First-Ever Online Piping Competition Final Results & Wrap-Up

Last month, we announced the world's first-ever online piping competition and the response was incredible!  Pipers from six continents sent in over 100 entries in thirteen events in six competitive grades.  In a first-of-its-kind event, pipers submitted their competition tunes via YouTube video recording or audio recording. The recordings were compiled and sent to our panel of top-level adjudicators (each one a world-class piper), who listened to each recording and wrote a detailed sheet of comments for each competitor.  The list of prizewinners in each event was posted as the results came back from the judges, along with the videos from many of the winners.

The competition was a great opportunity for many pipers to compete, to gain valuable feedback from the judges, and to participate in the wider piping community.   Many of the pipers live in places that require long distance travel to get to traditional competition locations.  Several pipers (including some of the prizewinners) competed for the first time!

The feedback from the competitors has been very positive and I'm pleased to announce that the next BagpipeLessons.com Online Piping Competition is planned for April 2011.  Sign up to be notified when more details are available.

Some comments from the competitors:

"I think that online competition is a great idea, allowing players to compete with each other disregarding distance." 

"The online competition is an absolutely fantastic idea and you all did a great job. I got my first sheet yesterday and am very enthused about it. The critique is very constructive." 

"This was great! It's a great way to keep tunes going in the off season!" 

"I think overall it's a fantastic idea.  Information has been updated regularly, and I look forward to the next online competition."  

"Watching videos the winners and other successful participants gave me some new ideas for better piping."

The overall winners were determined by the highest total placings in the two events in each competition level.   Each overall winner receives a $50 scholarship gift certificate that can be used at any of the BagpipeLessons.com family of websites, including BagpipeLessons.com, BagpipeGauge.com, BagpipeRevolution.com, or PipeBandTunes.com.

In addition, each overall winner receives a free membership to the new expanded and improved BagpipeLessons.com 30 Day Practice Challenge for March 2011.  The 30 Day Practice Challenge is a month-long online piping school based on the simple goal to practice every day for 30 days.   Each day, pipers will receive an email with a daily challenge and a specific focus for the day inlcuding educational tips, sheet music for tunes and exercises, mp3s, audio recordings, videos, live call-in question and answer sessions, and more.  Pipers of all skill levels will have the opportunity to discuss their progress by sharing video and audio files with the group.  Learn more and sign up for the 30 Day Practice Challenge.

BagpipeLessons.com Online Competition Overall Prizewinners:

Grade 1: David MacNeil - Canada

Grade 2: Ernesto Góngora Acosta - Mexico

Grade 3: Colleen Poe - USA

Grade 4: Bill Urquhart - USA

Grade 5: George Low - USA

Beginner: Fred Arnold - Canada

Best Background: Peter Schmidt - USA
Best Dress & Deportment: Bill Urquhart - USA

Best Video Quality: Kevin McSwiggan - USA

Some videos of the prizewinners:

David MacNeil's winning Grade 1 Jig:


Colleen Poe's winning Grade 3 2/4 March:


Bill Urquhart's winning Grade 4 Strathspey & Reel.
Bill also won the prize for Best Dress & Deportment.


George Low's winning Grade 5 Slow Air:

Peter Schmidt's video won the prize for Best Background:

The complete list of prizewinners:

Event 01 - Beginner Slow Air (practice chanter)

1. Frederick Arnold - Canada

2. John Hanlon - Scotland

3. John Taylor - USA

Judge: James MacHattie of Prince Edward Island, Canada - Canadian Gold Medal Winner and Director of Piping at Canada's world-famous College of Piping

3 competitors

Event 02 - Beginner March (practice chanter)

