Sounding the Part of the Piper by Vince Janoski

Folks love the pomp of the decked out piper in full regalia, don’t they. Sometimes the image of the performing piper looking the part in a well pressed kilt and flags on the drone cords is enough for an appreciative audience—even if he/she sounds like rubbish on the bagpipe.

Treat your Bagpipe Like a Loved One – Part 2 – Chanter Reed Pinching Technique by Andrew Douglas

Be sure you caught the first part of this series – the LICK, posted last week. Next, we move on to the chanter-reed-pinch – possibly the most misunderstood reed-manipulation technique. Remember, reed manipulation should only be used to achieve the SOUND that you want out of your reed; NOT the strength. In my experience, the [...]

Morning Comix: PIPRZ by Vince Janoski

Morning Comix: PIPRZ—All dialogue authentically blawn!

PM Brett Tidswell’s THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERFORMING by Andrew Douglas

For those who struggle with mental aspects of performing or competing, this article is a must-read! An excerpt, below. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PERFORMINGBy P/M Brett Tidswell INTRODUCTION Piping, Drumming or playing in a Pipe Band has long been dominated by competition. Actually performing in the presence of an informed audience also forms a large part [...]

The RSPBA Regrades Eastern US Bands by Vince Janoski

The RSPBA regradings are up on their website and it seems some eastern US bands have seen some impact. The North Coast Pipe Band of Cleveland, Ohio sees their standing improved to Grade 3B for competitions with the RSPBA sphere while the City of Washington Pipe Band of Washington, D.C., for a decade the EUSPBA’s only Grade 1 band, sees a downgrade to Grade 2 for RSPBA competitions. Given the explicit reciprocity among the worldwide pipe band associations, it will be interesting to see what will develop as a result of this decision.

Pipehacker Project: The Black Art of Black Wax by Vince Janoski

Back in the day, the gooey black bits of “cobbler’s wax” were oftentimes a melted mess in a piper’s maintenance kit awaiting their next turn at a strand of hemp. What is simply globs of pine resin and pitch (otherwise known by the scientific name “soot”), the stuff was crumbly, sticky, and infuriating at the same time but has always been ideal for sticking that first wrap of hemp on your pipe tenons. But what do you do when your chunk of black wax has crumbled to nothing?

Bagpipe Stickers! by Vince Janoski

Some Friday foolery. Wouldn’t it be cool if there were good bagpipe-themed stickers to decorate your gear? Lament no more. This vintage image is pulled from the first page of Donald MacDonald’s 19th century book of dance music. Print out this sheet on standard 4-up shipping labels and stick them everywhere!

Treat Your Bagpipe Like a Loved One: Some Basics of Chanter Reed Manipulation – Part 1 – the LICK by Andrew Douglas

Ok, Reed Manipulation. A HUGE topic for pipers. First off, I would like to say that this is a highly expansive topic, where a lot of people have a lot of different theories and views. Herein are simply some of my theories and views! Secondly, I would point out that I am still (and will [...]