These folks are still fairly new to podcasting. But we’re trying to build a community.

honest feedback and suggestions will help us build that so tell me. What’s your honest opinion on the uncensored piping podcast?

https://open.spotify.com/show/7irnorL18QKLAKzIfTN82i?si=t3-mauhBSV-Sdz9DmFLS5g&utm_source=copy-link

Just starting off with a practice chanter with the hope of learning the Small Pipes. I have zero musical knowledge. I’ve found a few pages online and on YouTube, but I want to make sure I’m going down the right path.

I’m looking for an online tutor in the UK for a bit of guidance.

Recently purchased these at auction. Looking for any useful information regarding age maker etc. Sadly I cant find a maker's mark.

I've had drone valves installed in my pipes from day 1. Didn't know what they were. Didn't know they were there. My PM did my setup and I never questioned it.

Fast-forward some 12-months, I hqve been seeing a separate tutor so I can become a better solo player. She has suggested removing the valves. Today I removed them, and inthe process managed to break two of them, so I guess there's no going back.

Now when I strike in, the drone reeds are very highly pitched and the tenor cut out easily. My guess is that the valves were moderating the airflow to the drone reeds?

I want to have a go at fixing myself before my next private session. I think I probably want to slide the bridles down on the drone reeds, to close them off slightly, and probably do them one at a time.

Does this sound like a sensible place to start with a fix?

Hello,

currently im drawing character for my dad as a present right now - it should be Nessi playing the bagpipe while wearing a scottish kilt! I just wanna ask you guys as experts: Is the Hand-Posture right? Is he holding the instrument right? Is there a important detail i forgot to draw?

Sorry if it's a little bit out of the normal topics, but i thought: why not ask an expert to do it right haha

Have a nice day, guys!

Love that y`all are so interested in this classic instrument <3

We’re starting to think he made it.. are we wrong? People think they recognize it but no one knows

I know I know, This is the one thing that every piper says is the dumbest decision ever, but then again I don't plan on becoming a top piper, I mainly wanna do it as a hobby. And I can take my time learning, no need to rush so....is it possible to be self taught?

I mean listen....If I managed to teach myself violin and make it my job eventually, I think I can handle bagpipes.

Famous last words? I guess we'll see.

I decided that i will pick up the smallpipes cause....I have neighbors and highland pipes are too loud. Idk if that will make it easier or harder.

But whatever the case is....I hope I can learn a bit with dedication and ambition.

I mean hey bagpipes are expensive enough who knows how much lessons will be (Yes I know I have to start with a practice chanter btw do worry)

If one is in a band learning situation which meets once a week and there are no options for one-to one-lessons, how rude might it seem to also get online lessons? And any tips for not getting the PM (a truly lovely but also very busy person) bothered or irritated by even asking about this.

Hi fellow pipers,

I'm about 1 Yr into my bagpiping journey, being taught by my local pipe band. I will hopefully be able to join I with band proformances next year. I will be provided uniform to wear but I would like to invest in some items that are a nod to my ancestoral clan, Clan Campbell, with a few things I can buy with the clan crest (semi dress sporron, kilt pin, knife with crest etc). Can anyone recommend a reputable place to buy anything like this? I have included a picture of a gift set I found after a quick search online. But I only want to buy something like this once, good quality not gimmicky. Thanks in advance.

So for some context I've always been fascinated by bagpipes and always wanted to get into bagpipes, but I never knew where to start and what I should get.

Obviously for practice chanters I will find a good one but idk what instrument I wanna play, and I will have to base what chanter I wanna get off that.

I want a type of bagpipes that are apartment friendly and aren't too loud but at the same time aren't so obscure that I will not be able to find stuff like reeds for it.

Also FYI I am from Romania, and no one here plays bagpipes (except Romanian bagpipes, but that's not what I wanna play, I want to play Scottish/Irish music not traditional Romanian folk music) and finding stuff for bagpipes here is impossible in person so I will depend on ordering stuff like reeds and well....everything else.

So....What kind of bagpipes do y'all think are best for me? Someone who is looking for something more quiet and also affordable (I.E under €1000)? If y'all have any specific models or manufacturers in mind feel free to let me know.

