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Love this tune! Thanks Jack and Andrew! 🥰

Not a gotcha question, it’s a serious one (meaning I don’t know and want to) What’s the best tip if you have to learn a series of tunes at once. Like a MSR or a sets for a parade, etc. a. Use the above video. Learn each tune individually b. Use the above video and learn a little bit of each tune in the series. c. Compile all the tunes into one “set” and learn them as a singular tune using the video. d. None of the above. It’s something different. What’s the trigger-when’s the right moment-to go from PC to pipes?

Great session

what is the chanter tuned to?

I’ll join if you teach me this set!! I’m awestruck

This CZcams channel is great! And, it's helping my class withdrawal... Sort of. 😭😂😁

Thank you for sharing! I for one would love to view Dojo rendition of The Night Before Christmas...

Wow… so many extra drones, along with extra sections too!

Merry Christmas Dojo

Also check if the tongues of your drone reeds are airtight. They can get leaky over time.

This is the most beautiful performance I've ever heard. I can't even describe how it made me feel while listening to it... I've since replayed it several times. This is so amazing, I had no idea that bagpipes could even make sounds like this! And this guy is the founder of my school!?! I now feel like my piping education is in very capable hands, indeed! Like someone who's never played chess being tutored by a Grand Master... 👏🤯🤩

Loving the shirt!! Go Savannah Pipes and Drums!!

Great video, love to see the drummers well spoken for here, Ed is one of the great teachers!!

Super interesting conversation which I learned so much from. Thanks guys!

Love this session!

an algorithm is an algebraic expression

How often do you have to season?

Ah, man... such good advice! I am re-entering competition for so many reasons other than winning. Self-improvement, control under pressure, getting through my tunes so I can contribute to my competitive pipe band.

Bring back the piping vlog!

I love playing the pipes which helps with my ADHD, I went to Hamilton, Montana this year for the highland games and I played for a judge not to compete but get exposure, I played the slow air Mist Covered Mountains, I didn't sound very good but that's not important, the important thing is I enjoyed it.

Bring back the piping vlog!

Bring back the piping vlog!

gee

Excellent perspective. Thanks for sharing.

The good thing .... is.... bagpiping is becoming more mainstream !!!

I've got a set of Chinese plastic bagpipes, the drones pitch so low, I'm currently working on taping a low chanter down to match, I'm close, but Maan ! the energy !! I'm a mediocre piper at best.

Thank you Andrew and Robert Mathieson for sharing. Great topic and conversation!!!

Here's an argument against universal concert pitch because I've never heard one so far in that discussion. I'll have to go further back for this one: Most instruments are designed for playing close to equal temperament. That's especially true for harmonic instruments that have to be able to play chords in any key. However, this also applies to wind instruments. In an orchestral context this makes sense as the common temperament is dictated by the least flexible instruments, e.g. the piano, any kind of xylophone, harp or guitar. It is also quite reasonable to play near equal temperament because we're just more used to it from our contemporary and everyday music. Surely there's always considerable effort going into intonation to get the right harmonics out of each section, each bar and beat. But there are of course limits. Adjusting the pitch of a note on a flute using your embouchure gets awkward pretty quickly (e.g. after 10-20 cents) and very hard soon beyond that. Generally speaking, intonation varies greatly in difficulty and for every single note and for every instrument, if it is possible at all. Most pipers really underestimate how far their instrument is from equal temperament and what an advanced concept intonation really is for the average (amateur) musician. Let's say you're playing an orchestral chanter that's perfectly tuned to just intonation. Low G for example will be some 30 cents off equal temperament. It'll sound just awful with an equally tempered G (sharp). If you're playing in a combo with a guitar or a piano, someone still has to adjust their instrument heavily. And while wind instruments are able to adjust to your wicked scale to some degree, it's not going to be a trivial task that any amateur musician can do. There are some great bands out there that are playing in combos with all kinds of instruments next to the pipes and it's working absolutely fine. It's only my wild guess but I think that they're either messing with their electric pianos or tuning their chanters to equal temperament (while possibly stopping their drones to avoid dissonance). So tuning your pipes to orchestral pitch will bring your fundamental notes in tune with any other instrument, the rest of the scale keeps sounding outlandish next to other instruments. In the best case you'll be able to tune and play your pipes as always while the other musicians have to do some pretty wild stuff to get some kind of pleasant sound out of your group. In the worst case you'll have to decide if your piano player has to do something about his D, D sharp, G, G sharp, ... or if you're fine with retuning your chanter to equal temperament (which totally defies the main argument for orchestral chanters). On a personal note: I do prefer the sharper pitches for pipe bands, albeit not necessarily the crazy sharp pitches. For me there's definitely a tonal difference which is not just the difference in pitch but also the way the harmonics interact with each other. To conclude: Universal orchestral pitch is just one half of a solution. I personally prefer sticking to the status quo with specialized chanters for each purpose (because you need them anyway) instead of adapting half a solution for everything.

