Pipehacker

Tune Your Drones Like the Pros

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?

1. Tap off all of your drones
2. Diddle on your chanter
3. “Flick” open the outside tenor drone
4. Tune open tenor to Low A
5. Check it with your Low A 20 or 30 times
6. Open up the bass drone
7. Attempt to tune the bass drone to the open tenor drone
8. Check with your Low A 20 or 30 times
9. Conclude that “it doesn’t sound in tune”
10. Repeat steps 1 through 9 for the rest of your practice session (if not years)
11. Finally realize your dream of getting two drones in tune with Low A
12. Open up the middle tenor drone
13. Attempt to tune the third drone with the open bass and tenor drones
14. Check with your Low A 20 or 30 times
15. Conclude that “it doesn’t sound in tune”
16. Repeat steps 1 through 15 for the rest of your practice session (if not the rest of your life)
17. Realize your dream of getting all three drones in tune with Low A
18. Realize that your Low A is way flat/sharp relative to the other 8 notes on the chanter
19. Move tape
20. Repeat steps 1 through 19 with the hope you may get these things in tune at some point before you die

While the loooong way has its benefits (does it?), consider tuning your pipes the way the pros do. Read More

Hacking Bagpipe Competitions: Abandon the Fear

I was thinking about the state of US bagpiping and drumming competition. Way back in November I wrote about “The Path to Better Bagpipe Competitions” using Highland dancers and their example. We just don’t have “special” events here in the eastern US. Our circuit is all the same stuff with the same significance and meaning. Add to that the fact that there is no fallback plan for when Highland games—the prime venue for competitions—start falling like dominoes, and it becomes apparent that something needs to change both in style and content.

Then it hit me. The answer was staring at me in the mirror. There is no incentive to change bagpipe competitions because the whole system continually feeds off of a seemingly bottomless resource: The aspirational need (and anxiety) that pipers and drummers feel for themselves and the hopes and fears they have for the future. Insecurity underpins the whole thing. Read More