Question for the pipers

**Streetcar** · 8th May 07, 09:32 AM

I'm seriously considering taking lessons, but there are several instructors in my area to choose from.

What should I look for in a good instructor? What should I expect to pay for lessons?

Also, how the HELL do I practice without waking the kids?

Seriously, how loud does the chanter get, and where do you folks practice?

**highlander_Daz** · 8th May 07, 10:20 AM

speak to each instructor in turn and have a trial lesson, remember a good piper does not always a good teacher make!!! ask if you can speak to any of his students, payment -i ive no idea tuitions so cheap here, a practice chanter isnt loud at all.
My suggestion is you join a band to learn, tuitions much cheaper, and you meet other pipers the same level etc, you wont be turning out with the band for a couple of years as a piper but its a good way to learn and have fun,
Forget the pipes for the time being just hammer the practice chanter, scale, grace notes, doublings and throw on D - master these and then start with the other stuff. get a good quality long practice chanter and have fun

**RakesOfMallow** · 8th May 07, 10:24 AM

I can only tell you my experience. I pay $20 a lesson for 45 minutes, which I think is more than reasonable. In the beginning it was individual, but now I'm in group lessons with 1 or 2 other students. I actually enjoy the group lessons more. As far as what makes a good instructor? I'd say first go with your gut, does the person seem pleasant and can you relate to them, because you may be going to see them every week for years...that's right...years! Find out how long they have been playing and how long they have been teaching. Talk to other students that might go to the instructor.

As far as proper technique, I'd make sure they are teaching you to actually read music. They teach you the full throw on "D" (you'll know all about that soon enough). And I wouldn't recommend anyone who wants to get you up on pipes right away. I was in a rather accelerated program and I was up in 6 months, but that was only because I was ready. Everyone is different, and perhaps you'll be so proficient you'll be up on pipes in a few months, or it may take you a year or more. Either way, it doesn't matter. What matters is you are playing clean, precise tunes. Anyone that is in a hurry will possibly cause you to learn some bad habits that you may never break. Best of luck!

Tom

**drobin** · 8th May 07, 11:32 AM

Some good advice from highlander_Daz & RakesOfMallow. Speaking on teachers remember good players don't always equal good teachers, but good teacher are usually fine players. Also some teachers are better with beginners while others are better with more advanced students, and yet others are good with all levels. Ask around there will be a teacher to fit you.
Tuition is very reasonable; my teacher has much lower rates than I charge my (Horn) students.

Practice Chanters are not very loud at all and only have one dynamic level. Make sure you get a quality instrument, not a cheap one. I practice in my room with the door closed, if a radio or TV is on the PC will get covered.

**haukehaien** · 8th May 07, 11:35 AM

Good advice so far, and I don't have much to add, except that Andrew Lenz's article on finding an instructor has some good things.
http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articl...structor.shtml

**PiobBear** · 8th May 07, 03:06 PM

What should I look for in a good instructor? What should I expect to pay for lessons?

Around here, instruction ranges from free (pipe band setting) to around $20.00 per hour for basic individual tuition, to considerably more for competition tutoring & training. What you should look for in a tutor is largely up to you. My tutor apparently never took Dale Carnegie's course or read Amy Vanderbilt; he had quite a reputation in the piping community, but not for his sunny disposition or his diplomacy (I think he started me out at $10.00 or so, opining that I wasn't a good enough piper to possibly absorb more than $10.00 worth of teaching. If I ever got any better (highly doubtful), he'd of course charge more. He never did.). On the other hand, he'd started piping at the age of 8 in Scotland, led several military & police pipe bands in Canada, and led one of our local pipe bands to 14th in the world in Grade II, not to mention legions of pipers from school age up to Grade I/Open. My philosophy was that he's a pipe major and this wasn't a date; if I wanted someone to hold my hand, smile, and pat my cheek, I'd have much better luck with the pretty colleens down at the pub. In retrospect, it was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity which I'm eternally grateful for, and I wouldn't trade a nanosecond of the time I spent with him for all of the tea in China.

Also, how the HELL do I practice without waking the kids?

Conditioning. After a few years, they'll be able to sleep through a session on the great pipes, and won't even be consciously aware of the PC. If it truly presents an insurmountable problem (newborn infants, etc), you could get an electronic PC too. I've got one the size of a cigar with headphones; I use it frequently when my wife's watching something particularly insipid on TV, when sitting at the doctor's waiting room, waiting at airport gates; any number of other opportunities that cause you to purposelessly waste time, and it fits in my pocket.

Seriously, how loud does the chanter get, and where do you folks practice?

Not really loud at all; about as loud as a penny whistle, less so than a flute. I practice with my band, in the living room, back yard, work (I'm the only one there on 3rd shift); wherever. Sometimes on a PC, an electronic PC, smallpipes, or great pipes. Do try and get a nice PC (I like Naills, although I'd like to try a McCallum); remember that aside from training your fingers, you're trying to train your ear, too.

**cajuncelt** · 8th May 07, 03:36 PM

I agree with all of the above. Your instructor should be good at communicating the fundamentals (no false fingering, crisp grace notes, bottom hand thumb placement, breathing technique, ect.) or you will have to go over it all again and retrain yourself.
I disagree with the volume level of the practice chanter. It's relative. Size of area you and the kids are in, reed type, ect. A practice chanter can be pretty damn loud in some cases. The good news is there are ways to minimize the volume with rubberbands and altering your reed a little.

**mexpiper** · 8th May 07, 07:43 PM

Practice where you can!! I try to keep my chanter in my car... I am frequently on the road.. if early to appointment I find a place to park and practice as much as i can in the car....

But than again I should be practicing more than i am....

**BonnieT100** · 8th May 07, 07:57 PM

Like those above, the prices can vary. I was told lessons are $3 each, haven't paid a cent yet. I think they say that to see if you are going to stick with it. Once they realized I'm not going away, that haven't pushed the issue. I bought a PC from a guy in Rome, NY for $40. It's delrin and pretty much indestructible - took it to our war games in Louisiana, have jumped it in my ruck a couple of times - I'm a paratrooper, and normally carry it in a small backpack to and from work everyday unprotected. Have had no problems with it - no cracks, dings, or otherwise. I'm wanting to say the guy goes by the Scottish Piper - google it with Rome, NY. As far as practicing, I do it in a small room with the door shut while my wife studies in the kitchen downstairs. At work, I have a deal - I can blow the PC after PT during breakfast and at lunch. Any other time I use my electronic Technopipes. Well worth the price.

**PiobBear** · 9th May 07, 07:06 AM

I try to keep my chanter in my car... I am frequently on the road..

I used to practice in the car while stuck in our glacial traffic, until my P/M gave me the mental image of getting rear-ended (a very common ocurrence around here) and the mouthpiece of my PC sticking out of the back of my head.