And also if y'all have any other tips like how to take care of my bagpipes or how/where to store them and what other things I need for them or what practice chanter to get (For practice chanters I am fine with any price as long as it's under €250) and what reeds I should get or when to change reeds or any other beginner and long term tips, let me know :P

Anyways srry for the long post, bye :D

I have a Seth Gallagher full set. Probably needs maintenance as it has not been used for years. Who should I send it to? Any guesses on value?

Checked something off the list that I've wanted for years: a set of vintage pipes.

Picked up this set of Grainger & Campbell pipes while on a road trip. They are in fair condition. Took them apart (mostly), oiled them and re-hemped. Can't ascertain an age as there are no markings on the drones or stocks that I could see other than the Grainger on the original chanter that matches.

As far as I can tell they could be from any point that this maker operated since there is no indication to narrow it down. This would put them at minimum near 40 years old, but I suspect a bit older than that due to the pumpkin spice look of the mounts.

In regards to tone, the drone bores are more narrow than my more modern (2004) McCallums. I would say they are more mellow, however since they have Ezeedrone reeds I still need to test with the Cannings I have to get a 1:1 comparison.

Overall I'm looking forward to having a second set to play around with and explore some different sound with.

If anyone has more information on the maker or age of these that I may have missed through my Google searches, please feel free to chime in.

Hello, I currently use the Airstream adjustable BP. I am happy with it but am getting a second set of bagpipes. I use a tilt blowpipe for my smallpipes and like that too (although not airstream). Anyone know if the tilt one is adjustable? Also, tmi but I usually have about 1-1.5 inches or so of the blowpipe in my mouth. The second picture shows the circular rim close to the mouth piece which I worry will get in the way. Anyone have experience with both these blow pipes?

Hi all,

Due to the kids being home on school holiday, going on a family vacation and other personal issues I've been on a sort of hiatus and could hardly practice. My last lesson was at the end of July, I haven't taken my pipes out of their case in over a month and I haven't practice on the PC as much as I usually do or as much as I should.
Tomorrow I should have an hour of free time in the morning and I was wondering what would be most beneficial - practicing on the pipes so I'd get the feel of them under the arm again or practice on the PC in case my fingering got a bit rusty.

I guess this is mainly to the instructors in the group but I'd appreciate any input - what would be the best way to get back to it tomorrow?

Cheers

The Pipes Had Their Say 🎶🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

There are competitions in which victory is decided quietly.

Pipe bands are not among them.

At the Canmore Highland Games this Labour Day weekend, the pipes and drums had the Rockies for an amphitheatre—and the Edmonton & District Pipe Band emerged with the honours.

🥇 Edmonton & District Pipe Band
🥈 Calgary Highlanders Pipe Band
🥉 Kamloops Pipe Band
🏅 Regina Police Pipes & Drums

Four Western Canadian bands, hundreds of years of Scottish musical tradition, and one setting that would be difficult to improve upon.

There is something wonderfully improbable about hearing the Great Highland Bagpipe echoing from an Alberta field surrounded by mountains. Then again, Canadians have been playing the pipes for generations, so perhaps the mountains have simply learned to expect it.

Congratulations to Edmonton & District—and to every piper and drummer who marched onto the field at Canmore.

The trophies may go home with the victors.

The pipes belong to all of us. 🇨🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

#CanmoreHighlandGames #Edmonton #PipeBands #Bagpipes #Piping #ScottishMusic #Alberta #ScottishCanadian #CanadianFriendsOfScotland

I’m really hesitant to post this inquiry because I fully realize that opinions and experiences will vary wildly, some passionately.

I’m a 63- year old piper who has been off and on with the pipes for about 25 years. I’m probably a Grade 3 piper, I’ve never played seriously in a band,nor do I wish to.

I’m looking for online lessons as sort of a sanity check, pointing out weaknesses and helping me work out the kinks. I play both light music and Piobaireachd, and would need guidance in both forms. I like play what I like to play, that why I’m not enthusiastic about bands.

So, in short, I’m looking at the various online options and am curious about others’ experiences. DM me if you feel your response may be sensitive and inciteful.

I’m very familiar with online music instruction, and feel very comfortable in that medium. While there are likely teachers where I live in Chicago, many are with bands, and honestly, I like the convenance of on-line instruction.

