If you don’t listen for it, you won’t hear it…but others will. Many years ago, legendary PM Alex Robertson gave me a gift. “Ringo, you can learn by listening to other pipers, even the worst of us.” He encouraged me to analyze what I heard, embrace the good and avoid the bad. I paid attention […]
When I take on a new student, I’m often dealing with misconceptions and baked-in issues. Most of the issues can be traced back to simply playing too quickly. GDE’s and transitions may be sloppy with crossing noises. Some notes may disappear altogether. Embellishments and timing are executed inaccurately, all in order to play at a […]
The Average Piper – I know. It’s been a long time since my last Average Piper blog. I could tell you that I’ve been doing research on learning techniques (which I have been doing) but then the truth is that I just got overwhelmed with life and needed a break. Apologies aside, new and exciting […]
I had a break-through lesson last night with an adult student who is dealing with a number of issues. He’s been playing for a couple of years. Issues are “baked-in” which comes with its own set of challenges. (unlearning is a whole lot harder than learning things correctly from the get-go!) He has a great […]
We last talked about “Timing” and its importance in music. Without proper timing one cannot represent the tune as the composer intended nor can he or she play in unison with other pipers. What is intended as “music’ becomes “noise”. Equally important is “Technique”. Many pipers will thrash through a piece of music with apparent […]
If I boil everything down, these are the three primary areas of focus for Average Pipers; timing, technique, and bagpipe issues. It can sometimes appear overwhelming however when you break things down and focus on fundamentals, it’s really not so bad. Let’s deal with “timing” first. Timing is primarily a matter of playing the tune […]
Crossing noises are those unwanted little “blips” that you hear when transitioning from one note to another. They are most common when moving from one hand to the other however they can also occur within one hand. They are the result of improper technique or the inaccurate timing of note transitions. Let’s take a common […]
St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of Irish culture and music. There will be parades followed by music and dance in just about every pub around the world. 13 million pints of Guinness will be downed that day. Are you ready? Check your bagpipe to make certain that it’s functioning properly. Bag is airtight. Joints […]
Having taught bagpipes for almost 50 years, there’s not a lot that I haven’t seen. People are drawn to the instrument for their own reasons and eagerly embark on learning. Expectations range from “I want to play Amazing Grace” to “I want to be a champion piper” and everything in between. People say this without […]
Mr. Fred Sandeman made bagpipes in Rhodesia in the 1970’s on an old treadle lathe. It’s not known how many bagpipes he made, however among them were four hand-carved thistle-mount bagpipes. Two owners, one in the UK and the other in Western Australia reached out to me with pictures of their thistle-mount pipes and memories […]
Sometimes people perpetuate issues because of a lack of understanding or a lack of proper instruction. You can imagine their frustration when I bring these issues to their attention and further when they try to fix them only to discover that their fingers want to behave as they’ve been trained. Technique and Timing are two […]
I spent many years in management and have always been intrigued with human behavior. People tend to look at the end result and assume that someone was blessed with superior intellect, talent, or circumstances that enabled their success. In my experience, this is sometimes the case but more often it’s quiet perseverance. I often wonder […]
I confess that nothing drives me crazier than improperly executed embellishments. There is just no excuse to massacre an embellishment by overlapping notes, swapping the order of notes, or including notes that simply don’t belong! For instance, sometimes I hear pipers putting a G gracenote in front of or atop a D throw. Go away! […]
Dealing with frustration can be…frustrating. Some tunes and some tempos are simply beyond our abilities. Let’s take Scotland the Brave. Despite being perhaps the most widely recognized melody worldwide associated with Scotland and the GHB, played as written and up-to-tempo, it’s anything but easy. Many people “bake in” sloppy technique and timing as they thrash […]
