Help! My Ganaway Bag Isn't Airtight!
Have you found that your Gannaway bag does not stay completely airtight? Should there be some flexibility with hide bags? What are the major fail points for pipe bags?
Category: Technique & Theory
Why You Can’t Just “Blow Tone”
Have you been told to blow tone or blow steady? Does your chanter reed cut out or squeal? Is it hard for you to tune your drones to your chanter? Does this whole concept of great tone seem ambiguous?
Bagpipers: How to Play FAST
Some pipers think that it is really hard to play fast, but they’re wrong. It’s very easy to play fast, even at a tempo that comes close to matching that of Stuart Liddell. Thus, a fast tempo is really no problem at all. The problem arises when we expect to play fast and at the same time make anything that sounds close to good music.
Understanding Harmonics—Part 1
This article was written by Dr. John Holcombe
How many of us pipers have a firm grasp of the physics of sound that causes the unique and rich sound of our bagpipes? We are told that we should maintain a pressure in the pipe bag that is at the chanter reed’s “sweet spot”, that pressure that causes the reed to maximally vibrate and bring out the most “harmonics” and richness of sound of the reed. But what, really, are harmonics?
Uncovering the Dangerous Psychological Pitfall in Steady Blowing
Blowing steadily and consistently at the chanter reed’s sweet spot is a learned task. Involves mastering a “trifecta” of skills: Identifying the exact pressure we…
The Hidden Fact about Steady Blowing That is Holding You Back
How often have we pipers been told to “blow steady” or that our chanter notes or drones are “wavering” in and out of tune while…
How to Use a Water Manometer to Find the Chanter Reed’s Sweet Spot
A water manometer is an extremely useful tool that can help us to achieve several fundamental goals in piping, including blowing at the correct pressure…
How to Use a Metronome to Learn a Jig
When you are learning a new jig, do you often have trouble staying “on the beat” because you are using all of your concentration just to play all of the melody notes, gracenotes and embellishments correctly? Then, after you get those pesky things out of the way, are you still having trouble getting that “jig feel”? Using a metronome during your practice may well be a useful tool for you.
Rising Above the Typical Challenges with Sight Reading - Andrew Douglas (Basic)
Sight reading is one of the biggest enthusiasm killers in bagpiping. Just like reading English as kids - it takes time, practice, experience, and arguably a bit of talent to learn to read words on the page (just speaking aloud, of course, is much easier).
Engraining the Idea of Playing the Steps of Embellishments - Andrew Douglas (Basic) - July 2012
Embellishments are extremely tricky as we learn to play bagpipes. We're talking - extremely tricky. Even for professional pipers, embellishment "misses" or "flubs" can mean the difference between first place and no placing at all.