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  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by OC Richard View Post
    You're learning at a great time, due to the internet.

    There are tons of online lessons/tutorials. You can hear all the top players performing, both current players and famous players from the past. You can chat with pipers on Skype or Zoom.

    When I started, in 1974, all I had was a couple albums to listen to and the College Of Piping "green book".

    There were no pipers around to take lessons from, so I was self-taught the first couple years. Happily then my family moved to an area with more people including several Pipe Bands and a large number of good pipers. I worked my tail off and joined a good band in 1977.

    I can't encourage you enough to stick with it. You obviously have the musicianship, that's the biggest part of becoming a piper, as it is with any instrument. The rest is diligent practice or "face time" as the jazz guys call it.

    It's critical to make sure that you're doing everything right from the very beginning. Some people, due to not knowing, practice their mistakes and ingrain them into their muscle-memory. Then it takes twice as long to get them on the right track.

    As they say

    "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect."

    I was going to ask what instruments you already play, but in truth it doesn't matter. Many years ago a wise old musician told me

    "A musical instrument is merely a mechanical device. The music is in the person."

    If you have the music in you, for sure you will become a good piper, if only you diligently and correctly practice the technical details.
    All very true!

    I was given the green book and promptly got Alfred's book whick speaks to my mind better. Both are helpful, but youtube videos are way more helpful for learning technique.

    I agree, the music is in the person. I play many instruments well enough to have fun but without endangering any professionals of their status
    John A. Latimer: USAF veteran, Father of five, Hospital worker

    Just Enjoying Life... :)

  2. #12
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    24th January 20
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    Quote Originally Posted by OC Richard View Post
    You're learning at a great time, due to the internet.

    There are tons of online lessons/tutorials. You can hear all the top players performing, both current players and famous players from the past. You can chat with pipers on Skype or Zoom.

    When I started, in 1974, all I had was a couple albums to listen to and the College Of Piping "green book".

    There were no pipers around to take lessons from, so I was self-taught the first couple years. Happily then my family moved to an area with more people including several Pipe Bands and a large number of good pipers. I worked my tail off and joined a good band in 1977.

    I can't encourage you enough to stick with it. You obviously have the musicianship, that's the biggest part of becoming a piper, as it is with any instrument. The rest is diligent practice or "face time" as the jazz guys call it.

    It's critical to make sure that you're doing everything right from the very beginning. Some people, due to not knowing, practice their mistakes and ingrain them into their muscle-memory. Then it takes twice as long to get them on the right track.

    As they say

    "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect."

    I was going to ask what instruments you already play, but in truth it doesn't matter. Many years ago a wise old musician told me

    "A musical instrument is merely a mechanical device. The music is in the person."

    If you have the music in you, for sure you will become a good piper, if only you diligently and correctly practice the technical details.
    Rather nice to hear this right now. I was given a set of bagpipes for Christmas and am now looking more seriously at how to play them. I've been interested in learning them for a while now, but just never devoted the time to getting started. I know there's a pipe band in town, and I've casually talked to one of their members, but that's about as far as I got. Don't know who around here actually teaches lessons. Well, now I've got a reason to learn. I play piano (favorites being ragtime, video game music, and traditional Irish music), and I tend to really like playing highly technically-complicated music so it seems like it'd be a good fit, but I've been rather intimidated by the learning process. Been trying to watch books and read up on it to figure out as much as I can, and have one really difficult to play practice chanter and another on the way in the hopes the feel will be better.

    Anyway, the positivity in this comment is nice. Most of the comments I've seen from other pipers have been more along the lines of "It's the most complicated instrument ever! Don't even think about trying to learn the pipes unless you've already got 40 years of experience playing them!" So the idea of actually being able to learn them is...refreshing.
    Last edited by MichiganKyle; 4th January 21 at 11:39 AM. Reason: Minor grammar and clarity edits

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  4. #13
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    Bravo sir

    You have nothing to be self conscious about, be proud in your kilt. I have been wearing kilts exclusively for almost five years now and have never looked back. When i committed to the kilt i actually got rid of all my pants, i do not own one pair of pants or shorts, true story. I have kilts for working in, ones for dressing up and ones for everyday life.
    Sure, it was a little awkward at first but i got over that quick.
    Kilt proudly good sir.

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  6. #14
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    18th October 09
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    Quote Originally Posted by MichiganKyle View Post
    Most of the comments I've seen from other pipers have been more along the lines of "It's the most complicated instrument ever!"
    Yes I hear that nonsense all the time.

