New Feature! Bagpipe Workout Videos

I've started a new feature here on BagpipeLessons.com -- a series of Bagpipe Workout videos.

The goal of these short videos is to give pipers the most effective way to practice. These videos are based on the exercises that I have developed over the years and used with great success in my own playing and with my students.

Press play and follow along! You'll find you will improve immediately and keep improving as you keep practicing.

(The first video below has been posted via YouTube. In the future, the videos will be available for download so you can watch them on your computer, burn to CD/DVD, watch on your phone or iPod. Also, you'll be able to adjust the speed of the video clips to suit your level!)

BagpipeLessons.com Bagpipe Workout - GDEs
These three gracenote combinations are an important part of all pipe tunes, but especially jigs, reels, and some Piobaireachds.

Bellingham Highland Games Recap

I won the Professional Solo Piping Aggregate on Saturday at the Bellingham Highland Games, with a first in the Piobaireachd and fourth in the March, Strathspey, and Reel.

The band played twice in competition on Saturday and got all firsts from the eighth judges. The band played again on Sunday, a wee show of 10 or so sets.

Here's are some nice high res photos of the band in action:

And here are videos from the band's two competition sets....

The Medley:


The MSR:

Solo Bagpipe Recital at Folklife this Weekend!

I'll be performing a solo bagpipe show at Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle -- the largest free music festival in North America.

Check it out!

http://tinyurl.com/folklife2009

Jori

Victoria Highland Games

Here's a video of the band at the Victoria Highland Games over the weekend. Weather was breezy and sunny. Perfect!



We are playing our selection of tunes starting with Cosmos Cascade and ending with Mrs. MacLeod of Raasay.

Let the Games Begin!

The outdoor Highland Games competition season begins this weekend in Canada.

I'll be posting updates via my twitter account here:

http://twitter.com/bagpipelessons

Interview in The Tartan Telegraph

I was recently interviewed by Beau Buffington for the May 2009 issue of the Tartan Telegraph. Here's the entire interview:

A Conversation with Jori Chisholm at the Winter Storm Gold Medal competition this year, I was thoroughly impressed with Jori Chisholm’s focus, confidence and control on the platform: as I told him later, he seemed to perform with the attitude that “I came here to win.” Later that weekend, I was able to meet him and to ask him about doing an interview for the newsletter, and I was thrilled that he was agreeable with the idea. I was finally able to catch up with him on as he drove from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. to practice with the World Champion Simon Fraser University Pipe Band (SFUPB) in Vancouver, British Columbia.

-Beau Buffington

Beau Buffington: So, when you practice with SFUPB, what sort of preparation does the band do? Do you just work on practice chanters or pipes? All the above?

Jori Chisholm: Only pipes. We almost never play practice chanters. I don’t know how it works in other bands, but from my experience, most other bands do much more practice chanter work. I think SFU has evolved over the years to just play on pipes. When we learn new music we’ll be playing it from music on overhead projectors, and we’ll just be reading off the overheads and sight reading.

BB: Wow.

JC: That tends to be my philosophy on individual practice as well: just play on the pipes. Maybe a little practice chanter work here and there. Everything that you can do on the chanter, you can also do on the pipes. There’s no reason for you to have a tune memorized before you play it on the pipes. Get a music stand, stick it on the wall, stick it on the fridge with a magnet…whatever, but just get the music up and start playing on the pipes. It’s multitasking: you’re working on learning the tune, memorizing the tune, working on the rhythms of the tune, working on your technique all the stuff you can do on the chanter AND you’re getting the physical workout of the pipes. You’re working your reeds in, getting comfortable, you’re working on your stamina–all that stuff. In a time where people have fewer and fewer free moments, you just try get it all in. So, what I recommend to my students is do as much practice as you can in on the pipes. When you get totally tired and want to keep going, then get your chanter out.

BB: Yeah. That sounds good!

JC: You know, when I cross the border here [..] I’ll head up to the university, and we’ll have practice in one of the big lecture halls. It’ll be right straight on the pipes, pipes out. The pipers and drummers are separate for maybe 45 minutes. We’ll work on unison playing and technique and maybe do some tuning. Then the drummers will join us on drums and we’ll do some of the full band stuff, ensemble work, then we’ll do a little bit of arranging between the pipers and the drummers.

BB: So, what about the players that actually commute from out of the country? Do they make it every week? How does that work?

JC: No, no, no. The way that the top pipe bands in the world have gone […] have sort of become all star bands. SFU is one of those, so we have players all over the world. We have a core ground of players in the Vancouver area who are sort of our in-town players. Then we have guys who are sort of semi-in town / out of town like me, I don’t come every week, but I’m within driving distance. Then we have guys who have to fly. We have guys who are from all over the U.S. who don’t come every week, but we will have these band weekends, 4-day weekends or we’ll have a band week around Spring break. And as many players who can fly out for that. We have a few of those get togethers every year, then in the summer players will come out. So, players who live in Scotland will come out for maybe the whole month of July. It’s quite a sacrifice for them, but we try to have the whole band in town for the lead up to the world’s. And then all the players in the band are top players anyway and they need to be totally prepared and they’re learning the music and we’re distributing the music online, so that when they arrive they know the material, their pipes are going and it’s just the fine-tuning that happens.

