subject: Bagpipe Lessons For First Time Players [print this page] The Bagpipes, widely known by their Scottish incarnation, date back over 700 hundred year across several continents. For an instrument that is so famous and so easily pictured and heard in our minds, a surprisingly few people actually know how to play them. Most people don't even know how they work. There are a few basic bagpipe lessons needed to understand the instrument in order to master it.
To get started you need to become familiar with the bagpipes. Observe the mouthpiece, which you blow in to create sound. Notice the melody pipe, used similar to a flute. There are also three more pipes called drones which let out that constant noise that bagpipes are famous for. At the center is the bag, which is use to spread the air to the different pipes.
To hold the bagpipes properly, make sure the drones are resting on your left shoulder and the bag is tucked in between your elbow and chest. The melody pipe should be pointed down and the mouthpiece should be pointed up. Take the mouthpiece, place it in your mouth and you're ready to go.
The hardest part about playing the bagpipes is mastering the art of blowing. This requires the player to fill the entire bag with air before doing anything. Since this is quite difficult for most beginners, it's a good idea to block the drones in order keep air from leaking out.
The traditionally way to play the bagpipes is with two hands on the melody pipe. Although, some bagpipes do have two melody pipes. This will require one hand on each of them.
After you've filled the bag and situated your hands, you are ready to play. Start by squeezing your bag with your arm, but remember to keep adding air into it as you play. If the bag becomes deflated it becomes out of tune. You can adjust the pitch by how hard you squeeze the bag.
In order to actually begin to play songs on the bagpipe, it's a good idea to use a practice chanter. This is basically just the melody pipe with a mouth hole so that you can learn the notes and not be forced to fill up the bag each time.
So, if after those brief bagpipe lessons, you think you've got what it take to master the bagpipes, then by all means go ahead. Not only will enjoy it, but you will join a rare group of musicians.
