Any advice for a beginning piper?

[mexpiper]

I wonder if you check with the army base there.. if they have a bagpiper. You never know!

My brother was stationed there and his wife was born in Dothan....


mexpiper

[beerbecue]

As a rank beginner myself, first allow me to welcome you to the fold.....

My biggest problem is timing/tempo.... If I know the tune, no problem... But if I am just reading the music it breaks down a bit.....

When you have the CD that goes along with the tunes that will help quite a bit....

I thought I was doing really well until my instructor gave me Scotland the Brave.... What a toughy for a beginner!!!!!!!

You really will need an instructor, you can learn the scales, and some simple gracenotes, but you really need the advice of an experienced piper when it comes to the subtleties of certain gracenotes and techniques..... For example, the way to do birls correctly.... In addition, a trained ear can pick up mistakes that you may be missing....

As stated before, the forums at www.bobdunsire.com are an excellent resource....