Why don't they just make bagpipe chanters that don't need tape? This week, we delve into why – the physics behind why all chanters inevitably require tape, misconceptions about tape usage, and detailed instructions for applying tape correctly. Plus, we look at how recent an innovation tape really is, and why it's such an important part of getting y…

You're stuck on a desert island. Would you rather have your practice chanter, or an endless playlist of great pipe band tunes? If you didn't say the latter, you're missing the number one secret ingredient to being a better musician – immersion! This week, we're discussing why certain families and geographies seem to foster world class players. Is i…

Do bagpipes seem sharper in pitch than they used to be? That's because they are... This week, Andrew and Jim answer a listener question about why bagpipes have become sharper over time. We look at the history of pitch, how it affects tuning to mix and match old chanters and new reeds, and also at before a left turn into the implications of rising p…

Should you use cane or synthetic drone reeds? Is it good or bad to mix and match them? Does ‘perfect bagpipe tone’ exist? Can you achieve it if your band plays different reed setups? And does a bit of imperfection in your sound actually make your tone better? This week, we’re talking all things drone reeds! Drone reeds are an integral part of our i…

Do you struggle to get your pipes into tune when you first start to play? You may be trying to tune too soon... This week, Andrew and Jim are diving into the 'set and forget' method of warming up your pipes. While most of us know that it's important to get some air, heat and moisture into the pipes when we first get started, letting your pipes adju…

This week, we're diving into the mailbag to answer your submitted questions! First up, we talk through how to help a young piper's transition to pipes, and how to adapt the instrument for small pipers. Next - transitioning tunes from the practice chanter to the bagpipes, and the challenge of mastering 'Scotland the Brave'. And finally - a letter fr…

Pipe band medley sets are the perfect chance to showcase your band's musical range and creativity. But why do some medleys sound more musical than others? Should you use harmonies in every tune, or is less more? Plus, what do judges actually listen for... and is that more important that putting together a creative set that an audience enjoys and pl…

Rescue Your Bagpipe Sound May 31 - June 2, 2024 in Troy, New York at our Tuning Clinic! You don't have to be "that person" who loves bagpipes but can't figure out how to make them sound good. Make May 31st the last day you ever worry about tuning your pipes by joining us at the world's only tuning-centric bagpipe workshop.…

Ever wondered why your drones seem to make a bunch of different sounds when you strike in (or if you don't cut them off quickly – an auditory experience affectionately know as "the dying cow")? This week, Andrew and Jim explain the four distinct layers identifiable within drone sounds generated by the bagpipe: a squeaky unpredictable sound triggere…

Most of us show up for band practice like clockwork each week – maybe even a few times a week. But are you showing up in all the right ways to improve your own playing, and contribute to the improvement of your whole band? This week, Andrew and Jim – who both have plenty of experience playing in and leading bands at all grade levels – chat through …

"Just blow tone!" Sound familiar? Most of us know we should be blowing a certain way to sound better, but many pipers don't know how to really get into the "tone zone". This week, Andrew and Jim delve into the importance of identifying and playing within the instrument's sweet spot for optimal sound quality, eliminating the risk of choking or squea…

Do you want to sound just like your favourite pipers? Maybe we all do, to start with. But after a while, most pipers realise that true satisfaction comes from being able to create any musical ideas or interpretations that you want to – not just copying others. Having this kind of freedom is the ultimate goal of any musician – and any bagpiper. But …

As pipers we have to juggle a lot of skills, usually all at once. Remembering tunes, playing with good rhythm and clean fingerwork, tuning, blowing good tone, marching... the list goes on. But how do you put them all together without maxing out your 'piping bandwidth' – your mental capacity to do many things simultaneously? This week, Andrew and Ji…

Relive all the amazing performances from the 2024 Winter Storm Concert! On January 14th 2024, it might have been freezing outside, but at Winter Storm – the pipes and drums event in Kansas City – we turned up the heat for the annual concert, featuring world champion pipers and drummers from Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada, and the U.S. …

How much money should you be budgeting for your bagpiping? At a minimum there are reeds, pipe bags, and other parts all need to be replaced regularly – and then there's new chanters, travel, lessons, and much more. It can add up pretty quickly to a lot more than you thought when you started as a fledgling piper... This week, Andrew and Jim talk thr…

Ever heard “you’re not a REAL piper unless you play with all the embellishments as written”? Embellishments are lovely – but they’re the crown moulding, while foundational skills like rhythm, scale navigation, and so many others are vital to master first… This week, Andrew and Jim look at how to go back to basics with your tunes, by learning to eff…

Do you ever feel burned out at the end of competition season? This week, Andrew and Jim look at the merits of rest. It's a necessity in the fitness world to recover and restore yourself to be stronger – so could the same be true for your piping? High-pressure performances and competition can certainly be draining if you're pouring time into them, a…

