Learn To Play The Bagpipes

So you want to play the bagpipes.

Now, what is the first thing you should do?

Buy a set of bagpipes?

No!

Sound strange doesn't it. When you want to play any other instrument, you usually run out and buy one, sit down and start to play. Not so with the bagpipe.

Even seasoned bag pipers never sit down with the bagpipes and learn a tune. They us the "practice chanter"! That's right. The entire section of bag pipers will sit together, working on the music, learning the notes and the proper finger techniques, just on their practice chanters. This is the professional way to learn and you will rapidly become quite adept at playing if you follow the same procedure. The pipers all sit in the relative quiet of the practice room together and the band leader can easily hear the techniques of the individual pipers as well as the growing ability to play as a group on each new tune as they memorize it.

The Practice Chanter

Don't make the mistake though, of thinking the practice chanter is not a musical instrument. It may be very basic but it will require musical skill and abilities to master.

Look for a good quality chanter. The best oar made of African Blackwood, others made from Rosewood while more recent chanters have been made of polypenco plastic.

Some come with or without a sole but that is usually just a decorative function. The hole can be either round or oval.

Since you will use a practice chanter for your entire piping career it is advisable to get a good one. But no matter how much you have to spend, you can at least get started on the road to becoming a bona fide bagpiper.

The Practice Chanter Kit

Some stores will offer a kit that consists of a practice chanter, a piper tutor book and usually a cd that you can follow along with as you learn.

One of the better tutor books is from the College of Piping and is known as "The Green Tutor". Many of the kits that contain this piping tutor will also have a cd where you can actually see the fingering techniques as well as hear how it should sound when you are doing it right.

Personal Piping Tutor

The best way to learn, of course, is to get a real life piping tutor. Look in your local yellow pages or check out your area on the internet to find a local piping tutor. This will help you to advance in your lessons even more quickly. Quite often many folks are ready within a year to get involved in a pipe band even though they have had to start from scratch.

By that time you are well on your way to buying bagpipes and becoming involved fully in the world of the bagpipe player.