No-Nonsense Bagpiping by Vince Janoski

It is a month past, but the SFU Highland Arts Festival held the weekend after the band’s terrific performance at New York’s Lincoln Center is still fresh in my mind. I had several fits and starts for a post about the workshop but nothing I wrote captured the right tone. I could talk about the [...]

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 [...]

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 Physical Exam 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 [...]

Better Bagpipe Blowing: Take It to the Limit by Vince Janoski

You should always be playing at the edge of your abilities if you are committed to improvement. That is a given in just about anything you do. There are many who will say that the outer limit is as far as you can go, that you will go no further, while the more rational and [...]

Hack Your Practice: Become an Awesome Bagpiper With Your Piping Z-Score by Vince Janoski

Setting focussed music goals and working to achieve them is the quickest path to improvement as a bagpiper. But setting proper goals can sometimes be daunting and it can be hard to set the right direction for yourself. In the end, poor goal setting can be counterproductive. But you can stop worrying and perform a [...]

How Long Should You Practice? by Vince Janoski

Dr. Noa Kageyama has a website called “The Bulletproof Musician.” Many excellent posts to be found on the psychology of playing music, performing, etc. His post “How Many Hours a Day Should You Practice” is an excellent exposition on how to practice “smart” instead of “a lot.” One of the better and more illuminating sections [...]

7 Ways to Hack Your Brain for Better Bagpiping by Vince Janoski

Bagpiping can seem like a moving target with the amount of information we need to take in as we learn. Never mind the getting the fingers to do what you want, it is making the brain do what you want that is the biggest challenge. Blowing, squeezing, clear embellishments, phrase properly, play on the beat, [...]