I’m going to keep hammering on this until the message sinks in. If you’re struggling to memorize tunes, or to play with proper timing, you’re doing something wrong. STOP! You know the definition of insanity. All you’re doing is laying down an incorrect foundation (muscle memory) that will continue to negatively impact your progress! Put […]
I work with pipers all over North America and have for many years. Many started later in life driven by a love of the instrument and the culture. They come to me with a collection of issues, understandable confusion, and a desire to improve. Many have been taught incorrectly and find themselves at odds with […]
Blowing good tone…It’s easier than you think. 1. Stand straight with heels together and toes pointed into the middle of the circle or otherwise facing the PM. Back and shoulders straight. Chest out. 2. Take a deep breath. Steadily and slowly blow your arm off the bag. Keep the pressure in the bag constant. You […]
You can’t fool your bagpipe….or your Pipe Major….or your band mates! Just what is your bagpipe telling the band? I have to be careful here as there are always extenuating circumstances, however my #1 goal for the past 50 years has been to show up to practice with a perfect bagpipe. It took me a […]
Visual Memory – Visual memory is memorizing with your eyes, as in visualizing staff notation in your mind. This is the least favorable/reliable means of memorizing a tune. If you are inclined to pursue this method, STOP! You’re making things much harder on yourself than you need to. Auditory Memory – This is where you […]
Over the course of several careers I had the opportunity to work with some brilliant people. In 1997 I was sent out to Edmonton to work with a consultant on “information management”. I spent many hours with him over several days and weeks as we scaled a massive program into manageable (and understandable) pieces. The […]
We hear people talking about setting REALISTIC goals. When you’re practicing, do you have a specific goal in mind or are you just running over the tunes? Unless you have a specific realistic goal you’re wasting your time and may be doing more damage than good! Whoa! This is not permission to skip practice. It’s […]
Music – The arrangement of sounds that convey imagination and emotion. Math – The numeric logic of everything in the universe. We had a very good conversation last night at practice about note values, where a particular note falls within a beat or measure, the relationship between notes of different value, and how these notes […]
My “Do wah diddy diddy” post got nothing, but the follow-up “flippy thing” got action? I would have thought it the other way around. Go figure! Today I want to talk about something that REALLY bugs me. The D-Strike. So often I see/hear pipers massacring this simple embellishment by overlapping two distinct movements. The mechanics […]
Sometimes it’s the little things that matter. Let’s take example #1 in the image above. We’re going from E to F with a G grace note on the F. It doesn’t seem complicated however you may be surprised at how many pipers don’t execute this properly. What I find sometimes is that a piper will […]
Many Average Pipers struggle to learn new music. They can pick up a new song on the radio in minutes. They can also sing along with the oldies from 50 years ago without forgetting a single word! If I sang out “There she was just a-walkin’ down the street, singing…” there’s not a one of […]
Many apologies for the interruption in The Average Piper posts. I could provide hollow excuses, but I won’t. I will take advantage of the pause in tactical information to regroup on a more philosophical level. Ready? Here goes! I have often said that bagpipes are not taught… They are learned! It’s true. Having been teaching […]
The “flip” to even GDE’s (as in the previous blog post) is the dot/cut rhythm you’ll find in some tunes. This is shown in the image above where the G is a dotted eighth note, or three sixteenths. The D is a sixteenth note and the E is an eighth note. Drilling down further on […]
The Average Piper – Vitamins GD&E Simply stated, there’s nothing else like it. Nothing even comes close. A regimen of properly executed GDE exercises is like steel-cut oatmeal with nuts and berries for breakfast. If you master GDE’s, played evenly and with a dot/cut rhythm, you have built a critical foundation that will serve you […]
I sometimes hear pipers attempting to “catch up” after having fallen behind the established tempo of the tune. Hint…YOU CAN”T CATCH UP (without making a mess of things)! What is the appropriate tempo? A march played at 70 beats-per-minute may sound slow and lifeless. The same march played at 90 beats-per-minute may sound frantic and […]