Should 'auld' episodes be forgot and never brought to mind? Not a chance! As 2024 dawns, we're taking a moment to pause and reflect – it's been just over a year since the podcast went live, so this week Andrew and Jim revisit some of the highs, the lows, and the bits we can't remember as we look back on the Dojo Conversations journey so far... and …

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the Dojo, we've enlisted AI for some festive mojo! This week, Andrew and Jim detour for a special Christmas episode, enlisting the writing and artistic talents of very special guest to pull together the most bagpipey version of A Christmas Carol and The Grinch ever conceived (by AI)... Wishing all o…

This week, Andrew and Jim welcome special guest and piping legend Jack Lee to talk all things piping, drumming and… cruising?! The upcoming Piper’s Dojo and Piping Hot Summer Drummer collaboration 'Cruise Journey North' departs from Seattle to Alaska on May 4th, 2024, with regular classes, private sessions, tune workshops, tune composition sessions…

Do your pipes ever feel hard to play? If you’re not asking these 4 questions every time you pick them up out of the box, you’re setting yourself up to fail before you play a single note… This week, Andrew and Jim discuss the 4 questions of bagpipe maintenance that are a ‘pre-flight’ checklist to make sure you’re set up for success every time you pl…

This week, we're welcoming special guest Ed Best – Dojo U's drumming instruction lead, rhythm guru and dad joke connoisseur – to chat about his approach to helping drummers find their own musical freedom. We dive into the ways piping and drumming can be similar (and how similar approaches between the two corps can benefit a band); how rhythm is the…

Do your bagpipes fit your body – or do you make your body fit to your bagpipes? Continuing last week's conversation about posture, this time Andrew and Jim challenge the idea that bagpipes are hard to play – according to Andrew they should be easy to play, always, but we all know that's often easier said than done... especially for newer players. S…

"Multitasking is a way of fooling ourselves that we’re being exceptionally efficient."Did you learn to play exclusively on a practice chanter, have to get a few tunes (with all embellishments included) memorized, and only then transition to the bagpipes – where you then had to juggle posture, blowing steadily, and many other skills at once? Like in…

Pipers everywhere struggle with seemingly perpetual problems like crossing noises, often doing 'reps' to fix them. But they're not even close to working out the actual cause of their issues...This week, we dived into the ups and downs of scale navigation (see what we did there?) – and along the way, took some wild turns into the history of gracenot…

Ever noticed there are certain bagpipe tunes that seem to become – and stay – wildly popular?This week, we're chatting about "viral" bagpipe tunes and trends. Where do they come from, what causes them, and why do certain tunes become so popular when there are other arguably "better" tunes out there? Got a question or topic you'd like answered in a …

Playing the bagpipes is a complex thing – so when figuring out where to focus on for improvement, maybe we can learn some lessons from the emergency room...This week, we're discussing how to triage your "performance killers", by diagnosing the most fundamental issues in your playing and prioritising what to work on in iterative rounds of improvemen…

Frustrated at the neverending struggle to keep your bagpipes in tune? You’re not alone! But many pipers think that once you ‘solve’ tuning, you can move on… when really, even the best pipers in the world are still refining their approach to tuning. So how do you switch despair at the endless road to something you can not just live with, but enjoy d…

Lincoln Hilton, founder of Modern Piping and online sensation, walks us through his trial and error tuning journey as a young piper coming up through the grades. This clip is an excerpt from Lincoln's hour-long interview, included as part of our new course on bagpipe tuning: "The Great Bagpipe Tuning Algorithm".Visit https://pipersdojo.com/tuning t…

The great Jim McGillivray tells us a bit about his tuning process and how he uses a "pressure variance test" to check he's nailed his bagpipe tuning. This clip is an excerpt from Jim's hour-long interview, included as part of our new course on bagpipe tuning: "The Great Bagpipe Tuning Algorithm".Visit https://pipersdojo.com/tuning today to learn mo…

How do we optimize the pitch of our pipes, and time it perfectly with the actual performance? P/M Robert Mathieson and I discuss in this interview clip.This clip is an excerpt from Robert's hour-long interview, included as part of the new course.Visit pipersdojo.com/tuning today to learn more!بقلم Andrew Douglas and the Piper's Dojo Team

Your surroundings – particularly temperature changes and humidity – are vital considerations for any tuning process. World champion piper Callum Beaumont explains how important these are for him to think about when preparing to play at high-level competitions. This clip is an excerpt from Callum's hour-long interview, included as part of our new co…

Do you find it harder to hear your bass drone than your tenors when you tune? As it turns out, so does Jack Lee! So how does he manage this and the rest of his tuning process, to get that trademark beautiful tone every time he plays?Jack is one of many world-leading pipers we’ve interviewed for our brand new Bagpipe Tuning Suite of online courses, …

