Bagpipe Basics

I always thought the word alone would lend a hint, but I will expound: AERO = air, PHONE =
sound making device. The bagpipe, in this case the Great Highland Bagpipe, is a musical
instrument whose primary power source is AIR. One aspect of the bagpipe that is often not
realized is that it is POLYPHONIC in nature, that is to say, when properly tuned, each note
played on the chanter is a chorded note.

Bagpipe Psycology

The sad thing about this instrument is that it takes SO long to learn all the different aspects of
it, with dedication, the players of the bagpipe tend to forget all they went through, the pain,
suffering, and many difficult practice sessions, and can't figure out why no one else sees the
thing like they do, why we are so "dedicated", and "nuts" over it. "Maybe it's all the HEAVY
breathing, and the rice..." (rice? Any of you see the movie "Remo Williams"?) We spend most
of our time with our heads pressurized and fingers tight, the body is subject to extreme
conditions for 5 tune periods (beginers) and in some cases, with piobreached (Pee Brock)
tunes can last 20 minutes or longer EACH! Now you can see why some pipers are very ODD.

The bagpipe can truely be said to be the "Extreme Sport" of music making. It's almost like a
sport in and of itself, there are bagpipe contests, or competitions, where pipers of all ages
and skills compete for awards and recognition. Indeed, perhaps the saddest thing about this
instrument is how hard it is to learn and to play and how little it is appreciated in the USA.
Almost NO bang for your buck. But to the dedicated and passionate of heart, the music it
makes, when played well, is reward by itself. It's mesmorizing haunting tones, and strange
sqwaking, and bleeping in different parts (grace notes and embellisments) causes the new
commer to stand in awe and wonder, and to the one who has had the bagpipe be a part of an
important event in their life, to cry.

I have experienced all the above in one form or another. And have enjoyed each moment.

As you know, in the Great Highland Bagpipe, there are 4 reeds, a reed is an object in wind instruments that is
used to generate the initial oscillation (tone), in the drones (3) have a simple reed that can be tuned by
moving the slides (handled grips up the length of each drone) some pipers "train" their drone slides to adjust
easily by twist-training them, almost like a screw, creating in the wood of the drone stock an influenced
thread, this makes FINE tuning easy. But, the chanter has no built in tuning method, this has to be learned at
the hand of many BAD reeds, taping of chanter holes, and reed modifications. Perhaps, the first and
foremost important chice a piper can make is to choose a GOOD REED in the first place!

One experience a new piper will be treated to is the "pick the reed from the box" charade, what does this
mean? I will tell you. The piper walks into the local bagpipe reed shop and respectfully requests the box of
pipe reeds, that he may inspect them and, with luck, obtaining a 1/2 way descent reed. God help you. Most of
the time, that box contains REJECTS, all the other pipers have been there and gone, and have left the dregs
for the beginners to waste their money on them, hoplessly going from crummy reed to crummy reed
concluding that the problem "must be me..." That poor young piper struggles to make heads or tails of each
reed he picks but concludes that they just don't have what it takes, now, you may well say "Why did he give up
so easy?" I will tell you, one of the characteristics of the chanter reeds that seems to elude beginner players is
REED STRENGTH, reeds are usually sold in 3 strengths, STRONG, MEDIUM, and EASY. A beginner should
be given an EASY reed to start with, so I conclude, but because a beginner doesn't know the difference, as a
beginner, I was given STRONG reeds and could not get my pipes to work. It wasn't untill I did a little reading
an internet research before these facts became aparent. You new pipers! Don't despair! I am not sure why
shop keepers, or other unscrupulous sales folk sell beginners BAD reeds or STRONG reeds, perhaps it's to
keep the piper-count low, the demand for bagpipe players is already fairly low, why ruin their many years of
dedicated practice by increasing the surplus piper population and reduce their own value? I believe that if
ALL potential pipers went to the Collage of Piping, there would be MORE of us out there! That was a good
experience for me, a turning point in my playing, indeed, a lot of the reed-questions I had were answered.
Beginners, always ask the shop keeper for EASY reeds, and try to get Shepherd reads, they are consistantly
GOOD, but MEDIUM in strength.