BB: As far the equipment, you’ve played long enough to see the changeover {…} from natural to synthetic, how do you think that affects the tuning and variability of the instrument?

JC: All of this new technology has made it really easier to have pipes that sound good and stay in tune. As a result, over the last 10-15 years, the rules have really changed for how competitions are judged. Whereas 15 years ago, even ten years ago under the old, all-natural setup, if your pipes were very slightly out of tune, you might get away with it. But these days, it’s almost like a zero tolerance policy: your pipes have to be absolutely perfect at the end – at the beginning – but also at the end to even be considered for the top prizes. The bar has just been raised so high because of technology. You used to regularly hear pipes going out of when you listened to a competition, drone reeds shutting off, and so on. Now, you hardly hear any of that at the top level. You hear really good, in-tune instruments for the most part all the way through. Of course players still experience what used to be considered very minor problems, but now everything is sort of magnified. I know there are still a few pipers playing the natural sheepskin bags and cane reeds. I tip my hat to them, because it’s a very challenging thing to do. Especially in a solo competition like a piobaireachd where you’re looking at tuning up process of 30-45 minutes plus another 20 minutes on the platform. Sheepskin and cane drone reeds can give a very rich tone, but the synthetic drone reeds and synthetic bags with modern moisture control have made it much easier to keep the pipes stable for long periods of time. For the casual player or lower grade competitor, these innovations have tamed the instrument and made it much easier to achieve great pipe tone. It also leaves you much more time to focus on your playing skill rather than pipe maintenance.

BB: I wanted to ask you about your students, in terms of the Bagpipe Lessons. Obviously, they’re not local, are they all over the country, or all over the world?

JC: Yes, I have students all over the world. I teach traditional lessons and have for many years – once a week or once every two weeks people come to my house and have an hour lesson. But then about seven or eight years ago just when broadband internet was first available and when webcams first came on the market, I started teaching online. Lessons by webcam are basically just like traditional one-on-one lessons, but we meet via the webcam either thru Skype or one of these other video chat programs. And it has been a really great thing for students around the world, because now you don’t have to have a teacher that lives locally, or you don’t have to spend a lot of time and effort and money traveling to your lessons. So, I have students all over the U.S., Canada, Europe. I’m teaching a piper who is retired and traveling around the world right now on a sailboat. So, when he pulls into the port somewhere that has Internet access, he sends me an email that asking, ‘Can we do a lesson this week’? We set something up and there we go, bagpipe lessons on your sailboat in tropical Port Who Knows Where. It’s really another example of how the internet is bringing people together and shrinking distances. I really enjoy the process of trying to find new and innovative uses for all of this exciting technology and find ways to reach and teach more pipers.

BB: So, what are your future goals for your teaching studio? Would you like to continue teaching that way? Do you have a 5 year plan?

JC: I’m going to continue to grow my website. I’ve got several different learning options on there, including these tune lesson downloads which I created a few years ago which allows pipers to download a tune lesson that includes the sheet music, an MP3 of me playing the tune on the pipes and you get an MP3 lesson of me teaching you the tune. The library of tunes include 70 tunes and four Piobaireachds and I plan to keep adding new tunes. I just launched a new website called PipeBandTunes.com that is the internet’s first place to download complete pipe band music. With each tune you get the sheet music and a recording of the pipe tune, and the sheet music and a recording of the drum score, and a recording of the combined pipe tune and drum score. For perfect ensemble! The drum music has been put together by my fellow SFU Pipe Band member and World Champion James Laughlin – a great instructor and superb musician. I feel very fortunate to have a teaching studio that has been growing steadily over the years, and my students have been incredibly loyal. It has encouraged me to keep adding to the site and to keep adding new content and to keep innovating. I get some really great feedback from people all around the globe saying that they really appreciate just the access to the material.

BB: So, do your students do a lot of competing?

JC: Some do. I have a whole range of students from seven year old kids to retirees in their seventies. I teach complete beginners from day one all the way up to professional pipers – the whole range – from pipers who are really into competition and want to win at the highest levels to pipers who have never competed and have no interest in competition and are into the music from a hobbyist point of view. There are many reasons to be into the music. For me, I love competing but it’s not the only thing. If I could never compete again, I would absolutely play for fun and still continue learning new tunes, do my recordings and performances.

BB: So, what are your goals for the piping? Obviously, the Gold medal in Kansas City, you got that, what, that’s the third time this year?

