Bagpipes

[OC Richard]

Been thinking of trying to learn to play them. Suggestions, comments, etc?

Now... you don't mention what sort of bagpipes.

Scotland has three main varieties: the Great Highland Bagpipes (GHB), the old Lowland Pipes (now undergoing a huge revival under the misnomer of Border Pipes), and Scottish Smallpipes.

The Irish Uilleann Pipes, as it happens, aren't as "Irish" as the general public now believes, and Edinburgh and Aberdeen were centres of Uilleann pipemaking and playing in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

Then there are the bagpipes of England, dozens of varieties in France, several types in Spain, and bagpipes in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Belgium, Italy, etc etc etc.

Now assuming for a moment that you mean the GHB, perhaps the safest way to find a GOOD teacher is to find out what your local Pipe Band Association is. There's the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association, the British Columbia Piper's Association, etc etc.

Then look at their list of piping judges. These are the most-respected pipers in your locality, and many of them teach, and the ones who don't teach know who the best teachers in the area are.

The other route is to see what the highest-ranked Pipe Band in your area is.

Grade One is the top. Grade Five is the bottom. Beware that many Grade Five and Grade Four bands have no competent players or teachers whatsoever, though some lower-grade bands have good players who teach.

If you come across a local band which is NOT a member of your local Pipe Band Association, and therefore does not compete but only marches in parades etc, be cautious. Many such bands have no competent instruction.

Contact your best local Pipe Band Association member band, and ask what teacher they recommend.

Now, I'm assuming that you're planning to take regular lessons from a good teacher. That's by far the best way to learn. Yes some people have become decent players by being self-taught using books, recordings, online resources etc but your progress will be much faster and more sure with good personal instruction.

[Pyper]

Yes some people have become decent players by being self-taught using books, recordings, online resources etc but your progress will be much faster and more sure with good personal instruction.

When he says "some" I think it means literally a handful. By far the most common outcomes for people who try to go it alone are either a) giving up, or, b) learning to sound really bad. Neither is a good outcome.

If you're in the eastern half of the USA (including, oddly, Texas), you can go to the EUSPBA.org website, click on the "competitions" menu, and "results". From there, fill in the year and venue drop downs to look at the next highland games you'll attend, from last year. Find out which band compete there, and look at the results from the piping judges. The bands in grade 4 or higher who are finishing in the top four will have good instruction. Find out which are reasonably close to you, and then go talk to their members.

Our band has members that draw from about a 50 mile radius. Piping is a fairly small community, and people know each other. If you're not close to your closest band's home town, the pipers in the band are likely to know someone who can work out for you.

If all else fails, there are world class pipers who offer instruction via skype. Personally, I think it would probably be best for a beginner to have in person instruction, but anything would be better than going it alone.

[sp00ky]

Had my first lesson last week, was challenging...

Lots of squeaky sounds, but getting better even with a little practice

Though I hadn't played an instrument since High School, I guess I expected to still be able to jump right in there...

First obstacle for me is changing they way I place my fingers from sax (tips) to flat for the pipes...

Spent what free time I had working on transitions, as even though it is not obvious I think my muscle memory is still there from my sax days, and trying to overcome it.

Plenty of patience will be the key for me.

And I agree, having a pipe major there to immediately correct minor flaws before they become habits (as well as praise when I do get it right) is important.

Good luck!

[Pyper]

Plenty of patience will be the key for me.

To me, that's one of the keys of making progress. Just do what the instructor told you, and don't work ahead. If you keep working on things, slowly and carefully it will come. There are certain zen-like comparisons, I think.

[OC Richard]

Though I hadn't played an instrument since High School, I guess I expected to still be able to jump right in there...

First obstacle for me is changing they way I place my fingers from sax (tips) to flat for the pipes...

...my muscle memory is still there from my sax days... trying to overcome it.

Plenty of patience will be the key for me.

...immediately correct minor flaws before they become habits

Many good observations there! I think you'll do fine.

I've started many an adult beginner on the road to becoming a piper and they all go through the exact things you mention.

Unfortunately, in general, the older the beginner is, the steeper the learning curve and the more time it takes to master each finger action.

In my experience only a very small percentage of adult beginners go on to become solid pipers. The success stories around here, and I can think of four people off the top of my head, had these things in common:

-fanatical dedication to learning the pipes
-a relatively free schedule so that a vast emount of time could be spent practicing. (The people I'm thinking of practiced two to six hours a day, seven days a week.)
-prior musical background (three of the four were music majors or minors in college)
-good instruction

However I know of at least one person who has all of the above but still has had somewhat limited progress.

Oh, about the "flat fingers" thing: Yes there are a few teachers who insist that the fingers must be flat, but this flies in the face of the many top players now and over the years who play(ed) with curved fingers.

Having relaxed fingers is important to developing the necessary speed, and fingers held stiff, under strain, are the opposite.

The crucial point is that the lower-hand index, middle, and ring fingers seal their holes with the fleshy pad on the fingers' middle joint, not the pad on the end joint. (Each finger has three joints each with a fleshy pad.) The little finger does use the pad on the end joint.

For the upperhand fingers, some pipers use the endjoint pads and some the middlejoint pads. It makes no difference.

The fingers, when relaxed, have a slight natural curvature to them.

The teacher insisting on flat fingers, I suppose, doesn't notice that some of the world's best pipe bands have been led by pipe majors who play with curved fingers, that piping Gold Medals have been won by pipers who play with curved fingers.