Selecting a Practice Chanter

Terrific blog and website! I too am trying to get started learning to play. As you said, the first thing to get is a practice chanter. It seems there are many kinds. Would you recommend any certain kinds or manufacturer?

There are many practice chanters out there. You need to select whether you want a blackwood chanter or plastic (polypenco). Personally, I prefer the plastic chanters because they are more durable and inexpensive. There's no difference in sound quality between the two types of materials. You need to select between standard length or extended (long) length. The longer chanters are longer but the hole spacing is exactly the same as the standard length -- the extra length is added to the end of the chanter. There's no real difference in the tone between the two lengths. There are many makers out there. Any should be good. Here's a good place to start looking.
http://www.tartantown.com/practice_chanters.html

A practice chanter will come with a reed, but it's a good idea to have a couple spares. For several years I've been playing reeds by John Walsh. They have a great tone and are very consistent.
http://www.johnwalshbagpipes.com/

Getting Started

I'm interested in starting lessons. I'm starting from scratch. Are you taking new students? What do I need to get started?

Great! I'd be happy to teach you, it's just a matter of finding a time that will work for both of us. If you live near or can travel to my home teaching studio in Seattle, we can do in-person lessons. Otherwise we can try some of my long distance learning options such as webcam lessons or lessons by tape.

The good news is that you won't need pipes to get started. Pipers start learning on an instrument called the practice chanter. It looks sort of like a recorder. It allows you to learn the fingering for the bagpipes while you learn the basics of reading music and keeping rhythm, etc. After 6 month or so we can talk about getting some bagpipes. A practice chanter is inexpensive -- under $100.