How would Matt MacIsaac teach you to tune? Matt’s one of many, many world-leading pipers we’ve interviewed for our brand new Bagpipe Tuning Suite of online courses, designed to help you finally crack the code of bagpipe tuning!Visit pipersdojo.com/tuning today to learn more.Inside the “Great Algorithm” Bagpipe Tuning Suite you’ll receive... In dept…

Introducing the Bagpipe Tuning Suite that helps you finally crack the code of bagpipe tuning!Visit https://pipersdojo.com/tuning today to learn more.Inside the "Great Algorithm" Bagpipe Tuning Suite you'll receive...--In depth "Bagpipe Tuning in Theory" Module, with quizzes to test your knowledge--Comprehensive "Bagpipe Tuning in Practice" module--…

Ever heard someone say "real pipers don't use a metronome"? This week, we're discussing how rhythm is the most foundational skill any musician – including bagpipers – needs to develop. But do some people just naturally have better rhythm? Can you develop it? And how do you know when you've got it right? Pssssst... We're launching our new, comprehen…

Feel like you're flying blind when you tune your pipes? We have so many variables to manage while we're listening to our tuning – and chances are, especially if you're just starting out, you're not entirely sure what you're actually listening for... This week, we're discussing how to think of bagpipe tuning as an 'algorithm' – and if maths or compu…

Is your tenor drone sharp? Is your C flat compared to your drones? Are your drones flat or sharp compared to your low A? Who cares?! This week, Andrew and Jim discuss the "who cares" model of bagpipe tuning – where it doesn't matter whether you know instinctively whether your pipes are in tune, or even which way you need to shift a tuning pin or ta…

For better or worse, digital tuners are widely used in the piping world. They're easier than ever to access, with many smartphone apps now available. And they're a useful reference tool that can show you what pitch your reeds are sounding at. But most importantly – what CAN'T your digital tuner tell you? This week, Andrew and Jim discuss the pros a…

It's the instrument we all started on, and a very different one to the full pipes... but for something that's mostly used for practice, does it actually matter if your practice chanter is blackwood or polypenco (plastic)? Long or short? Tuned or not? This week, Andrew and Jim discuss all things practice chanter, including what to look for and what …

While rushing and lack of control are huge problems for beginners and intermediates, if we roll it back a step further – do you actually know where the beat is supposed to go in the first place? Bagpipe music isn't always written in a way that makes that easy to answer.So this week, Andrew and Jim discuss where to place the beat in bagpipe music, h…

Have you ever hit a wall in your piping? It could be because your foundations need fixing... This week, Andrew and Jim look at the root causes of player stagnation, which usually aren't fixed by doing more reps, or trying to play faster, or any of the many other ways we tell ourselves we'll get better if we just keep pushing. Often, the best way to…

Are you a "wet blower"? Many pipers seem to inexplicably have a bagpipe that accumulates WAY more moisture than their bandmates... but before you get too attached to that as part of your piping identity, you might want to hear what we have to say about the "myth" of wet blowing...On this week's episode, we explore some other variables that may be a…

Is there a difference between band and solo chanters? Does it matter if you choose an African blackwood or a polypenco (plastic) chanter? And does the hole size of a chanter make any real difference to the sound? This week, Andrew and Jim are busting every myth you've ever wondered about bagpipe chanters, and touch on the traumatic moment that so m…

Ever heard of the pitch–time continuum? If you haven't, that's not surprising, because Andrew made it up... but it's a great way to visualize what happens inside your pipes as you play, what effect heat and moisture have on whether your reeds go sharp or flat, and why the darned things never seem to stay in tune!On this week's episode of Dojo Conve…

How do you plan the perfect practice session? Should you practice more on the practice chanter or the full pipes? And would the formula change depending on whether you're a complete beginner or have been playing for a while? This week on Dojo Conversations, Andrew and Jim dive into a listener question from Brad, all about how to structure a practic…

Is there a better feeling in the world than buying new stuff for your piping obsession? So what should every piper be adding to that list? Should you stick to the maintenance essentials? Stock up on the latest gadgets and gimmicks? Or is there more to consider before you get out your wallet and rush to the closest supply store? This week on Dojo Co…

Enjoy the CALM Before Winter Storm ❄️Dojo University is the largest and longest running online bagpiping and drumming school, but sometimes it's fun to meet up IRL (in real life) too... This week, Andrew and Jim chat about some upcoming Dojo in-person events, all timed to tie into some of the biggest events on the piping calendar around the world. …

Catch up with Andrew and Carl during this week's "Friday Strike In."بقلم Andrew Douglas and the Piper's Dojo Team

Do you rush to play your strathspeys at breakneck speed, regardless of the grade you play in? You're not alone. Many pipers believe you 'lose the strathspey feel' if you play these tunes too slow... but does that mean that pipers in lower grades should still aim for the same speeds as the pros?This week on Dojo Conversations, Andrew and Jim discuss…