    In truth, all instruments can be said to have the same level of difficulty.

    Why would I say that? Think about it. Whether it's playing violin or bagpipes or anything else, there's a small number of people to get to the very top. Nearly always it's because they have this combination:

    1) supreme level of innate talent
    2) fanatical dedication/willingness to put in the time and hard work
    3) top-notch instruction/mentorship

    If musical instruments had differing levels of difficultly there would be only a couple great players on some instruments and thousands of great players on other instruments. But the pyramid for all instruments looks pretty much the same.

    What is true for any instrument, or dance genre, or language acquisition, is that it's best to start young. The learning curve gets steeper as people age, it just does. Ask anybody that teaches anything.

    Highland pipes are like anything else in that regard. The very best players started when they were youngsters, by age 8 or so.

    The percentage of people who get good on the Highland pipes who started as adults is quite small. I personally know a few. They had these things in common:

    1) prior musical experience
    2) good instruction
    3) the ability and willingness to put in huge numbers of hours practicing
    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

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  8. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by KILTED BILL View Post
    You have nothing to be self conscious about, be proud in your kilt. I have been wearing kilts exclusively for almost five years now and have never looked back. When i committed to the kilt i actually got rid of all my pants, i do not own one pair of pants or shorts, true story. I have kilts for working in, ones for dressing up and ones for everyday life.
    Sure, it was a little awkward at first but i got over that quick.
    Kilt proudly good sir.
    Thank you!

    I am not ready to go full time but I really enjoy the utility of it. Hauling firewood with a kilt was much more comfortable and easier to move around.
    John A. Latimer: USAF veteran, Father of five, Hospital worker

    Just Enjoying Life... :)

  9. #16
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    My first job away from home was on an uncle's bridge crew, where I learned to walk steel. No kilts. After college, the Federal Reserve; very conservative dress. No kilts.
    Didn't even like light blue or yellow dress shirts, definitely no kilts. Left and went into theater. Competent actor, but no Scottish roles. No kilts. Very strong reputation as
    a lighting tech, hand, rigger; enough time in the air that, you guessed it, no kilts. When occupational damages required no more work at all, I bought a kilt. Wear one
    three or four days a week; bank, grocery store, restaurants, playing music. Positive comments all the time. Many say they don't have the (insert required equipment here)
    to appear in public like that. I say men dressed like this beat the world for the British crown, so don't tell me it's unmanly. And if I didn't have it on, I'd almost certainly be
    arrested or institutionalized. Kilt up and go about your business. If that business is inappropriate for a kilt, dress appropriately. If a kilt doesn't hinder what you are up to,
    feel free to make that choice. It gets comfortable very quickly.

    On the music side, for a time I lived with a first chair symphony harpist who recorded with the Cleveland Symphony among others. As a senior in high school she learned a
    little harp and when a sophomore in college finally learned to tune it. For that level of play, starting that late is unheard of; as OC said, assiduous correct practice and serious
    determination yield good result.

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  11. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by tripleblessed View Post
    My first job away from home was on an uncle's bridge crew, where I learned to walk steel. No kilts. After college, the Federal Reserve; very conservative dress. No kilts.
    Didn't even like light blue or yellow dress shirts, definitely no kilts. Left and went into theater. Competent actor, but no Scottish roles. No kilts. Very strong reputation as
    a lighting tech, hand, rigger; enough time in the air that, you guessed it, no kilts. When occupational damages required no more work at all, I bought a kilt. Wear one
    three or four days a week; bank, grocery store, restaurants, playing music. Positive comments all the time. Many say they don't have the (insert required equipment here)
    to appear in public like that. I say men dressed like this beat the world for the British crown, so don't tell me it's unmanly. And if I didn't have it on, I'd almost certainly be
    arrested or institutionalized. Kilt up and go about your business. If that business is inappropriate for a kilt, dress appropriately. If a kilt doesn't hinder what you are up to,
    feel free to make that choice. It gets comfortable very quickly.

    On the music side, for a time I lived with a first chair symphony harpist who recorded with the Cleveland Symphony among others. As a senior in high school she learned a
    little harp and when a sophomore in college finally learned to tune it. For that level of play, starting that late is unheard of; as OC said, assiduous correct practice and serious
    determination yield good result.
    Hey there!

    Yeah, I currently work in a hospital and as you say, "no kilts".

    I am headed toward retirement in about 5 to 7 years and will have more freedom that will not impact my income and livelihood.

