Wanting to learn the pipes

[pipersue]

I would add that (if you haven't found them already) you might want to join the Bob Dunsire bagpipe forums. You'll find a wealth of information, including links to pipers/bands in your area who may be accepting students.

I would second this- this forum has 1000's of members who can address/answer just about any question you can think of. Likely too- they will be able to locate an instructor possibility near your home.

And to Barb's point above, yes- you play the practice chanter for as long as it takes- 6 months to maybe 2 years- then move onto the pipes. When it comes to that time- ask alot of questions! Better to be informed. I bought my pipes before the internet, so I feel I am just plain lucky that with my lack of information I made out as well as I did!

Good luck to you- it is challenging, but fun, and most bands (if you choose to join a band) are full of friendly people.

Sue

[Mr. Woolery]

Another advantage of joining a band is that you can sometimes get a second-hand set of very good pipes for not too much money. One of the members of our local band sold off two sets of pipes in order to finance purchasing a new set he really wanted. Two other people now have very good pipes (that they could see, hear, and play before purchasing - a big plus) and paid a lot less than they would have new. And some people believe that wooden instruments improve in sound with years of playing. (This is commonly accepted with guitars and other wooden stringed instruments, but there seems to be some debate with winds - I think they get better with age, but not everyone will agree with me.)

As a note, practice chanters in plastic are the more commonly accepted ones nowadays, it seems. Wooden chanters can sound better and certainly seem to feel more responsive in the hand, but the tops on wooden chanters have a disconcerting habit of cracking from moisture-related swelling. I've repaired four chanters for people in the last two years and it is all from moisture. And that's folks who know how to dry them out after use! Now, there's one member of the band who is deaf (and once took a first place in piobaireachd, which sounds like the punchline to a very bad bagpiping joke) and he needs a blackwood practice chanter. The additional tactile feedback he gets makes practice a lot easier for him, since he really can't hear the notes. Two of the chanters I have repaired belonged to him.

Another reason for learning the practice chanter first is that a fair number of students find they don't really have the discipline to learn an instrument. For kids, the parents either provide the discipline or the kids get nowhere. For adults, we have to make the time ourselves and slog through that initial learning curve until we manage to get to where the rewards are greater than the effort. It is worth it, but there's a much steeper curve at first than for something like a guitar, where you can be making pretty music in a couple of weeks or less. (I play banjo, a little bit of guitar, and tinwhistle. No instrument I've messed with takes anywhere near as long as a bagpipe to get to where the sounds are nice - but no other instrument is anywhere near as rewarding, either.) If you find you don't have the discipline or you lose interest or whatever, you are not stuck there with a thousand bucks tied up in a set of pipes you never play. You have $65 in a practice chanter that you can hand off to someone else. The practice chanter is part o shaking out the folks who are not serious about it.

My teacher says that only one in ten of the people who call her for lessons actually follow through and buy a practice chanter and start lessons. Of those, fewer than one in five stick with it until they are on the pipes. Most of those actually do become decent pipers, however.

James- a set of pipes can be had for less than a grand, but not by much. I got a set that cost about $1500 because I opted for a wooden chanter and some nice bling on my pipes. My practice chanter was $65 and is plastic. This sounds like a lot of money, but when you figure on about $25 per lesson (up to $40 in some parts of the country), it isn't long before you have spent a whole lot more on learning to play than you have on the instrument itself. And the extra money is well spent if you are going to enjoy it more and therefore practice more. And compared to an oboe or bassoon, bagpipes are a cheap instrument - even the fine ones with engraved bling on them.

The world needs more pipers, so I do encourage anyone who wants to do it to take the plunge. Call local music stores and ask if they know of any pipe teachers in the area. Call a funeral home and see if they have contact info for a local piper. In this way, you are almost certain to find your teacher soon. If you don't have the guts to call around (many people do find it hard), make sure you are at the site of whatever local parades you can find and see if there are any pipe bands there. Go up after the parade and ask about pipe teachers. There's nothing to replace that direct and deliberate face-to-face contact. Good luck!

-Patrick

[7 miles]

I am truly thankful for everyones advice. I mailed the local pipe band and he is mailing me back a schedule. I hope in this way my children will come. At least this way i can listen and learn . Again thank you.