I received words and pictures of Donald MacKenzie’s bagpipe last night. Donald was John Ban MacKenzie’s son and served in the first Crimean War. He died in 1863 at the age of 30 from smallpox and is commemorated in John Ban’s composition “His Father’s Lament for Donald MacKenzie”. Pictures and words can be found at […]
Playing bagpipes properly is a journey. There are no pills or magic potions to make someone a better piper. No Fairy Godmother with Pixie Dust. It’s hard work. Progress happens in small increments. Exercises and rudiments are practiced over and over until your fingers synchronize with the music being played in your head. The goal […]
Years ago, I penned a time-management training program called “Time for Life” which I licensed to Day-Timers and their parent company, ACCO. It’s a long story that needs a pint or two for the telling. I’m very impressed to see that Andrew Douglas (Pipers DOJO) has published a “Practice Planner” for pipers. I’ll be having […]
The Bagpipe Museum wouldn’t be what it is without contributions from around the world. Ronan Maguire of SLOT has been generous in the past and again surprised me with an outstanding addition. The little we know of William MacKenzie can be found here and in Jeannie Campbell’s excellent books on Highland Bagpipe Makers. As always, […]
Last night I arrived at band practice a bit early. Several people were already there. One piper was practicing bottom-hand doublings, slowly and deliberately. I asked how things were coming along. “Nobody ever taught me the correct way to play these. Now I’m having to go back and fix things.” This morning I had literally […]
I’d like to continue with the thinking I expressed yesterday. Many pipers are hung up on “fingers.” It’s not uncommon to witness young pipers slamming through tunes that they shouldn’t be playing at lightning fast tempos and generally making a mess of things. Equally so with older pipers attempting tunes and tempos that are unflattering […]
The question – Is it better to make a so-so job of a difficult tune and or a good job of an easier tune? The answer should be obvious however I consistently hear pipers attempting tunes or tempos that are beyond individual and collective (the band’s) abilities and I am left to wonder… “why?”. I […]
Often times I hear pipers crashing through a phrase not able to put specific notes where they belong relative to “the beat”. They start out OK but get tangled up inside the measure or phrase, primarily due to something that is challenging. Such is the case with the last phrase in One Hundred Pipers. To […]
Let’s get back on track today and head into the weekend with clear thoughts. We finished off the other day with the question “Do you hear what I hear?” I’ll follow that up with a couple more questions…When was the last time you asked someone to critique your playing? When was the last time you […]
I like to mix things up just a bit on Thursdays. I had fully intended to make this post on “stocks” and the various factors that impact sound and performance. That idea got pushed aside late last night when I received a very interesting email from Scotty at Gannaway Pipe Bags. An unusual item came […]
Do you hear what I hear? The answer to that question is more complicated than you might think. Last night at the pub I almost spewed my Guinness! I’ve been stressing use of the metronome and the importance of properly executed and timed GDE’s. The message was such that two pipers got together last weekend […]
We’re excited to launch a new addition to the Bagpipe Makers Museum. G.S. McLennan was an extraordinary piper and composer. He also made bagpipes as early as 1914. The family recently contacted me so additional pictures and information will be forthcoming. There is excellent information elsewhere on the web that I won’t duplicate. The image […]
The point of yesterday’s post… Play the tune as “musically perfect” as possible within your personal abilities. I am not advocating eliminating embellishments for every piper or from every tune. I’m saying that there are more important elements to the music than complicated embellishments that may compromise tone, tempo, timing, phrasing, etc. etc. Eliminating complicated […]
Before you know it St. Patrick’s Day will be here. Streets and pubs will be flooded with pipers and drummers providing various interpretations of tunes to celebrate the occasion. Unfortunately, you’ll hear some less-than-stellar renditions of favorites played by enthusiastic and well-meaning people. Today we’re going to look at The Wearing of the Green. All […]
Today we’re going to talk about note value. We’ve all heard the same; whole-note, half-note, quarter-note, eighth-note, etc. explanation of note values, but what does this mean? Is a quarter-note in one tune the same as a quarter note in another tune? Do we truly know how to understand and interpret all those dots ‘n […]
