Quote Originally Posted by wvpiper View Post
My instructor wouldn't let us advance to the pipes until we had memorized 5 songs.
Isn't it interesting that all bagpipe teachers are in agreement about how doublings should sound and what steady blowing should sound like, but are all over the map on the issue of when the beginner should start on the actual pipes.

The various notions seem to boil down to these:

1) calendar-based delay: Some teachers say the beginner should start on the pipes after six months on the PC. Some say nine months. Some say a year. I've heard every imaginable timetable.

2) performance-based delay: Some teachers say you shouldn't start on the pipes until six tunes are "mastered" (whatever that means) on the PC. Some say ten tunes. Some say fifteen tunes. I've heard all sorts of numbers.

3) no delay: Some teachers think the beginner should start playing the pipes right away. Different things however are worked on on the PC and on the pipes: while the beginner is working on learning the fingerings on the PC he is working on blowing a single tenor drone on the pipes for example.

What does this complete lack of consensus amongst good, successful teachers tell us? That it makes no difference when the beginner starts on the pipes. The critical thing is what the beginner does on the pipes.