Pipehacker Project: Recording Your Professional Personal Piping Performances by Vince Janoski

You’re serious about your bagpiping, right? Of course you are. You take all the necessary steps to treat your instrument with care and acquire all the skills and knowledge you need to play good music. So why wouldn’t you treat other aspects of your bagpipe progress with the same import? It always surprises me that, [...]

Hack Your Learning: 5 Places to Expand Your Music Education for Free by Vince Janoski

Those of us who try hard at this Highland bagpipe thing for a decent length of time will realize that it is not enough to simply consider oneself a “piper.” If you are to keep making significant progress, you must consider yourself a “musician.” Learning how to play the Highland bagpipes can make you a [...]

Hacking Your Inner Bagpiping Judge by Vince Janoski

There are those who would claim Highland piping is difficult. It may be, but perfecting a crunluath a-mach is nothing compared to the art of perfecting your own self-critiquing skills. It is the hardest thing of all to become your own judge and lend an objective ear to your own playing. After running through your [...]

Pipehacker Project: The Piper’s Perfect Pressure Gauge by Vince Janoski

The bagpiping world seems to be divided up into two groups: 1) The denizens of bagpipe internet forums who are sure manometers, i.e., tubes filled with water, will make them better pipers and talk as if manometers and pressure gauges are as commonplace in your piping gear as hemp and black tape; and 2) everyone [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Pipehacker Project: Waxing Hemp-ish by Vince Janoski

Having well hemped joints on your bagpipe is a critical part of a well set-up and efficient instrument. The hemp used should use a good amount of black wax as a base with plenty of wraps of waxed hemp to finish it off. The wax regulates moisture absorption as well as keeps the hemp adhered [...]

Pipehacker Tip: Use a Spare Bagpipe Bag Cover in the Off-Season by Vince Janoski

Would you mow your lawn or clean your house in your good suit? Of course not. You have an old T-shirt and some work pants for that kind of thing, something you don’t mind getting dirty. But pipers do this all the time when we play our nice, clean bag covers during our non-performing times. [...]