Apr 15, 2018
When I started playing the bagpipe, I had already been playing the piano for 4 years. I was terrible at rhythm. My piano teacher would yell “Count, Gary, count!” but I still struggled. The problem, in reality, was that my piano teachers never actually taught me the...
Mar 1, 2018
I hear a lot of bagpipers tell me that they have a hard time memorizing tunes. That’s a true struggle because a good bagpiper is a person who can play a list of tunes by memory. It’s pretty much essential. The first question that I ask these people is; “Can you sing...
Oct 21, 2017
As I work with people learning our great instrument, I find that sometimes we forget that the bagpipes are indeed a “musical” instrument. My goal as a teacher is to develop not only bagpipers, but bagpipe musicians. Along the way, we develop not only...
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...
