Posts

The Average Piper - Tic Toc - You can't catch up!

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…

The Average Piper - Are You Motivated?

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…

The Average Piper - What's your Goal?

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…

The Average Piper - Do you hear what I hear?

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 Average Piper - Band Practice

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…

The Average Piper - Short Review

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…

The Average Piper - The Consistency Factor

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…

The Average Piper - The Metronome

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…

The Average Piper - How to Improve

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…

The Average Piper - Two Issues

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…