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 [...]

Tune Your Drones Like the Pros by Andrew Douglas

Despite the fact that the vast majority of professional pipers tune their pipes in a drastically more efficient way, almost all teachers teach beginners (and intermediates, ack!) the looong way. You know, the long way? Tap off all of your drones Diddle on your chanter “Flick” open the outside tenor drone Tune open tenor to Low [...]

Be A Stronger Bagpiper II: STAYING IN TUNE by Vince Janoski

Being an active bagpiper takes considerable dedication. The hours of practice and the rigor of travel and competition/performance can take their toll on you physically. A bagpiper may develop a laundry list of physical conditions that are directly related to the hours of practice time put in. Numbness in the hands or arm, aches in [...]

How to Tune Your Bagpipes to Other Instruments – Crash Course by Andrew Douglas

There are lots of crazy explanations out there about what “key” bagpipes are in, and how to tune them to other instruments. Without judging all the things you’ve heard, let me take you through my explanation, which I have put to the test on my two albums, and while jamming with many musicians (most recently, [...]

One Huge Tune Up Tip for Weddings and Funerals by Andrew Douglas

As pipers it’s likely that many of us play gigs here and there. Most often, I play at weddings and funerals. There’s nothing all that hard about these gigs, and frankly, it’s rare that anyone would even notice if your pipes weren’t quite in tune. Unfortunately, a lot of folks hire pipers just for the [...]