Reed adjustments can be devistating because they require you to phisically modify the cane that makes it up.
One of the simplest and most often performed, even by beginners, is the "scraping" of a reed for the purpose
of making it easier, what do I mean by "easier"? I mean, the maximum pressure required to attain a good
tone from the chanter, the harder the piper has to press on the bag (and blow) the reed is considered to be
more STRONG, but a new piper doesn't know what an EASY reed should feel like because he has no point of
referance, this is why it is important the piper deal with a pipe salse man or teacher who is sympathetic to
beginners. To make a reed easier a piper has to carefuly scrape bits off the sides of it, then, put it back in the
chanter, test it, then pull it out and scrape a bit off again, very slowly, if too much is removed the reed will
become damaged and tone the frequencies wrong, and you will be finding yourself on the way back to the
store to buy another reed!

To play pipes, you inflate the bag, "strike-in" the drones, then "key in" the chanter, then proceed to tune the
drones, then play your start tune(s), then re tune the drones, and proceed to play your "true" tunes, the ones
you actually came to play, the player may even re tune their drones a couple more times as they progress
through their repertoire, because the tempermental nature of the bagpipe, the chanter reed goes through a
process of becoming sharp, then balanced, then going flat as it becomes moist from the humidity of the
players breath. The drones MUST stay tuned in on the chanter, otherwise, what others will hear will be LESS
than pleasant, this is why becoming efficient at a proper tune in is crittical to being a GOOD piper. Drone
reeds have issues too, before there were synthetic drone reeds, a piper had to use cane drone reeds, a snip
of a small stalk of cane, cut to just where the joint is, and capped with sealing wax, and slit cut on the side so
as to form a tongue, sounds simple, but it takes MANY years for a reed maker to master the art of reed
making of this nature, a good cane drone reed is HARD to come by, there is nothing worse for a piper than
when it's time to "strike-in" the drones to have one of them go bonkers and squal a different note all together,
or worse yet, no tone at all and they plug up! That tongue sometimes sticks and there are missing drone
tones! So are we surprised when the first technological break through to hit the Great Highland Bagpipe is
the drone reeds? These are a GOOD investment! Beginners, you must consider a set of synthetics, at least
to assist you on your way to becomming a proficient piper.

Pipes are tempermental, you will find they play easier on a warm day, and HARDER on a cold one, you will
find your fingers numbing up and you putting the pipes away long before you feel like you were done with
them, it could be mildly depressing. On the other hand, on a warm day, after tune 15, your fingers will numb up
and your left bicept go into convulsions before you feel like you've played enough, this too can be mildly
depressing. All who pipe know what I am talking about.

Have you ever tried to play the bagpipes? Have you ever tried to learn a "chanter"
instrument? Do you have ANY music talent? Do you have NONE? It doesn't matter, I can
teach you the basic elements of how to become a good Scottish Bagpiper in 6 months
or so, becoming a GOOD piper is entirely up to YOU!

The key with this is PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! I will teach you, your lessons will
be posted on line and you can access the "crittical component" of your session to listen
and make sure you are "doing it right", I've found that this method has the most success.

I can be your Piper Agent, purchasing key items and books (minimum required for least
expense) for a small fee. I can set you up with a practice chanter, bagpipe beginner's
book, and a sheet of tips and techniques to get you started. Then, we will meet 1 time a
week for as long as you wish, and get you on your way.

My fee? Each session is customarily $35.00 for 45 minutes, charged at the first session
for 1 month of sessions ($140.00). Purchasing items is $20.00 fee plus cost of items.
You can obtain the items yourself by searching on line if you wish, but I offer the
convienence of having the items the next session we get together!

The best way for this all to work is to get your practice chanter, a book, and get started
before we get together and get familier. That way you can maximize your sessions!

If I come to your house "Travel Expenses" apply. Local travel is NOT FREE with lessons!
If you live in Crestline, your travel fee will be $20.00 per session. If you come to my
house, there will be NO fee and your lesson will be knocked down to $30.00 per session.