Andrew Douglas is a prolific practitioner of the bagpipe, active at the highest level of pipe bands, solo competition, teaching, and creative...
Before we start - I just want to thank my diligent co-author Dr. John Holcombe for helping me assemble this article!
This article was...
If you’ve been playing your bagpipe chanter for any length of time, you’ll undoubtedly already have noticed there are a range of...
One of the first things you ever hear about when transitioning to the bagpipes is how we need to blow ‘steadily’ in order to produce a...
In the last of the “4 Questions” of bagpipe maintenance, we will be focused on maximizing the efficiency of our drone reeds. Think...
The first question of bagpipe maintenance is: “Is my bag airtight?”
This is a question you should quite literally ask yourself as you...
The vast majority of bagpipers are plagued by hopelessly hard-to-play instruments, destroying any chance of comfortably and confidently playing...
OK, are you ready for the #1, top secret, most amazing reed manipulation trick in the world?
This trick will make you sound incredible 100% of the...
Hemp – the cord we use on bagpipe joints to keep them nice and airtight – can be very finicky.
Day to day, temperature and humidity...
Imagine someone came up to you and said, “No matter how hard I try, I just can’t juggle 5 balls in the air.”
I’m not a...
Did you know that embellishments aren’t just a collection of grace notes mashed together?
They may look that way in sheet music, but they are...
Pipers at all levels can find pesky crossing noises creeping into our playing.
Do you know the different kinds, how to eliminate them, and what...
