learn to play the bagpipes

Ten years ago, my wife bought me a chanter. I want to learn how to play the chanter and then learn to play the pipes.

after 1 1/2 years of lessons (why rush?) I’ve taken the big step and bought a beautiful new set of Gibson bagpipes!

For now, the drones are corked while I master the bag… but each time I open one drone for that real Highland sound. Making slow progress but having lots of fun.

i want to learn about how to play on the bagpipe in the scotch way

I want to learn the play the bagpipes. Im already on my way, having joined a pipe band as a student and working on the practice chanter.

Ok, so now I gotta vent (again… :) ).

I got this dumb idea I wanted to start learning piobaireachd (classical bagpipe music). It takes approximately 4 years longer to play one piobaireachd ground than it does to learn how to spell the word,lol.

Anyway, so yes, DUMB idea, learn piob, etc. My very good light music instructor insists he is not qualified to teach anyone piob. so like an idiot I go online, thinking….”well, I can just learn ONE ground—an easy one, with an online teacher, and then that’ll be another bagpipe goal reached. Then I can count this general goal as “done”.

I don’t like piobaireachd any more.

I signed up with this very well-known piobaireachd player, thinking he’d give me something simple to start out with, like some basic techniques and embellishments and “rules” and “how to’s” etc.

It didn’t happen that way. (sigh)

On my second lesson, he played through some grounds and asked me to pick one I liked the sound of.

I did. I didn’t know I picked a hard one. I thought he knew I was a green player and wouldn’t let me pick from anything too difficult for me to play. Wrong…

On my third lesson, he wanted me to play through this whole ground. I felt trapped like I had nothing to build on, no basis to know how to play it. Every time I tried lamely to read the music (piobaireached never really sounds like how the music is written), he said, “no, like this” and played a much greater number of measures than I was capable of memorizing in a chunk right there. Everytime I played it, it was wrong, but I got no instruction on how to play it correctly. No technique, no how to approach a piob. at first, nothing.

I finally froze and couldn’t play anything more in the lesson.

I think he had a wrong idea about how advanced I was, and I can honestly say I’m no longer enthusiastic about piobaireachd…sigh.

It’s even crossed my mind to give up pipes for awhile, too.

Certainly this is proof that “a great piper does not necessarily a great teacher make”. It made me much more appreciative of the patience my light music teacher has, and how good he is at teaching. I also really miss my first teacher. If he hadn’t died, I’d never have gotten into the online lessons mess….arrrgh.

My pipes haven’t been out of their case for 9 weeks. Maybe I’m quitting. I don’t really want to, but gee at some point I’d like to feel like I’m not always climbing uphill with it.

I’d sure like to recover that feeling I had when I first got my practice chanter in the mail. Help….erg… :/
(Somebody play the sappy background fail music, lol).

I am currently working on this. I bought a practice chanter and have learned to play two songs: Scots Wha Hae and Blue Bells of Scotland. I will soon start work on my third song, Minstrel Boy. I have to be able to play five songs from memory before I can begin to learn the pipes. I would like to be “up” on pipes in time for the highland games this October, even if all I get to do is drone along with my band.

Ive begun practicing Scotland the Brave, hoping in a couple of weeks I can play it flawlessly

I’m playing scales!

I signed up to take lessons through one of those adult ed night school things and the first lesson is tonight.

I already play mandolin, guitar and drums- mostly rock and Irish traditional music- but would love to play the pipes, either the Uilleann pipes or the northumbrian variety