The Average Piper - Hurry along slowly

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…

The Average Piper - The Power of Perseverance!

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…

The Average Piper - Embellish that D!

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,…

The Average Piper - F r u s t r a t i o n !

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…

The Average Piper - Re-think what you're doing!

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…

The Average Piper - They know!

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.…

The Average Piper - Blowing Tone - It's easy!

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…

The Average Piper - What your bagpipe is saying.

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…

The Average Piper - The Memory Game

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…

The Average Piper - How to use your brain...differently

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…