1. Frederick Arnold - Canada

2. John Hanlon - Scotland

Judge: Andrew P. Hayes of Ottawa, Canada -  Inverness Gold Medal Winner 2010

2 competitors

Event 03 - Grade 5 Slow Air

1. George Low - USA

2. Russell Prewitt - USA

3. Matthias Kuehn - Switzerland

4. John Bergen - Canada

5. Kuno Zimmermann - Switzerland

Judge: Alan Bevan of Abbotstford, Canada -  Inverness Gold Medal Winner 2008

9 competitors

Event 04 - Grade 5 2/4 March

1. Karen Webb - Australia

2. George Low - USA

3. Russell Prewitt - USA

4. Guido Riedemann - Germany

5. Kuno Zimmermann - Switzerland

6. Brian Pack - USA

Judge: James MacHattie

7 competitors

Event 05 - Grade 4 2/4 March

1. Bill Urquhart - USA

2. John Campbell - Wales

3. Carraig New - USA

4. Matthias Kuehn - Switzerland

Judge: Alan Bevan

7 competitors

Event 06 - Grade 4 Strathspey & Reel

1. Bill Urquhart - USA

2. Henrik Idoff Hornhaver - Denmark

3. Carraig New - USA

4. John Campbell - Wales

5. Alexander Radionov - Russia

Judge: James MacHattie

5 competitors

Event 07 – Grade 3 2/4 March

1. Colleen Poe - USA

2. Kevin McSwiggan - USA

3. Ramsey Blissex - USA

4. Irene Alcántara - Mexico

5. Victor Serrano - Mexico

6. David Hester - USA

Judge: Andrew P. Hayes

7 competitors

Event 08 - Grade 3 Strathspey & Reel

1. Ramsey Blissex - USA

2. Kevin McSwiggan - USA

3. Colleen Poe - USA

4. Gwendolen Rowe - USA

Judge: Alan Bevan

6 competitors

Event 09 – Grade 2 March, Strathspey & Reel

1. Andrew Yu - Hong Kong

2. Claus Reiss - Denmark

3. Andrew Donlon - USA

4. Ernesto Góngora Acosta - Mexico

5. Kyle Banta - Canada

6. Nicola Sharp - Australia

Judge: Andrew P. Hayes

9 competitors

Event 10 - Grade 2 Jig

1. Ernesto Góngora Acosta - Mexico

2. Nicola Sharp - Australia

3. Claus Reiss - Denmark

4. Andrew Donlon - USA

5. Miranda Boath - Australia

6. Jonathan McIntyre - Australia

Judge: James MacHattie

9 competitors

Event 11 - Grade 1 March, Strathspey & Reel
1. Kirk Brunson - USA

2. Graham Thompson - USA

3. David MacNeil - Canada

4. William Woods - USA

5. Graeme McCombe - Canada

6. Ryan Morrison - USA

Judge: Alan Bevan

11 competitors

Event 12 – Grade 1 Jig

1. David MacNeil - Canada

2. Graeme McCombe - Canada

3. Graham Thompson - USA

4. Ryan Morrison - USA

5. Ross Wilson - Canada

6. William Woods - USA

Judge: Andrew P. Hayes

11 competitors

[Aggregate winners were determined by British Columbia Pipers Association Rules: 1st = 88 points, 2nd = 56 points, 3rd = 38 points, 4th = 25 points, 5th = 16 points, sixth = 10 points.]

The New BagpipeLessons.com 30 Day Practice Challenge for March 2011!

Last year, over 200 pipers from around the world joined together for the first BagpipeLessons.com 30 Day Practice Challenge. With the simple commitment to practice every day for 30 days, we discovered how dedicated, sustained practice routine can lead to big breakthroughs. Together, with beginners and world-class competitors and pipers from all levels in between, we shared practice tips, inspiration, and encouragement!

I'm thrilled to announce a new expanded and improved 30 Day Practice Challenge for March 2011. On March 1, we'll begin a month of fun and focus filled with educational tips, sheet music for tunes and exercises, mp3s, audio recordings, videos, live call-in question and answer sessions, and much, much more!

Each day you'll receive an email with your daily challenge and your specific focus for the day along with tips for staying excited and motivated to keep practicing. You'll have the opportunity to discuss your personal successes by sharing video and audio files with the group.

Whether your goal is to get more comfortable with the basics, to get ready for upcoming competitions, or simply to get more enjoyment and fulfillment from your piping... Sign up today! The 30 Day Practice Challenge is a fun way to make some real progress towards your piping goals.