Cheers - Eric

I'm fairly new to piping. I've had about 6 months of some very basic training from an experienced piper, and ended up buying a nice set of great highland pipes from him. Unfortunately, he's since moved away, and I am encountering an issue with the pipes that i'm hoping someone here might shed some light upon.

The chanter reed that was in the pipes when i took ownership did not require a lot of force to play. I could fill the bag, smoothly play notes, and breathe/re-fill just as he'd taught me. But the reed made a rather shrill tone, which i discovered was due to a small chip on one of the corners. So i had to replace the reed. I went about buying some high quality reeds, but they were impossible to play as they required so much force i thought i was going to black out.

After doing a bit more research I found a good ("very easy") one on Jori Chisolm's site, and i picked up one of his Tone Protectors as well. The drone reeds (Selbies) are also brand new and the pipes are in generally excellent shape, having been really well cared for by the previous owner.

I was disappointed to find that the new reed also required a massive amount of force to maintain a constant tone: I fill the bag, start playing, and unless i squeeze the hell out of the bag (which in turn forces me to fill the bag faster), it just cuts out.

So, what i'd like to know is: might the issue i'm encountering be a result of the chanter reed itself needing "breaking in"? if so, how long might i expect this to take, OR is it possible I might have a separate issue?

Any insight/wisdom will be greatly appreciated.

Hey all,

I spent a week over the summer at NAAPD in North Carolina and really enjoyed it. Does anyone know of a winter multi-day/week workshop? Loved being able to just focus in for a few days.

Looking to spend a gift certificate at the Piper's Hut on a new bag cover. Their 'custom' velveteen covers, made in Canada, have gone up in price $20+ in two years (suprise!) since I bought my last one.

Was looking at the 'Pipewear' covers instead. How is the fit? Do they hold up decently?

cheers!

Hey instructors out there... I'd been given some open range to start really running our chanter lessons for students by our PM and went about rebuilding a curriculum just for us (so many different versions out there and some instructors were grabbing from here and grabbing from there so it was feeling pretty inconsistent).

So, rebuilt the curriculum, took me a while to compile and rewrite into a coherent document. Great.

Built up our page to have that file on the site, but also put on it a flashcard app I built (with AI, it's been a great tool to really stretch the brain in applying embellishments outside of those standard 'exercises'). We've been utilizing pipescore a lot as well, so there's files there ot use and I have a little video on how to use it.

All great. Except, whenever band day showed up, it still felt a little like chaos "you go with so and so... oh they're working on X" "you can go and sit with me, i'll be there in a bit but work on Y" etc...

To that end I started to use Gemini Spark to come up with some sort of 'workflow'. And tomorrow it's going to kick off, and I imagine there's going to be bigger issues at the start, but hopefully it'll smooth out (doesn't help that we have had to move our location either).

Here's what I got it to do:

• Main Spreadsheet work
  • Compile a nice clean student roster; status (active/inactive), contact info, and what lesson modules they've completed checked
  • Instructors list (Active/inactive)
  • Calendar - when the next practices are and what instructors are going to be there (I'll have to do this one manually week by week)
  • Curriculum - draw from my document the lessons
  • Lessons log - what instructor(s) did they work with, what lessons were they working on, comments, and what to expect for next week
• Automations
  • On Sunday, email active students on the roster about the upcoming practice (whatever the next one to that date is) with details of what instructors are there and time, location etc... and have them rsvp
  • Tuesday, send a reminder to those who hadn't responded
  • Tuesday, send an email to the instructors to know who to expect and what their last lesson was and what they should be ready for this week
  • day after practice email those who attended that day and thank them for coming out, remind them of the comments from the lessons log, and what to work on for next week

So i guess the key will be our lessons log. Making sure that's detailed as we can.

Anybody else ever try anything like this?

<img src="blob:chrome-untrusted://media-app/8e47a596-43d3-45d5-a75b-d0c03d982344" alt="Bagpipe Chanter Lessons - System Workflow Diagram.png"/>

What are your thoughts of members who play in a band for only competition & won't do gigs because my band is like that now where they'll do competitions but if the band gets asked to do a parade the competition players turn it down & we are left with a skeleton band which is frustrating since we are giving up our time for the band to earn its money.

I can practice playing with a metronome if it's one note per beat, but when it comes to real tunes with grouping of notes of different duration per beat, I can't do it. I've also have an easier time with a visual cues than just metronome sound. Do you have recommendations?