Piper's Dojo Audio Experience

Do your bagpipes fit your body – or do you make your body fit to your bagpipes?   Continuing last week's conversation about posture, this time Andrew and Jim challenge the idea that bagpipes are hard to play – according to Andrew they should be easy to play, always, but we all know that's often easier said than done... especially for newer players. So they follow up with some great tips on how to work on your posture, whether you could 'wear your bagpipes to outer space', and how to improve your maintenance systems to make sure you never have to worry about playing a 'hard' instrument ever again.   Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!

"Multitasking is a way of fooling ourselves that we’re being exceptionally efficient." Did you learn to play exclusively on a practice chanter, have to get a few tunes (with all embellishments included) memorized, and only then transition to the bagpipes – where you then had to juggle posture, blowing steadily, and many other skills at once? Like in every other walk of life – for bagpipers, multitasking doesn't work. So is there a better way to transition from practice chanter to bagpipes? In this first instalment of a two-parter, we explore how many traditional methods can be overwhelmingly complex for beginners, and how a singular focus can help actually help pipers speed up their progress – without ingraining bad habits. We also look at how the mystical Joe Brady helped with the missing piece of the puzzle, and try not to get too bummed that we'll never be as happy looking in a mirror as Lincoln Hilton... Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!

"Multitasking is a way of fooling ourselves that we’re being exceptionally efficient." Did you learn to play exclusively on a practice chanter, have to get a few tunes (with all embellishments included) memorized, and only then transition to the bagpipes – where you then had to juggle posture, blowing steadily, and many other skills at once? Like in every other walk of life – for bagpipers, multitasking doesn't work. So is there a better way to transition from practice chanter to bagpipes? In this first instalment of a two-parter, we explore how many traditional methods can be overwhelmingly complex for beginners, and how a singular focus can help actually help pipers speed up their progress – without ingraining bad habits. We also look at how the mystical Joe Brady helped with the missing piece of the puzzle, and try not to get too bummed that we'll never be as happy looking in a mirror as Lincoln Hilton... Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!

Pipers everywhere struggle with seemingly perpetual problems like crossing noises, often doing 'reps' to fix them. But they're not even close to working out the actual cause of their issues... This week, we dived into the ups and downs of scale navigation (see what we did there?) – and along the way, took some wild turns into the history of gracenotes, the frustrations of teaching, how to progress from parade piping, and even Oprah... Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!

Pipers everywhere struggle with seemingly perpetual problems like crossing noises, often doing 'reps' to fix them. But they're not even close to working out the actual cause of their issues... This week, we dived into the ups and downs of scale navigation (see what we did there?) – and along the way, took some wild turns into the history of gracenotes, the frustrations of teaching, how to progress from parade piping, and even Oprah... Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!

Ever noticed there are certain bagpipe tunes that seem to become – and stay – wildly popular? This week, we're chatting about "viral" bagpipe tunes and trends. Where do they come from, what causes them, and why do certain tunes become so popular when there are other arguably "better" tunes out there? Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!

Ever noticed there are certain bagpipe tunes that seem to become – and stay – wildly popular? This week, we're chatting about "viral" bagpipe tunes and trends. Where do they come from, what causes them, and why do certain tunes become so popular when there are other arguably "better" tunes out there? Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!

Playing the bagpipes is a complex thing – so when figuring out where to focus on for improvement, maybe we can learn some lessons from the emergency room... This week, we're discussing how to triage your "performance killers", by diagnosing the most fundamental issues in your playing and prioritising what to work on in iterative rounds of improvement. Pssst – we’ve recently launched our new, comprehensive bagpipe tuning course, “The Great Bagpipe Tuning Algorithm”, which contains everything you need to know about the theory and practice of bagpipe tuning, as well as a 300+ page textbook, 90-day training plan, and 11+ hours with some of the world’s top players! Check it out here: pipersdojo.com/tuning Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!

Playing the bagpipes is a complex thing – so when figuring out where to focus on for improvement, maybe we can learn some lessons from the emergency room... This week, we're discussing how to triage your "performance killers", by diagnosing the most fundamental issues in your playing and prioritising what to work on in iterative rounds of improvement. Pssst – we’ve recently launched our new, comprehensive bagpipe tuning course, “The Great Bagpipe Tuning Algorithm”, which contains everything you need to know about the theory and practice of bagpipe tuning, as well as a 300+ page textbook, 90-day training plan, and 11+ hours with some of the world’s top players! Check it out here: pipersdojo.com/tuning Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!

Frustrated at the neverending struggle to keep your bagpipes in tune? You’re not alone! But many pipers think that once you ‘solve’ tuning, you can move on… when really, even the best pipers in the world are still refining their approach to tuning. So how do you switch despair at the endless road to something you can not just live with, but enjoy doing? Changing how you think about tuning is the best way forward… This week, we're discussing how to “fall in love” with the process of bagpipe tuning, rather than hating the problem. Because bagpipe tuning isn’t a ‘set and forget’ skill – as any top pipers will tell you, it’s something they’re still working on, even after a lifetime of playing at the very top levels in the world… Interested to learn more? We’ve recently launched our new, comprehensive bagpipe tuning course, “The Great Bagpipe Tuning Algorithm”, which contains everything you need to know about the theory and practice of bagpipe tuning, as well as a 300+ page textbook, 90-day training plan, and 11+ hours with some of the world’s top players: http://pipersdojo.com/tuning Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to [email protected]!