Lesson Agreement - please read
For those wishing to learn to play the Great Highland Pipes, we offer lessons in a group setting. Having played a musical instrument in the past is no requirement, but for some skills this can prove helpful.
There are some items which are and some are (highly) suggested. they can be obtained from a variety of sources on the internet.
Must have items (approx total cost - $130-150)
Practice Chanter - Currently I'm recommending the Gibson Practice Chanter with Gibson reed. They come in a couple of lengths and several material / trim levels ranging from about $50 to well over $150. the R-101-A Long Poly I believe is the most suitable without going overboard on the Bling. This one is about $70 without shipping. The other thing about standardizing on one chanter, or at least one maker is that when sitting around the table for practice, we match up and sound much better.
** a very important note here ** If you will be purchasing a practice chanter, get a Gibson. Length and material don't matter as much, but we are standardizing on the Gibsons for a reason.
Tutor Book - The College of Piping "Green Book". While there are many tutor books out there, this one is the defacto standard. It comes with a CD which can be played in a normal CD player, as well as has video's which can be viewed on PC's and Mac's, and lesson plans / worksheets to aid in progressing. Price is $28
A good 3-ring binder - You'll need this to keep any lessons, music, schedules and handouts handy. We'll also be giving you sheets of staff notation paper for some exercises.
A book of exercises: Either The Pipers Helper by John Recknagle, or Rhythmic Fingerworks by Jim McGillivray. These provide a wealth of exercises to re-enforce what's learned in the Green Book, and in the case of Rhythmic Fingerworks, includes a ton of explanation and information on timing.
Pen's, pencils & highlighter.
The will and time to practice. Like any skill or instrument, if you do not, or cannot set aside time, every day to practice, you will not progress.
Highly Suggested Items:
Metronome - The Korg MA-30 is an inexpensive metronome that can fit in a shirt pocket. Highly recommended
Audio Recording Device - This can be a Mini-disc recorder, tape recorder, something portable so you can record yourself and our lessons if needed.
Internet Access - We communicate via email, IM, Online forums and this web page.
At least one CD from a world class SOLO piper (Jim McGillvary, Angus McCall, Jack Lee, Rob Crabtree, Bruce Gandy... ) The reason for this is in the beginning you will essentially be a solo piper, and it helps to start early training your ear to know what true world class piping sounds like.
The typical time for a person to go from a first lesson, to actually putting a set of pipes on their shoulder for the first time, can be 6 months to 1.5 years. The determining factors being: Motivation, Practice (smart not hard), general musical aptitude, having some previous music training and.. did I mention practice?
From the first time one puts pipes on their shoulder, to actually playing 2 or more full sets of tunes, so that they are in "the circle", can be another 3 months or more to build up the stamina to play, and get control of the unwieldy contraption.
In addition to learning how to produce music, instruction will, at the appropriate time, include basic marching & counter marching, instrument maintenance, the proper wearing of highland garments (how to sit in a skirt guys), and any other topics.
Buying a full set of Bagpipes - (tell you what, we'll get to that topic in the lessons)
Whether you choose drums or pipes, prepare to have fun, but also to be challenged. Our goal is to create musicians, and to get there, you have to put in the work.