JC: The third time, which is just a great honor. There were so many good pipers in that competition. And a great judging panel. MHAF of Kansas City has done such an excellent job creating an event and in less than ten years turning it into THE piping and drumming event on the continent. I’m looking forward to a great year, which includes playing with the SFU Pipe Band, competing in solo competitions and, of course, Scotland. I go to Scotland every August and plan to continue for a long time. I will compete at the World Championships with the band, that’s the pinnacle of the year for the pipe band world. I stay over for the rest of the month and go to as many of the Highland games as I can. I plan to compete at the Gold Medal in Scotland, at both Oban and Inverness. I would like to keep competing there as long as they keep letting me in. The pinnacle for solo piping is to win those gold medals in Scotland. That gets your name in the history books. I feel like every year I’m improving and sharpening my skills and every year putting out good performances. The rest is in the hands of the judges really.

BB: Does winning the Gold medal in Kansas City somehow put you a step towards qualifying to play in the medal events in Scotland?

JC: Not in any sort of official sense. The way the Gold medal works in Scotland is that every year you have to apply, and part of that application is your competitive track record from the previous year. So, winning the US Gold Medal will definitely go on my application, including who was in the prize list and who was judging. This means something, not in any official sense, but it just adds to my overall track record. I’ve been competing for the Gold medal in Scotland for a few years, I’ve place in the top placed in the top four twice, which is very encouraging. So I my goal is to keep playing well and just have that good, consistent track record so they keep
inviting me back. It’s getting harder and harder every year for players to get into that event, because it’s restricted to 25 or 30 worldwide. If you look at ,every year someone wins the Gold medal so they get moved out, but every year someone wins the Silver medal, which is a qualifier. So, that spot is filled. The number of pipers worldwide at a high level is just getting bigger and bigger. Top piping is definitely getting more international. Whenever I first went over to Scotland just as a spectator almost 15 years ago, there were very few non-Scottish players in the Gold medal competition. Then, just a few years ago, more than half were non-Scottish players. So it’s players from Canada, the US, New Zealand, and now countries in Europe: England, Ireland, Germany. It’s just getting tougher and tougher to get in. So you’ve got to get the competitive track record, and that comes from playing well, which in turn comes from being prepared and competing as often as you can. And I really enjoy competing. It’s not everything to me, but I do enjoy the process of preparation. The global standard of piping has been going up, but the American standard has been going up even faster. Without question, the standard of the U.S. has risen because of events like Kansas City, because you have absolutely top-notch teachers and judges, that’s key. I know from my own experience that my piping would not be where it is without exposure to the top level teaching that came at the Master of Scottish Arts school, at the Balmoral School[…]and it just builds. And also don’t underestimate the power of something like the internet, where now it doesn’t matter where you are, with a couple of clicks, you can listen to great pipers of the past who are no longer living, and you don’t have to be living in Glasgow to hear these guys. People are unearthing a lot of this old material, there’s people re-releasing this stuff that was on old, dusty cassette tapes which is just incredible. The access to good teaching and good, relevant material has never been better. So that in your iPod, you can have Brown, Nicol, MacFadyen, and Donald MacLeod. It’s amazing! And you can get online and have a webcam lesson. It’s a very exciting time to be a piper!

For more info visit Beau's site and download the full issue of the Tartan Telegraph.

BagpipeLessons on Twitter

It's seems everyone is getting into Twitter these days, so we are too!

http://www.twitter.com/bagpipelessons

Twitter is free social networking and micro-blogging website that allows you to follow my short text messages. I will be using Twitter to post updates on what is new and interesting here at BagpipeLessons.com and to provide the latest info on competition results, share interesting web links, and more. It's a fun and informal format and I have started using it to post fun, spur-of-the-moment, whatever-is-on-my-mind sort of items.

Check it out and join to start following BagpipeLessons.com on Twitter!

New Bagpipe Learning Community

I've created a new online learning community t0 help pipers learn faster and easier than ever before.

Check it out and join today (it's free!)


Visit Learn the Pipes at BagpipeLessons.com

BC and Las Vegas

I'm just home from two weekends of back to back competitions. April 11 was the B.C. Indoor where I won first place in the Open Jigs. Here's a photo receiving the Jig trophy from P/M Alasdair Gillies.



This past weekend I was in Las Vegas. The pipe band won first place both days and I won the overall in the professional solo piping with a first in the Piobaireachd, first in the MSR, and second in the Hornpipe & Jig. Here's a video of the band's winning medley performance.

Piper Ear Protection

A student recently asked me about wearing ear plugs while piping. My advice: YES!

Pipes are loud. Hearing damage is cumulative. It might be okay to be around loud pipes for a few minutes a day, but if you are practicing for longer sessions or playing in a pipe band, you'll definitely want to reduce the amount of sound hitting your ear drums.

