The other day I was having an instant messenger conversation with a customer who is in their early 20’s. He was asking if I knew of any intensive bagpipe training programs to improve his piping. There are lots of summer schools and opportunities all over the World to improve your playing the bagpipe. As our conversation went on he was telling me that he was already studying with a World Class Bagpiper/Teacher. I then asked him what his “dream” was. He told me that he wanted to be a World Class Bagpiper. There’s nothing like dreaming big. I told him that he needed to tell his teacher that that was his dream and then let his teacher tell him what would be needed to accomplish such a feat. I then asked him out of curiosity how much he practiced per day. He told me that he tries to practice an hour a day.
I have a student who I believe spends a lot of time in different bagpipe teacher groups look for the holy grail. He has been difficult to teach because he is in a constant state of confusion. I even raised his tuition to get his attention. The truth is this: If you are hiring a teacher to teach you how to play the bagpipe, you need to be loyal and focused on what they are telling you. If you goal is to become a World Class Anything, your commitment needs to be a lot more than an hour per day. Van Cliburn (a famous pianist) practice 8 to 10 hour per day to become a World class pianist. I’m sure that if you spoke to any of the top bagpipe contestants they will tell you that they practice more than an hour per day. The problem in our society is that people think that they can talk there way into prosperity. As a music student who went to school with other music students, we practiced a minimum of 3 hours per day. Why? Because that was our dream!
What’s your dream? Do you have a bagpipe dream? If you do, you need to find a coach and tell that coach what your dream is and then you need to listen to his advice. If you are a parent of a kid with a bagpipe dream, you need to listen to the coach so that you know how to support that dream and protect your financial investment. You make a 12 month commitment to that teacher. At the end of that time you then asses where you are. If you are happy with the result, you make another 12 month commitment.
Do you have a dream? If you do, your dream becomes a goal when you put a time limit on it. Your teacher will help you with a plan of action and it’s your responsibility to put the effort needed to that plan of action.
What do you have to lose?