Be a Stronger Bagpiper III: Literally by Vince Janoski

Here’s a story familiar to many. You show up at band rehearsal and the Pipe Major is doling out new chanter reeds. Oh boy! You get yours and pop it in but then the practice session continues for a while and it is finally, mercifully over and you’re drenched in sweat, your sides hurt, and [...]

Hacking Bagpipe Competitions: Create a Meaningful Experience by Vince Janoski

The first round of the Bagadou championships was held in Brest, Brittany a couple of weeks ago. An amazing event. The contest features the top level bagad ensembles performing for about ten minutes to a relatively large audience by the sound of it. Viewers of the online live stream numbered near 2,000 at one point. [...]

What’s Happening on the Next Dojo Universe Webcast by Vince Janoski

Wednesday at Noon (EST) is the time to tune in to the Dojo Universe show! Click the image to watch Wednesday’s live show or click here to listen to past webcasts. This week: The “bag” in bagpipes. The seasons are changing and it is a good time to start fresh with a new pipe bag. [...]

The Ebay Bagpiper: Devil Drone Reeds by Vince Janoski

Wherein Pipehacker purchases and test drives assorted bagpipe junk from ebay—so you don’t have to. If you spend any time sorting through the bagpipe offerings on Ebay you’ve seen them. The strange and wonderful variety of “off-brand” drone reeds from just about every continent on Earth. Serious pipers will simply give these goofy entries a [...]

Bagpipe Chain Reactions and Meltdowns by Vince Janoski

I don’t know why, but the demise of the City of Chicago Pipe Band leaves me feeling extra sad for American bagpiping. Sure, I’ve seen good bands come and go in my time, but this hits at a particular time when US piping and drumming seemed to be on a general upswing in quality and [...]

Solo Piping Videos from the Metro Cup by Vince Janoski

May the blessings of G.S. McLennan be upon YouTube user ffmpad for he/she has uploaded video from this past Saturday’s Metro Cup. Alas, I missed it this year but the internet provides… Here are the medley performances of Chris Armstrong and Angus MacColl who were third and first respectively. There could not be two more [...]

Solo Bagpiping Hits the Internet Tipping Point by Vince Janoski

Is it just me or is there an unusual bounty of cool (recent) solo piping to be had over the internet these days? I’m not talking about past things on YouTube and whatnot (though that is good… sometimes). It used to be (way back in the old days, oh, like a year or two ago) [...]

Small Tunes Podcast: “Home Rule” by Vince Janoski

It’s been quite a while since the last Small Tunes Podcast. Let’s catch up with “Home Rule,” a tune that dates from Ireland of the mid- to late 19th century. Home Rule was a powerful political idea that stood at the heart of much of the social turmoil in Ireland from about the 1860s to [...]

Small Tunes: Vintage Melodies from the Bagpipe Tradition 011 Home Rule [ 2:44 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1616)