Pipers used to argue that earplugs muffle or distort the sound, making it hard to tune the pipes or hear the playing. This is true with the cheap foam earplugs.

Today, there are a couple of great options that offer hearing protection specifically for musicians. They are based on the concept of flat attenuation, i.e., they reduce the sound equally across the whole spectrum of sound. This means you hear everything, just a bit quieter. Perfect!

Option #1 (less expensive): High Fidelity Hearos



These great earplugs are a great price (~$15 USD) and provide 20 dB sound reduction. You can buy them online and one size fits all.

Buy them online.

Option #2 (more expensive): Custom Fitted Musician's Earplugs



These great earplugs are more expensive (~$150-200 USD) and you can choose you level of sound reduction. These earplugs are custom fitted to your ears. You need to find a place that offers this product, I recommend you call around or search online for places that make hearing aids, etc. The professional takes molds of your ears and then the molds are sent off to a lab where they make your custom earplugs. I have had these type of plugs for several years and I love them. They work great (I use a 15 dB or 25 dB filter). They are comfortable (I wear them several hours a day while playing and teaching).

Visit Etymotic Research for more info.

To sum up: Yes you need hearing protection! Cheap foam earplugs block the sound, but if you are going to be playing pipes for a long time, you'll enjoy the sound much more with some earplugs designed for musicians!

New Website for Pipe Band Tunes!

I wanted to share with you the exciting news that I'm launching a new website called PipeBandTunes.com -- the world's first place to find high quality pipe tunes and perfectly matched drum scores. I've been working with fellow World Champion pipe band member and drum instructor extraordinaire James Laughlin on this exciting new website.

We created PipeBandTunes.com to be a place where pipers and drummers can download the music for a pipe tune and the perfectly matched drum score, complete with recordings of the pipe tune, the drum score, and a combined recording. For perfect ensemble every time!

Then check out the site and the list of tunes:
http://www.PipeBandTunes.com/

Bagpipe Revolution Review

My new solo CD, Bagpipe Revolution, has been out for a few months and getting great reviews. Here is the latest from the Irish American News.

"This is the best solo effort I have heard in quite a while."

"There’s a bunch of really fine new tunes to wrap your ear around, recorded and mixed with skill. Jori himself was the producer and he certainly turned out a CD to be proud of."

"For all you folks who appreciate good music and want to see the scope and range of the bagpipe expanded and developed, get a copy of Bagpipe Revolution and see for yourself what a great solo pipe recording sounds like."

Read the whole review.

Read more great reviews at the Bagpipe Revolution site.

Gold Medal Video and Audio

Here's the audio of my Gold Medal winning performance of Lament for the Dead.



(If you have video to share, please send me an email.)

Here's video of my two performances in the Ceol Beag.

The final:



The qualifier:

Triple Gold!

I'm just home from Kansas City and the annual Winter Storm piping festival and U.S. Gold Medal piping competitions. I'm excited that I won the Gold Medal for Piobaireachd for the second year in a row and third time. I won the first Gold Medal back in 2004 and now I'm the first piper to win it more than once.

There were many people in the audience with cameras and recorders, so I'm hoping the performance will be up on YouTube shortly.

The sold-out champions concert of all the prizewinners and judges was held the night after the competition and there are already many videos up on YouTube. Just search for "winter storm 2009 concert"

Bagpipe Revolution news!

My new CD, Bagpipe Revolution, received 26% of the votes in the PipesDrum Reader's Choice Poll for Album of the Year. That was enough to win the runner up spot. Thanks to all who voted.

Wilson Brown reviewed the CD for PipesDrums. He gave it 3.5 stars. You can read the whole review (subscription required) here: http://tinyurl.com/br-review

A few highlights:

"It is obvious from this recording that Jori is not only a very talented piper but is also a very creative musician."

"The Highland pipes are full and resonant and the mix of instruments work very well in creating an atmospheric sound."

"Evolution, a jig-style piece of music composed by Chisholm...is a cleverly constructed piece of music."

"Bagpipe Revolution is an enjoyable CD from a musician who has been willing to put together an album of contrasting styles, who has not been content to follow the usual format."

If you are a PipesDrums subscriber make sure to post your comments!

Cheers!

Jori

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and best wishes for a great 2009!

Thanks for all of your support over the past year. A few highlights from the past year.

-release of my first solo CD, Bagpipe Revolution
-another successful competition tour in Scotland, including many top solo competitions prizes and the World Pipe Band Championships with the SFU Pipe Band
-continued success of my Tune Lesson Downloads
-my tune composition published in new book of pipe music
-making new friends and keeping in touch with old friends at BagpipeLessons.com on Facebook
-my second United States Gold Medal for Piobaireachd
-and many more!

Here are a few photos from the past year.

Stay tuned for more exciting learning solutions here at BagpipeLessons.com in the coming year.

Cheers!