    Kilt on...
    John A. Latimer: USAF veteran, Father of five, Hospital worker

    Just Enjoying Life... :)

  12. #18
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    everyday

    Well done although I am surprised at some of your comments.
    I wear my Kilt all the time but I live in Scotland. However, for the last fourteen years I have regularly travel on business throughout Europe. I never find that I go un-noticed and it is usually the ladies that are looking. I think it would be strange if everyone ignored me. So my question? . . Are they just being too polite and do not want to be staring at someone that is wearing something different? As for walking around your own village. Go give it a try and just remember that it is your choice what you wear. I find people respect your individuality and if they do not; why worry. Just one word of advice. Be casual. No dress jackets or fancy hats no furry sporrans and no badges knives or other stuff. Remember the Kilt is enough keep it simple and enjoy the fact that most people actually want to come up to you and ask why you are wearing it. Oh and one other piece of advice. . . . Smile. Not a broad grin but just enough that you look happy. You find that if you do that people will smile back and some of them will stop and ask you questions.

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  14. #19
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    24th January 20
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    Quote Originally Posted by brendanthetraveller View Post
    I never find that I go un-noticed and it is usually the ladies that are looking. I think it would be strange if everyone ignored me. So my question? . . Are they just being too polite and do not want to be staring at someone that is wearing something different?
    I guess I would say it's probably a little of both, at least in the USA. I would chalk it up partially to politeness, but probably even more often to a combination of narcissism and general overload with life.

    There's sort of a reality blindness field where if you do anything "odd" or out of the ordinary, a lot of people don't even see it. Whether I'm out in a kilt, my 1950's train conductor outfit (I volunteer at a museum), dressed in 1920's American fashion (driving my Model T), or even wearing Stormtrooper armor en route to a special event, reactions are often very similar - a lot of people don't even notice you. They don't look, they don't move their heads, they don't care. They're just disengaged with the world. Not everyone - some do consciously (and funnily enough, rather conspicuously) try to ignore the strange thing. But many people don't notice there's a world that exists outside of the 6" bubble around either their head or their phone. And for some that aren't wrapped up in themselves, life is so hard that they just can't process anything outside of their expectations of normal. The constant assault on the senses from the internet, media, and constant advertising everywhere doesn't help. There are an awful lot of very stressed and overloaded people who are barely able to mentally handle the load they already have, let alone adding another thing to try to process. The drudgery of daily life may be bland and uninteresting, but it's as much as they can handle.

    But then for those lucky few who are not completely disengaged with their surroundings, you become the fun Where's Waldo/Wally back-of-the-book bonus mission and a brief interesting reward for them paying attention. So you get lots of positive comments. On the flip side, you're essentially invisible to the folks who would otherwise think negatively of you. So all around, it actually makes wearing a kilt in public pretty easy in the USA if you can get over your own hangups about standing out and looking different.

    As reinforcement for this, if you do go somewhere where people have been prefiltered to only those who are actively observing things (for example, going to a car show or a museum), you really stand out and are noticed a lot by everybody. Plenty of positive comments, but these are rare places you might get the occasional joke or poking fun of you. On the whole, still vastly more positive than negative, but there is nearly zero protection of people ignoring you. You may well be the odd one out, but it's among people who are looking for odd things, so there is no reality blindness field. I'd still do it, but I'm comfortable enough in a kilt to not care. But for someone just starting out, something like this would probably be pretty jarring and not be a good starting point. Normally, almost everywhere else, you largely do get either actively or more often passively ignored. It sounds like maybe that might be more of a common dynamic outside of the USA, but that's a very abnormal situation to find yourself in here. People just largely stay in their own little bubbles.

    That's part of the reason I think it's less politeness and more that you're not even noticed. You're essentially invisible most of the time.

    And, admittedly, I'm not great at picking up social cues. I'm a rather antisocial nerd by nature. My observations might be utter hogwash. But that's certainly how it seems to me.

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  16. #20
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    I have worn the kilt frequently in both the USA and China. I have uniformly found that people are curious and friendly and their comments are positive.

    I can also say that nothing will get you more attention from women than wearing a kilt. I am 52, but women of all ages approach me with provocative comments and big smiles when I am kilted. Unfortunately, I did not own a kilt until after I was married, so I did not have the opportunity to enjoy this feature when it would have made the most difference for me. But my wife certainly likes it, too.

    So go forth kilted and enjoy the results!

    Andrew

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