It’s important to understand that bagpipe makers of old didn’t have hydraulic tracers or CNC automation. Makers relied on either they own skills or the skills of their turners in the hand-crafting of bagpipes. Jack Dunbar was a wonderful source of information and opened my eyes to many realities of a maker’s workshop. A particular […]
I’m currently instructing Celtic Nations Pipe Band and last night was our regular Tuesday night band practice. PM Ken, SJ, and I arrived early and set up. Ken plugged a speaker his metronome. Tables were set up in a horseshoe with Ken and myself in the center. People arrived and we started formal practice five […]
We’ve covered quite a bit of ground in a short period of time. Today is a good time to take a breath before we forge ahead. Over the past couple of weeks we’ve focused on increasing both our understanding and discipline. Let me elaborate. We’ve peeled back a few layers to expose the essence of […]
I’m going to encourage those reading The Average Piper to incorporate these lessons into your daily practice regimen. Never practice without a metronome. Rip the tunes apart and understand exactly where the notes are supposed to land. Practice this over and over and over again. It you accept mistakes and errors in either technique or […]
Let’s wade into the deep end. The reality is that many Average Pipers do not know how to use a metronome effectively. The word I’m about to use are not intended to be mean. If another word was as descriptive, believe me, I’d use it. Many Average Pipers are oblivious to where notes are supposed […]
We’re going to get back on track soon, but I need to take a break and explain a couple of things. The Average Piper was created for you. I’ll try to respond to your specific wishes however I also need to remain faithful to the original goal and template. These short blog-posts are intended to […]
I wanted to change things up just a bit and give you something different. We’ll get back to The Average Piper tomorrow. Although not entirely savvy of social media terminology and etiquette, I understand that there’s something called “Throwback Thursday” to I’m going to use it to showcase certain aspects of The Bagpipe Place Museum. […]
I don’t know of any outstanding piper who will tell you that things came “naturally” to them and that they didn’t really have to work at their craft. In fact, most will tell you the opposite. They will tell you the long hours of practice and the years that it took to reach their goals. […]
I’m going to double-up on today’s post and give examples of two “deadly sins.” I recently encountered the quintessential “average piper”. Please do not interpret this as negative. It’s anything but “negative”. I’m so happy to be working with him. He played some tunes for me and is doing exactly what I’ve been talking about; […]
Highland Cathedral is a beautiful tune, widely loved and played…but I’ve got a problem and I need your help. I hear many pipers and bands being very aggressive with certain notes and I wonder why. I took a brief tour on the Internet and found several versions of the tune. We’ll start off by focusing […]
I’m going to hit “reset” today and go back to our list of 7 deadly sins. #2 was choosing tunes that are too complicated. Most of the tune books today are written by Grade 1 pipers for Grade 1 pipers. There is little that is within the grasp of The Average Piper. This is interesting […]
I’m expecting some push-back on what I’m about to say. I’ve thrown a lot of information at you these past couple of days as we broke down the first measure of Scotland the Brave. Now I’m going to throw a monkey-wrench into the machinery. Scotland the Brave, played as written and up to a typical […]
Following the notion that a “lack of understanding” is a primary issue impacting The Average Piper, let’s continue to explore the first measure of Scotland the Brave. Point of clarification…when I talk about playing a note “on the beat” I’m referring to that precise moment when the beat begins. If you’re using a metronome, it’s […]
What do we mean by “lack of understanding”? How does one go obtaining that deeper knowledge and understanding of the instrument and the music? This series is moving along slowly with the hope that questions will be asked and we can drill down on specific areas that you find of greatest value. When I hear […]
The following list was compiled by several “Average Pipers.” It is intended to provide a glimpse into some of the main challenges that the average piper faces. These “sins” compromise both the music and the experience, mostly leading to frustration. None of this is intended to be mean or discouraging. It’s intended to bring into […]