Limited Edition Autographed "Scottish Pipers" Book

Last year, I was thrilled to find out I made it in to Colin Baxter's new photo book Scottish Pipers. Colin is probably Scotland's most famous photographer, you've likely seen his great images of castles, glens, and mountains on calendars, postcards, and coffee table books.

I have obtained a limited batch of books autographed by Colin Baxter himself!

They are for sale until they are all gone. These would make a great gift for a piper or a fan of bagpipes or anything Scottish. The new book is his first on pipers and it has some great photographs.

Limited Edition Autographed Scottish Pipers Book
$11.99

Send me an email if you are interested in getting a copy of the book.

Here are a few images from the book. The cover (with mandatory Royal Stewart tartan and feather bonnet):

The title page (yours truly piping at Glenfinnan. A rare day of glorious sunshine!):

Ten New Tune Downloads!

I am excited to announce the addition of Ten New Tune Lesson Downloads available for instant download. The lessons are a complete learning solution, so you'll be able to learn these tunes faster than ever before. The lessons include a high quality mp3 recording of the tune, sheet music that perfectly shows how the tune should be expressed, a detailed audio lesson, and BONUS material.

This brings the complete list of Tune Lessons Downloads to seventy-four, including seventy of the best known piping tunes and four classic Piobaireachds.

The Tune Lesson Downloads complete collection includes:
• twelve 2/4 Marches
• seven 3/4 Marches
• ten 4/4 Marches
• five 6/8 Marches
• one 9/8 March
• twelve Slow Airs
• three Strathspeys
• two Reels
• seven Hornpipes
• nine Jigs
• two Other
• four Piobaireachds

The new batch of tunes includes:
• When the Battle's O'er
• King George V's Army
• The Minstrel Boy
• The Dawning of the Day
• The Barren Rocks of Aden
and more!

Check out the new tunes!

Vote for Bagpipe Revolution for Album of the Year!

Great news! PipesDrums, the web's most prominent bagpipe news site, has nominated Bagpipe Revolution for Album of the Year. This year the winner will be selected by popular vote, so I need your vote for my album!

Click here to vote for Album of the Year!!!

The album has been out for a few weeks and the great reviews have been rolling in.

"fantastic stuff... bloody great!"

"we were completely mesmerized... LOVE IT!"

"not only great piping but very unique."

"a really broad and entertaining approach."

"enjoyed all the tracks which is pretty amazing really."

"the track that really hit me was the Piobaireachd with the harmony."

Visit BagpipeRevolution.com to read more reviews, listen to preview tracks, view artist and track details, see glimpses of the cover and artwork, and get your own copy of the CD.

Listen to the track 9, Evolution:

Bagpipe Revolution has Arrived!

My new album, Bagpipe Revolution, has arrived. Check out the new website for more information on the CD, detailed artist notes, sample tracks, glimpses of the artwork, and how to order your very own copy of Bagpipe Revolution.



Listen to a sample track (Track 6 -- Jigs):



Take me to BagpipeRevolution.com!

Bagpipe Revolution on BBC's Pipeline

My new album, Bagpipe Revolution, has been over 2 years in the making, and will finally be ready for worldwide release later this month. When I was in Scotland this past August I had a nice conversation with Iain MacInnes, producer of BBC's bagpipe-themed radio program, Pipeline. I gave Iain a preview copy of the CD, and I was thrilled to find out that a track has been selected for this week's show.

Pipeline is the world's most popular bagpipe radio show. You can listen to the entire show online. Check out this week's playlist.  My appearance is about 35 minutes into the hour-long show.

Send email to bagpiperevolution@gmail.com to be notified when the CD is ready to ship!

In the meantime, here are a few photos of the CD artwork, by Toronto based graphic artist Tyler Fry (no relation to the drummer with the same name).

Home from Scotland!

I'm back from Scotland and excited to be back home and teaching my students. In the next few days, I'll be posting some more photos and stories from my trip, but in the meantime check out the list of some of my competitive achievements this year.

-42 top-six placings in solo competition, including 20 firsts and seconds.
-1st Place Open 'A' Piobaireachd Cowal Highland Gathering (The Glen Caladh Trophy) [first American Winner]
-1st Place United States Gold Medal Piping Championship [first two-time winner]
-1st Place Open Strathspey & Reel Birnam Highland Games
-1st Place Overall Points at Birnam Highland Games
-1st Place Open Strathspey & Reel Glenisla Highland Games
-1st Place Overall Glenisla Highland Games (P/M James McGregor Glenisla Challenge Trophy for Piper of the Day)
-1st Place Open Marches at Invergordon Highland Games
-1st Place Open Strathspey and Reel at Invergordon Highland Games
-1st Place Overall at Invergordon Highland Games
-1st Place Hornpipe & Jig at R.U. Brown Piobaireachd Society of South Australia Championships
-1st Place Overall at R.U. Brown Piobaireachd Society of South Australia Championships

WORLD CHAMPIONS!

