488 - Everything We Learned About Bagpipes This Year (Dojo Conversations Episode 151)
In this annual Year in Review, Andrew and Jim reflect on a big year of piping, podcasting, and life at the Dojo – revisiting standout moments, recurring lessons, and the ideas that shaped the year.
Let us know in the comments: what was your standout moment from the year – or the episode that helped you most?
Here’s what we cover this week:
- 00:00 – Opening Banter & New Year’s Greetings
- 01:40 – Three Years of Podcasting & Friendship
- 03:15 – Why We Do a Year in Review
- 04:30 – Simple Tools & Building Better Pipers
- 06:00 – Why Recording Your Practice Changes Everything
- 07:45 – The Mystery of the Police Officer Thumbnail
- 09:00 – How Often Should You Learn a New Tune?
- 11:00 – Stacks of Tunes & Embracing Variance
- 13:00 – Why Subjective Feedback Gets Confusing
- 15:00 – Hacks for Grade Five Pipe Bands
- 17:00 – Why Learning Feels Hard Before It Gets Easier
- 19:30 – Parenting, Teenagers & Life Lessons
- 22:00 – Do You Really Need a Digital Tuner?
- 23:30 – Is the Practice Chanter a Real Instrument?
- 25:00 – The Cheat Code to Becoming Great at Bagpipes
- 27:00 – The Three-Step Formula for Steady Blowing
- 29:00 – How to Start a Pipe Band
- 30:30 – Moisture, Reeds & Finding the Balance
- 32:00 – Why Mentorship Matters
- 33:30 – Fear of Being Wrong & Progress
- 35:00 – The Three Minute Drill & Listener Q&A
- 36:30 – Why Multitasking Holds You Back
- 37:30 – Jim’s Dumb Games & The Tuning Game
- 39:00 – Speculative Bagpipe History & the Dojo Anniversary
- 40:30 – Looking Ahead & Final Reflections
- 41:30 – Gratitude, Optimism & Closing Thoughts
