On Being an Authentic Bagpiper by Vince Janoski

We all live in our own reality bubbles. We become accustomed to thinking that the way we see things is how they are or how they must be. As active, competing bagpipers, I think we collectively form our own piping reality bubble that influences what we play, what we learn, how we play, and who [...]

Pipehacker Tip: Create Your Bagpipe Practice Infographic by Vince Janoski

Do you know what it is you spend your time on? Previously, I’ve talked about treating your bagpiping like finance and money and taking stock of your intangible assets. Well, also like finance, you also must take stock of your spending if you are to see where your money goes. Like money, time is an [...]

Assessing Your Intangible Bagpiping Assets by Vince Janoski

In the world of finance, assets are any resource, tangible and intangible, in your control, that can produce value. In the world of bagpiping, your assets would be anything you can access and use to produce music. The ultimate return or gain in this sense is playing good music on the bagpipe and anything that [...]

5 Ways to Set Better Bagpiping Goals by Vince Janoski

The beginning of the new year is always the perfect time to assess where you are in your bagpiping. Goal setting is a ubiquitous start-of-year activity that benefits lots of folks, and bagpipers are not exempt. Sometimes though, the act of setting the goals themselves can be a daunting task. You know what you need [...]

10 Personal Bagpipe Resolutions for the Coming Year by Vince Janoski

The following post appeared at the turn of the new year for 2011. Now that we are on the brink of another year’s turn, it seems a good a time as any to refresh your list of bagpiping resolutions for 2012. A happy, healthy, and prosperous 2012 to all! The hubbub of the holiday season [...]

The Bagpipe Happiness Principle by Vince Janoski

Time is money, they say. If that is true, then what are you spending your money (time) on? “They” also say money can’t buy happiness. But I disagree. If you spend smartly, you can use your hard-earned cash on things that will improve and/or add value to, your life—the things that will bring you closer [...]

Chanter Reed Selection—The Match-Up by Vince Janoski

The ideal bagpipe sound starts with selecting the ideal chanter reed. Obvious? It is not always as easy as it seems. Personal preferences and taste coupled with what amounts to unlimited choice in makers and quality of chanter reed makes that initial task of selecting your ideal reed a bit more daunting. But unlimited choice [...]

Hack Your Practice: Being a Better Bagpiper with E’s by Vince Janoski

All of us want to be better bagpipers, right? Bagpiping is one of those art forms that never stops giving and compels people to never stop working. That is essentially what is at the heart of previous posts such as “5 Ways to Become a Better Bagpiper” and “5 Ways to Build Good Practice Habits.” [...]