Yes. We did it! As a member of the Simon Fraser University Pipe Band, we were crowned World Pipe Band Champions last Saturday August 16 in Glasgow. For video and audio, please visit SFU Tube. It's very exciting, and after several years of placing 2nd and 3rd it's great to back on top of the world! "The Worlds" is the pipe band world's version of the Super Bowl -- the biggest event of the year and the most prestigious to win. The news story at pipes|drums.

The Worlds is one of the biggest events of the year in Scotland with over 20,00 spectators. You'll find plenty of video of the competition and the victory march of the champions on here on YouTube.

Here I am with the Championship Trophy (aka The Spike).



And the entire winning team.



Additional great news, Seattle's own Keith Highlanders Pipe Band placed 3rd in the Grade 4B category at the Worlds. I have taught and coached the Keith Highlanders for several years and watched their dedication and improvement. A local news story on the band.

New Book of Pipe Music

My composition, The Merry Wedding Hornpipe, has been published in Iain MacDonald's new book of pipe tunes, Along the Road.

I wrote the tune a few years ago for the wedding of my friends Colin & Inge Merry, and was very pleased to learn that Iain selected it for his long-awaited book of tunes.  Iain was a friend and student of the legendary piper and composer Donald MacLeod.  In this new book, Iain shares with the world several of Donald's previously unpublished compositions.  Donald is considered by many to be the greatest composer of pipe tunes.  He published six books of his own prior to his passing in 1982.  Donald's pipe tunes have become classics.  His strathspey Susan MacLeod (named for one of his daughters) was selected as the greatest pipe tune of all time by pipesdrums.com.  So, the fact that this book brings new Donald MacLeod tunes to the light of day is an historical rarity and a remarkable event.  That my hornpipe composition was chosen for the collection is a true honor.

More info and how to purchase on Along the Road.

The Merry Wedding Hornpipe is also available from my Downloadable Tune Lessons.

Scotland Bound!

In two weeks, I'll be in Scotland for the World Pipe Band Championships and many other piping events. I'll post my full schedule shortly, but in the meantime here is a video from 2001 when we were World Champions...

New SFU Pipe Band Video and Audio

The SFU Pipe Band (of which I am a long-time member) has just launched a new website with exclusive audio and video of the band. Check it out at www.sfutube.com.

Pipes|Drums had a nice little article about the launch of the new site.

Live from the Highland Games

Here's a video of my March, Strathspey & Reel from the Bellingham Highland Games.

Let the Games begin!

Summer is here and that means it's Highland Games season again. I will be performing at many of the local competitions this year. Comox, Victoria, and Bellingham have passed but many more remain. Coming up are:

Sons of Scotland Games - June 14
B.C. Games - June 28
Skagit Valley Games - July 12
Portland Games - July 19
Pacific Northwest Games - July 26-27

and then many, many more in Scotland (more info on those later).

Below is a photo from last weekend in Bellingham. The great shot was taken by my friend and piper and photographer Ken MacKenzie. Ken's bagpipe photo blog is Piperazzi (get it?)

Bagpipe Revolution Show at Folklife - May 24

I will be performing at Northwest Folklife on Saturday May 24 at 12:20pm on the Fisher Stage.   My new CD will be hot off the presses and I will have copies for sale.

Here are some sample tracks from the new CD:
http://www.BagpipeRevolution.com/

Folklife is one of the biggest and best folk music festivals in the world. And it's all totally FREE! (Donations accepted at the gate). It's at Seattle Center at the base of the Space Needle. If you've never been, you should check it out. Make a whole day of it, there are literally hundreds of performers on dozens of stages, indoors and out.

info on folklife:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Folklife

folklife website:
http://www.nwfolklife.org/

official schedule of events, directions, etc:
http://www.nwfolklife.org/P_F/festival.html

I hope to see you there!!!

Ten New Tune Lesson Downloads

I am excited to announce the addition of Ten New Tune Lesson Downloads available for instant download. The lessons are a complete learning solution, so you'll be able to learn these tunes faster than ever before. The lessons include a high quality mp3 recording of the tune, sheet music that perfectly shows how the tune should be expressed, a detailed audio lesson, and BONUS material.

This brings the complete list of Tune Lessons Downloads to sixty-four, including sixty of the best known piping tunes and four classic Piobaireachds.

Check out the new tunes!

Live at Benaroya Hall

Here's a video of me and Jack Lee playing together at Seattle's Benaroya Hall in January 2006 for the annual Masters of Scottish Arts Concert.

CD Sneak Peek

The Bagpipe Revolution is coming soon...

I've posted a few tracks from the new CD here at BagpipeRevolution.com. 

(Link takes you to the MySpace page with the tracks.)

Join the BagpipeRevolution group on Facebook!

Another Album Preview

A second little preview from the upcoming album...