BagpipeLessons.com 30 Day Practice Challenge 

$59.99  Sign up today and discover what everyone is talking about!

Help us spread the word! After you sign up, if you get three friends to join the 30 Day Practice Challenge, I'll refund your entire sign up fee and you can take part for free!

Traditional in-person piping workshops and summer schools are fun, but they can cost hundreds of dollars with time-consuming travel, costly tuition, and room and board expenses. With the BagpipeLessons.com 30 Day Practice Challenge you can complete your daily practice challenges at a time and place that is convenient for your schedule and lifestyle.

Some topics we will cover during the 30 Day Practice Challenge:

• Technique
• Tuning
• Sight reading
• Setting goals
• Expression and phrasing
• How to practice effectively
• Metronomes
• Performing
• Tune types and idioms
• Memorization
• Blowing steady
• Getting ready for competition
• Setting goals
• Learning tunes quickly
• Tracking your progress
• Identifying common mistakes
• Selecting and making adjustments to chanter reeds
• Doublings, grips, taorluaths, D throws, and birls
• Self-recording
• Listening
• Identifying your strengths and weaknesses
• Making a secret hit list
• The myth of talent
• Making time for practice
• Keeping practice fun
• Picking the right tunes
• Making your pipes easy to play
• Piobaireachd
• How to be the perfect pipe band player
• Expressing strathspeys
• ...and more!

Do you have specific topics or skill areas would you like to see covered in the 30 Day Practice Challenge? When you sign up, I'll send you a brief Pre-Challenge Questionnaire where you can share your suggestions and we'll make sure that your topics are included.

I founded BagpipeLessons.com in 1999 and I've enjoyed teaching the pipes to students of all ability levels from around the world. I've always enjoyed using exciting, new technologies to bring the best traditional bagpipe teaching methods to pipers around the world. I'm very excited about this new 30 Day Practice Challenge.

BagpipeLessons.com 30 Day Practice Challenge 
$59.99  Sign up today and join our active learning community!

Sign up today and drop me a note if you have any questions!

Jori Chisholm

Founder and Chief Instructor

BagpipeLessons.com

Latest Online Competition Results (Updated)

Here are the latest results from the BagpipeLessons.com Online Piping Competition.  The list of prizewinners and the number of competitors are listed below. The judge's comments sheets have been individually emailed to each competitor.

The overall winners and prizes for Best Background and Best Dress & Deportment will be announced shortly!

Event 03 - Grade 5 Slow Air
1. George Low - USA
2. Russell Prewitt - USA
3. Matthias Kuehn - Switzerland
4. John Bergen - Canada
5. Kuno Zimmermann - Switzerland

Judge: Alan Bevan
9 competitors

George Low's winning Grade 5 Slow Air:


Event 05 - Grade 4 2/4 March
1. Bill Urquhart - USA
2. John Campbell - Wales
3. Carraig New - USA
4. Matthias Kuehn - Switzerland

Judge: Alan Bevan
7 competitors

Bill Urquhart's winning Grade 4 2/4 March:


Event 08 - Grade 3 Strathspey & Reel
1. Ramsey Blissex - USA
2. Kevin McSwiggan - USA
3. Colleen Poe - USA
4. Gwendolen Rowe - USA

Judge: Alan Bevan
6 competitors

Ramsey Blissex's winning Grade 3 Strathspey & Reel:


Event 11 - Grade 1 March, Strathspey & Reel
1. Kirk Brunson
2. Graham Thompson
3. David MacNeil
4. William Woods
5. Graeme McCombe
6. Ryan Morrison

Judge: Alan Bevan
11 competitors

Kirk Brunson's winning Grade 1 March, Strathspey & Reel:

More Online Competition Results!

Here's the second batch of results are in for the first-ever BagpipeLessons.com Online Piping Competition. With these new results, two-thirds of the results are out. The list of prizewinners and the number of competitors are listed below. The judge's comments sheets have been individually emailed to each competitor.

