7, 2017
When I start a new student I tell them that my job is to teach them how to practice this week. With that being said, I wanted to expound on a technique that I have found to be the most productive in terms of practicing. I start this at the beginning. As I am showing...
Jul 3, 2017
That’s what I said. “”Don’t buy a bagpipe””, unless you talk to a teacher. This is one of the few instruments that exist where you don’t actually start on the bagpipes themselves. What’s needed is a practice chanter. The...
Jul 3, 2017
As a bagpiper I have the ability and the pleasure to play a lot of different venues. Today I was hired by a bride to surprise her groom at his hotel and bring him to the church. I met his best man in the lobby who then took me up to his floor. I started playing as I...
Jun 20, 2017
A customer calls me and is a little distraught. “”I’ve only had my pipes for 18 months and I found a crack”” he says. Let me just say that any good reputable bagpipe maker is going to use the best blackwood available in the market place...
Jun 20, 2017
I started off my music career playing the piano. As I learned I passed through books of songs that were designed to teach me a specific skill. When I discovered this great instrument, I realized that every tune I learned was repertoire and would be performed...
Jun 16, 2017
I am a bagpipe teacher. As a teacher I would tell anybody new to playing the Great Highland Bagpipe of Scotland, that it would be worth their time and money to hire a teacher. Although the instrument has only 9 notes, it is a relatively difficult instrument to play...
Jun 15, 2017
Like everyone else, you have a job. What happens to your new bagpipe endeavor when you’re on the road. if you’re like most people it suffers from your absence. The most important thing that you could do when learning to play any new instrument is to...
