Modified bagpipe?

[Mr. Woolery]

Don't play the bagpipes because someone else wants you to. Play them only if YOU want to. That goes for any instrument. Life is too short to waste your time and money on instruments that don't bring you joy.

That said, a good instructor can help a lot with your fingering issues. My student has small hands (she's only 5'2" and is full-grown) and she can do it fine because she has relaxed hands. As said above, it isn't a matter of locking them straight, but a matter of not playing with the finger tips. The difference may seem subtle, but it is of utmost importance.

With the three breaths to dizziness, that's common. The key is not to worry about inflating the bag with two puffs. Hold the instrument so there's little or no pressure on the bag and breathe normally. Only difference is that your exhale goes into the bag, not just out in front of you. Do this a couple or three times and your bag is almost full. One good big blow will have you at pressure to sound the drones. My son is 10 and weighs only 64 pounds. He can inflate and play a bagpipe that is set up to be easy. He has a long way to go for stamina because of his sloppy squeezing, but that only seems to come with patient work and coaching. He complained of getting dizzy when playing until he finally followed my coaching about simply breathing into the bag until it is almost full and then blowing it the rest of the way up. Again, it seems like semantics, but the difference is between being able to play and not.

As to smallpipes and whistle pipes and such-like, again I say only play instruments that actually appeal to you. If you want to play a particular instrument, please do so. If you don't want to play the bagpipes, don't. If your SO really wants to play duets with you, get an inexpensive hand drum and play rhythm while he makes the melody. This can be great fun, will cost about as much as a practice chanter, and offers some real flexibility in musical expression. And you don't have to worry about your blowing pressure with a drum.

-Patrick