Event 01 - Beginner Slow Air (practice chanter)
1. Frederick Arnold - Canada
2. John Hanlon - Scotland
3. John Taylor - USA

Judge: James MacHattie
3 competitors

Event 04 - Grade 5 2/4 March
1. Karen Webb - Australia
2. George Low - USA
3. Russell Prewitt - USA
4. Guido Riedemann - Germany
5. Kuno Zimmermann - Switzerland
6. Brian Pack - USA

Judge: James MacHattie
7 competitors

Karen Webb's winning Grade 5 2/4 March:


Event 06 - Grade 4 Strathspey & Reel
1. Bill Urquhart - USA
2. Henrik Idoff Hornhaver - Denmark
3. Carraig New - USA
4. John Campbell - Wales
5. Alexander Radionov - Russia

Judge: James MacHattie
5 competitors

Bill Urquhart's winning Grade 4 Strathspey & Reel:


Event 10 - Grade 2 Jig
1. Ernesto Góngora Acosta - Mexico
2. Nicola Sharp - Australia
3. Claus Reiss - Denmark
4. Andrew Donlon - USA
5. Miranda Boath - Australia
6. Jonathan McIntyre - Australia

Judge: James MacHattie
9 competitors

Nicola Sharp was runner up in the Grade 2 Jig:


The final batch of results should be out this week, including the overall winners in each grade and some special prizes for Best Dress & Deportment and also for Best Background!

The First Results Are In!

The first batch of results are in for the first-ever BagpipeLessons.com Online Piping Competition. The list of prizewinners and the number of competitors are listed below. The judge's comments sheets have been individually emailed to each competitor.

When all of the results are in, we'll be announcing the overall winner in each grade and also some special prizes for Best Dress & Deportment and also for Best Background!  Also, we'll be asking some of the prizewinners fo permission to post their videos for everyone to see.

Congrats to everyone who participated -- not only the prizewinners but to everyone who joined this first-ever historic event.  Thanks to the judges and the competitors and stay tuned for more results as they come in!

Event 02 - Beginner March (practice chanter)
1. Frederick Arnold - Canada
2. John Hanlon - Scotland

Judge: Andrew P. Hayes
2 competitors

Event 07 – Grade 3 2/4 March
1. Colleen Poe - USA
2. Kevin McSwiggan - USA
3. Ramsey Blissex - USA
4. Irene Alcántara - Mexico
5. Victor Serrano - Mexico
6. David Hester - USA

Judge: Andrew P. Hayes
7 competitors

Colleen Poe's winning Grade 3 2/4 March:


Event 09 – Grade 2 March, Strathspey & Reel
1. Andrew Yu - Hong Kong
2. Claus Reiss - Denmark
3. Andrew Donlon - USA
4. Ernesto Góngora Acosta - Mexico
5. Kyle Banta - Canada
6. Nicola Sharp - Australia

Judge: Andrew P. Hayes
9 competitors

Andrew Yu's winning Grade 2 MSR:


Event 12 – Grade 1 Jig
1. David MacNeil - Canada
2. Graeme McCombe - Canada
3. Graham Thompson - USA
4. Ryan Morrison - USA
5. Ross Wilson - Canada
6. William Woods - USA

Judge: Andrew P. Hayes
11 competitors

David MacNeil's winning Grade 1 Jig:

Online Piping Competition Update: Judging Begins!

Thanks to all the pipers who entered and submitted their recordings for the first-ever BagpipeLessons.com Online Piping Competition!  We received entries from six continents (any pipers from Antarctica?) and a great turnout for all 13 events.

The recordings have been compiled and have been handed out to our esteemed adjudicators:

• Andrew P. Hayes of Ottawa, Canada -  Inverness Gold Medal Winner 2010
• Alan Bevan of Abbotstford, Canada -  Inverness Gold Medal Winner 2008
• James MacHattie of Prince Edward Island, Canada - Canadian Gold Medal Winner and Director of Piping at Canada's world-famous College of Piping.

In a few days we have the results compiled and the results will be posted and the comments sheets and prizes will be emailed to the competitors.

Thanks to the judges and all of the competitors!  Stay tuned!

In the meantime, please help us improve future competitions by filling out our Post-Online Competition Satisfaction Survey.