Dan Bell hit the nail on the head by summing up note errors to “lack of preparedness” and “lack of focus”. We talked about preparedness yesterday so let’s talk about focus. Research tells us that the human brain processes 400 billion bits of information each and every second. You can do the math yourself to […]
I received a call one day from someone looking for a piper. He was a classical musician from LA and had already received a recording from another piper in town. We talked for a minute and then he asked the most peculiar question. “Are note errors acceptable in bagpipes?” He explained that, in the recording […]
Last night at band practice we chunked out a couple of phases in two small 6/8 marches that needed work. In “A Hundred Pipers“, 2nd part 7th measure, there is a tachum. This is shown in the picture above. The issue was that many pipers were already on the Low G before I had made my […]
Just to recap, we talked about the need to maintain steady pressure within the bag whether you’re blowing or taking a breath (I hate the term “squeezing” as the action is more subtle than “squeezing”). We also talked about the need to listen. The sounds you hear on your shoulder are most revealing, if you […]
I can remember the exact moment when I heard it. I’m talking about that moment when I heard the harmonics of my chanter blend with those being produced by my drones. It was an entirely new world opened up. I had placed myself in a corner of a room and allowed the sound to completely […]
My day didn’t at all turn out the way I thought it would. First of all, I’m working on a couple of stories that are going to rock the bagpipe world. I have to hold off for the time being as things are yet developing. However, at this morning’s lesson, Ryan asked “How do you […]
In the old days, I both loved and hated practice. I always made certain that my bagpipe was ready to go and after about ten minutes of playing it was tuned and completely settled. Others would arrive having not touched their pipes since the last practice. We would fight and fight to get the sound […]
So, what’s going on inside my bag and what can I do about it? Great questions. As I said earlier, you’re pumping air that’s close to body temperature into the bag and about 100% RH. Under moderate conditions, with everything working as it should, the air inside your bag will probably be in the upper […]
I’ve played just about every bag ever made, except Norman Kyle’s vulcanized rubber bag. I didn’t see the point. I played Cowhide and Sheepskin until synthetic bags were introduced. I’ve played all the synthetic bags and have now gone back to a hide bag for reasons that I will talk about later. What I learned […]
All pipe bags require understanding and management in order to achieve and maintain the right sound. Each type of bag has its advantages, limitations, and maintenance requirements. It is critical that the piper understand his or her pipe bag and make adjustments necessary in order to achieve optimal sound and performance. The bag’s responsibility is […]
Let’s shift gears for a minute and talk about something else. From the very earliest words written we know that there is something about the Great Highland Bagpipe that has stirred body and soul. Average audiences are drawn to the sound of the instrument, with only a basic understanding of a few simple melodies. Sometime […]
Let’s move beyond ‘who the Average Piper is’ and talk about the ‘end goal’ and that is to play music. The most basic element of the music is the sound that your instrument produces. The sound is a product of many factors. The bag, your choice of drones, reeds, chanter, chanter reed, how it’s all […]
The Average Piper probably started as an adult. They probably were taught in a traditional manner and may have spent one or more years just on the practice chanter learning embellishments. Their first tunes were probably Scots Wa Hae, High Road to Gairloch, and 79th’s Farewell to Gibraltar. I can’t imagine anything more defeating. The […]
So, who are these people in kilts doing parades and performances for the general public? Where do they come from? What do they do? What are their stories? Are they teachers? Lawyers? Truck drivers? Grandfathers and Grandmothers? Just who is an “average piper?” The Average Piper plays music that is familiar to the general public. […]
We are pleased to announce the re-launch of The Bagpipe Place & The Bagpipe Museum. The site has been made fully responsive to allow easy navigation and viewing on any device. The WordPress format loads quickly. You’ll find lots of new content with pictures of your favorite Highland Bagpipes. Don’t worry. The journey is far […]
