"So You Want to Play Bagpipes" sticky

[Jack Daw]

Oh, we're already doing it...here. OK, here's my 2 cents.

Before you buy anything, get an instructor or get lots of advice from an experienced piper. You could make some bad, expensive mistakes if you are not careful.

Join a good band. A band provides instructors and you learn faster by playing with others.

If you can't join a band (b/c of too much business travel, etc.), get a private instructor. Unless you know that you are a gifted musician, you'll learn the wrong way on your own because: 1) the written music is not always how things should be played; and, 2) you'll learn bad habits that will be hard to unlearn later when you realize that you need an instructor after all.

Be able to set aside prioritized time for practice. My regimen is four days a week (minimum) for roughly an hour. But, everyone has to develop their own schedule. If you have to go more than 2 months without practice, then you may not have the schedule or the self-descipline to stick with it.

Seriously consider competing at WUSPBA- or EUSPBA-sanctioned events - either solo or with your band, or both. It provides additional motivation to improve...because you should never stop learning. Both have websites to accommodate joining.

My advice is a repeat of Stevie's advice above. But, repetition is the key to learning!!

[haukehaien]

1) Find a teacher. Local pipe bands often provide free instruction. The Bob Dunsire forums can help with finding your local bands and teachers.

2) Don't buy Pakistani stuff unless you want to spend a lot of time and money fixing it up - and be aware that it may not be possible to fix up.

3) Don't buy pipes. Talk to your instructor and buy a good practice chanter. The long ones are nice, although not strictly necessary. I would recommend buying a Delrin PC because they're less likely to break. Dunbar, John Walsh, Scott Morton and Gibson all make excellent PCs.

4) Practice. Practice. Practice. Get the scale down, then the G-grace scale. Get the grip and the D-throw solid. Five hundred repetitions is not a bad idea.

5) Practice in front of a mirror - it lets you see what your fingers are doing.

6) Listen to good piping whenever possible.

7) If you're not VERY GOOD at internalizing a beat, get a metronome. Start from the beginning getting the gracings in the right places.

8) Get a metronome even if you are VERY GOOD at internalizing a beat - you're not as good as you think you are, and the unforgiving little blinky light will show you this.

[JS Sanders]

I see yall are gonna have a grand time putting a blurb together....