Bagpipe Equipment Survey

I've created a little survey to learn more about the types of equipment that pipers use. Bagpipes, chanters, reeds, bags, etc.

Click Here to take Bagpipe Equipment survey

UPDATE:  I will have a prize drawing for a limited edition autographed copy of the photo book Scottish Pipers by renowned photographer Colin Baxter.  Read this post about my photo in this beautiful book.  Winner of the drawing gets a copy autographed by the photographer and yours truly.

Album Preview

A little preview from my soon to be released solo studio album...

Life lessons from learning the bagpipes

I recently sent a note to the parents of one of my young piping students describing some of the many life lessons a person can learn from learning the pipes.

1. the ability to learn to perform under pressure (defined as any situation where your actions can directly affect the outcome)
2. the ability to take criticism without taking it personally (despite our focus on the positives, much of learning music is about what not working so well)
3. learning to meet deadlines, so you have to work hard even when you don't feel like it
4. learning to take disappointments in stride (when the outcome is determined by stranger, i.e., competition judge, you learn that some things in life are arbitrary)
5. learning to get back up once you've feel knocked down, instead of letting it keep you down.
6. learning to set long term goals and managing your practice schedule to meet those goals by finding more immediate short term goals.
7. learning to focus on many different things at one time (there's so many things involved in playing an instrument: timing, hand position, expression, unison, dynamics).
8. learning that positive thinking often leads to positive results; negative thoughts can have a self-fulfilling element to them.
9. learning that progress is not linear; sometimes you learn a lot of things quickly, othertimes you go through plateaus where things feel stagnant.
10. you learn to be good at something!

I've added to this list over the years, some are my own ideas, some are gathered from others. A great book to help stay motivated to practice is Not Until You've Done Your Practice by Philip Johnston. It's geared toward kids, but there are great tips for pipers of any age.

New Album Coming Soon!

As you might already know, I've been working hard on my first solo studio album. It has been a tremendous experience and we are in the final stages. The music has been recorded, the tracks have been mixed, and the album has been mastered. There are a few details to be worked out with the cover art and package design and the album will be off to the printer.

Here are a few photos from the studio.

2007: What a great year!

I'm a few days late, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year! May it be filled with lots of exciting travels, great new tunes, and fun experiences.

I've updated my list of prizes from the past year. There were some real highlights.

Check them out.

Double Gold!

Over the weekend I was in Kansas City for the annual Winter Storm piping festival and U.S. Gold Medal piping competitions. I'm thrilled that I won the Gold Medal for Piobaireachd for the second time. I won the first Gold Medal back in 2004 and now I'm the first piper to win it twice.

You can watch my winning performance thanks to the modern day miracle of YouTube.

Part 1:


Part 2:

Give Green Bagpipe Gifts this Holiday Season!

You've come to the right place if you are looking for a green bagpipe related gift for someone you know.  Give a gift of Tune Lesson Downloads or Webcam Lessons which can both be enjoyed from the comfort of home with no travel or shipping required!   Check out all the gift options or go straight to the Gift Certificates page.

Also, if you live in the Seattle-area and would like to give the gift of a bagpipe performance check out Waste Free Holidays.  It's part of King County's annual program the offers discounts on gifts of "experiences instead of stuff."  Check it out!

Hey Look! I'm on the cover!

Well... almost!

I didn't make the cover, but I did make the title page of Colin Baxter's new book Scottish Pipers.  Colin is probably Scotland's most famous photographer, you've likely seen his great images of castles, glens, and mountains on calendars, postcards, and coffee table books.  

The new book is his first on pipers and it has some great photographs.

The cover (with mandatory Royal Stewart tartan and feather bonnet):

The title page (yours truly piping at Glenfinnan.  A rare day of glorious sunshine!):

The back cover (more feather bonnets!):

BagpipeLessons.com Survey

I hope you'll take a few moments to take my brief survey.  I've got some great ideas for features I'm hoping to add to the site.  Your response to a few questions will help guide the future of BagpipeLessons.com!

To take the survey click here.

What is Piobaireachd?

Piobaireachd ("pee-brock") is the classical music of the great highland bagpipe. It is less commonly referred to as Ceol Mor, meaning Great Music. It is an entirely different from the category of music known as Ceol Beag (or Little Music) that includes marches, slow airs, and the various idioms of dance music (jigs, reels, strathspeys, and hornpipes).

Piobaireachd tunes are often several hundred years old, dating as far back as the 1400's. It is distinct from the other forms of Celtic music in that it is only traditionally played by a solo piper on the great highland bagpipe.

The tunes tend to be much longer than light music tunes, and feature a theme called the Ground or Urlar and several variations. The variations take the basic melody established in the ground and present it a variety of different rhythmic contexts with a variety of different technical embellishments. Common variations include the use of the Taorluath, Crunluath, and Crunluath-a-mach movements.

