Apr 16, 2017
That’s a question many people ask as they ponder learning to play. The answer is many-fold. First of all, you must consider how quickly you’d like to progress. If you’re serious about learning and don’t want to take years to master the instrument, these are my...
Apr 16, 2017
There has been a lot of talk recently about the “bagpipe lung” illness. The story circulating through the internet involves a person who contracted a fatal lung disease from playing the bagpipe. I read it with interest and ascertained that a lot of his problem could...
Apr 4, 2017
I read a book once that dealt with “”success principals””. One of the discussions in the book had to do with talent. They defined the words as: “”an innate desire to achieve a goal””. I think most people think that...
Mar 30, 2017
The challenge of writing a daily blog is having material to write. My students give me what I need on a daily basis. In a previous blog, I wrote about memorizing tunes. I had a student come in tonight who was trying to memorize Johnny Scobie. I had him play it for me....
Feb 6, 2017
When you progress from the practice chanter to the pipes, players face quite a transition, simply because the pipe chanter is larger and feels different. Over the course of time, I have had students complain that they weren’t happy with their bagpipe technique....
Oct 22, 2016
I find that a lot of my students have had a tough time with blowing and squeezing. I teach a lot of older students. They work very hard to get to the point where they have pipes and get totally frustrated with blowing, squeezing and playing the chanter all at the same...
Jun 6, 2016
It’s almost timeFall is fast approaching. I find that this is the time of year when most people start their new projects, coinciding with the school year. I’ve decided that I am going back to the pipe band world, this time as a player. My bucket list...
May 26, 2016
How strong are you? When I ask people that question, they flex their muscles. If I ask that of bagpipers, it’s all about lungs. Let’s face it: Playing the bagpipes is a physical challenge. It takes not only lung power, but lip and arm power as well. My job as a...
Apr 23, 2016
Today, while playing at a funeral, I met the son of the one of the limo drivers, a man who I’ve come to know over the years since I’ve been playing for particular funeral home. The son is 41 and was just let go from his job and has moved back in with Dad. Dad was...
Jan 7, 2016
Crossing noises are a common problem in playing the bagpipe. They are false notes created between top hand notes and bottom hand notes when the hands open and close in the wrong sequence. For example: The first and most popular crossing noise happens between D and E....