Mathieson is God of Pipe Band Music! 👌

466 is better for piobaireachd too. The bottom hand movement are diminished at a higher pitch.

The way it's been going the past few years, I wouldn't be surprised to see bands at B natural (493.88hz).

Great conversation. Lots and lots valuable tidbits here.

I wouldn't mind if that clever guy could help me put some visual appeal into my performances, haha!

Really enjoyed this entire conversation. 8 years ago our wee grade 4 band House of Scotland PB produced a CD using only Bb chanters for the whole album. Some people thought we were off our rocker for doing that. (Thanks to McCallum Bagpipes for giving us a good deal on the chanters). If you listen to it on iTunes, Spotify or amazon it sounds fine. Okay we had to be in tune with the Cathedral organ but only for a few tracks and of course the choir but the pipes sounded really good. We had to insist that the soloists played Bb too, they weren't happy about that, but if we had let them use their solo chanters it would have made the other tracks sound dull. I kept telling the band, your ears have become prejudice because of competition, but I had a background in main-stream music and this CD will be listened to in cars when people are driving or at home, well away from other pipeing like at a competition! So it was refreshing to listen to Rob and Andrew.

This was a good discussion to watch, from clean eating foods to open fosgailtes too, lol

Nice to hear references to weather/ measurement. I have been screaming about this for years. I do prefer b flat chanters. However in cold conditions or playing for a funeral I find that setting a chanter to played inside at 472 hz will settle at 466 outside, Yes am all for B flat chanters. As such I have three sets of dedicated pipes, 466, 476 and 480’s. My go to set or preferred B Flat.

A to the men!!!

There is a general misunderstanding of the difference between Pitch and the terms flat and sharp.

Oh yes please!

I got a low-a=440 chanter from EJ Jones recently to be able to add bagpipes to our band. It's great to be able to tell the guitarist "this is in D." And I've noticed they seem to basically be in tune when I pick them up. Only real issue is drone reeds, but that's just a question of making longer bodies on them

I agree with that. I use B-flat-chanter as well when I play with other instruments. I do it often. I have got 5 B-flat chanters. 😄

Good guest Interviews coming on

Thank you. This was really interesting and enjoyable, more please!

Really enjoyed this! Thanks guys

Great section of that interview with Ken. Couldn't agree more with those sentiments! Thanks for posting this Andrew!

Fascinating! My husband was in the Dundas Pipe Band in the 50s and 60s led by Alan Munn, a Scots immigrant.

very helpful thanks. your pronunciation can be distracting though.

Getting into piping now. Really appreciating the feedback being provided here. I've watch 3 videos so far and all had issues I struggled with and overcame or still working on but all had valuable insights. Keep up the good work, I'm sure I'm not the only one benefitting from this site. Cheers.

Thank you. Useful and quite straightforward. No nonsense attached