Piobaireachd tunes are often associated with particular individuals or clans or historic events. Colorful titles include: Too Long in this Condition, The Piper's Warning to his Master, The Lament for the Children, Beloved Scotland, The Little Spree.

Many pipers consider Piobaireachd to be the highest form of bagpipe music and also most satisfying and challenging to play. The world's most prestigious piping competitions, such as the Gold Medals at Inverness and Oban, are won by pipers who compete by playing Piobaireachd tunes.

I'm very pleased to offer for the first time Tune Lesson Downloads for Piobaireachd. The first batch of these tunes includes:

• The Glen is Mine
  
• The Little Spree
  
• The Munros' Salute
  
• Too Long in This Condition

With each Tune Lesson Download you receive:

• A high-quality, studio-produced audio recording of your tune played by one of the world's top pipers.
  
• A professionally-typset printed sheet music for your tune -- perfectly matched to the audio recording.
  
• A detailed audio instructional lesson on the tune, including learning tips, practice strategies, suggestions for improvement, and demonstrations played on the practice chanter.
  
• An additional sheet of BONUS written instructional materials related to your tune.
  

For more information on these tunes, please visit the BagpipeLessons.com Tune Downloads page.

Here's a complete list of all the tunes that you can download and print.

Here's a brief video of me playing some of the Piobaireachd Mary's Praise at the National Piping Centre in Glasgow, Scotland.

Motivational Quotes

Bagpipe Slipping?

My problem is that I can't keep the bag under my arm for very long at all. It starts to slip the moment I start playing. Help!

This is fairly common problem for pipers. It could be that your pipe bag is too large. Most people would do best with a small bag. If you are tall you might think about a medium size bag. (Only very tall should play a large bag, if anyone.) It could be that your blowpipe is too long. If you feel you have to stretch your neck to reach your blowpipe, it's probably too long and you ought to try a shorter one.

Even if your pipe bag and blowpipe are the perfect size, it could be that your bag cover is too loose or too slippery. A loose bag cover can be adjusted with a needle and thread (or get a smaller one) and slippery material can be fixed with some non-slip material from dycem.

Visit the Dycem home page. You'll want to get a non-slip reel in the color of your choice. Then you have to sew it on your bag cover.

Highland Gear makes nice covers and they can install dycem patches for you on both sides (arm side and body side).

New Videos

I've added four new videos to the Videos page.

Three are from the recent shows at the Kirkland Performance Center, the fourth is from the Skagit Valley Highland Games this past July.

Sold Out Shows!

Last weekend's shows were a huge success. Both Friday and Saturday nights were sold out. Thanks to everyone who came out.

Here are some photos and a video from a friend who had front row seats.

"Can't Even Make a Sound!"

I've received several emails lately that all go basically like this:

I bought some pipes on the internet a couple of days ago and I can't seem to make them work. I can't even make a sound. Is there something wrong with the pipes? Maybe the reeds? Is there some technique to learning to squeeze the bag?

Well the answer to the last question is: definitely YES. There's quite a lot of skill in keeping a steady pressure on the bag. It's one of the big hurdles that pipers overcome. Steady pressure means steady tone. The pressure in the bag is maintained by your arm, and you blow into the bag to keep it inflated. So you've got a constantly changing volume of air in the bag and you are trying to keep the pressure constant. It takes lots of skill which comes from good instruction and lots of practice.

But I think the big problem for many of these internet-purchased bagpipes are the pipes themselves. I previously posted about the ebay bagpipe phenomenon -- very poor Pakistani made bagpipe-like objects that are sold cheap and are non functional. It's not like a cheap guitar that will sound very bad but is still sort of playable. The pipes often come with bags that are not airtight and bad cane reeds that simply don't vibrate. If the bag doesn't hold air you've got no air pressure and hence no sound.



(Photo from Henderson Imports)

I once had a student who arrived to his first lesson with a set of pipes like this and he was determined to make them work. We did eventually get them to make a sound, but we had to buy a new bag ($200+) and new drone reeds ($100+) plus it took a couple of hours to get the whole thing set up.

Setting Up Drone Reeds

I came across this video tutorial from Pipe Dreams, the makers of the popular EzeeDrone brand of drone reeds. There some great detail here, regardless of the type of drone reeds you use. The video quality is nice and clear.

The basic steps are:

1. seat the reed solidly in your drone
2. adjust the bridle so the reed is taking the right amount of air pressure
3. adjust the tuning screw so the drone produces the right pitch

Watch the video.

How to Practice

I came across some great practice tips here. It has a great summary of some key points to consider when you are practicing. A few of the highlights:

-repetition is key to learning
-practicing a mistake makes it likely you'll make the same mistake again
-you can avoid mistakes by slowing it down and simplifying
-isolate the skill you are working on
-repeat until you've really got it

Read the entire article over at Heartwood Guitar