Piper's Dojo Audio Experience

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, as Oscar Wilde's old saying goes... but people often forget the second half of that quote: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” In other words, if you're truly great, the mediocre will imitate you. So when you're creating something, like music, should you be aiming to simply copy what your instructors or great pipers play? Or should you want to create your own unique sound? In this week's episode, Andrew and Jim dive into more of the ideas Andrew explored in his first book, Finding Bagpipe Freedom, including how to use the bagpipes as a form of technology like any other – one that you can use as a tool to express yourself, rather than just copying what others have written or done before you. After all, isn't that the true definition of Bagpipe Freedom?

Many pipers dismiss piobaireachd – classical piping – as too nerdy, obscure, hard, or just plain boring to learn... but this couldn't be further from the truth! In this week's episode, Jim and Andrew chat with one of piobaireachd's most enthusiastic champion, Dan Nevans, who's a passionate advocate that piobaireachd is for everyone (coincidentally, also the title of his popular book). • Check out Dan's book "Piobaireachd is for Everyone" here: https://dnpiping.com/book • Join us for a piobaireachd-themed takeover of the Dojo in May 2023 – kicks off Friday 5 May: https://dojouniversity.com/theme • Learn more about Dojo University and how to join: https://pipersdojo.com

Ever wondered how two guys running a piping class in a New York church basement turned into the world's longest running and largest online piping school? Over more than 10 years in business, the Piper's Dojo (and now Dojo University) has grown into a cross-continental online juggernaut of piping and drumming education – but it certainly didn't start that way. In this week's episode, Jim (Heritage Bagpipes, Droning On podcast) and Andrew jump in the Delorean for a quick tour back to Dojo's origins, and look at how it's evolved over the past decade. _____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We hope you'll subscri

Do you consider yourself a musician – not "just" a piper? Do you feel like you can express yourself freely through your bagpipes? Unfortunately, for most pipers, the answer is no. In 2021, Andrew published his first book, Finding Bagpipe Freedom, which explored the process any piper can follow to achieve musical "freedom", and how to break bad habits to do it. This week, Andrew and Jim discuss the introduction of the book, looking at the main reasons we want to play the bagpipes in the first place, and how we can fix the fundamentals that make those goals possible. ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We ho

How do you know when you're ready and capable of playing gigs for money? How much should you charge? How do you find gigs and put yourself out there? How should you plan for and charge clients? Andrew and Jim delve into the pennies and dimes of putting yourself out there as a piper for hire on this week's episode of Dojo Conversations.

Can you play a march properly without actually marching? Does marching as you play actually help? Do you need to dance to play a strathspey in time? ...and what happened that one time Andrew tried to dance? On this week's episode of Dojo Conversations, Andrew and Jim dive into the art of marching, its benefits and drawbacks, and how moving as we play affects our rhythm and the groove of the tune. ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We hope you'll subscribe and join us on our mission to help the world play this great instrument as a true extension of their Selves. Andrew is also a prolific "real world" teach

Why do we use tape on bagpipe chanters? What's the 'right' way to use tape? Can you do tape 'wrong'? Can you have too much? What did they use before tape existed? On this week's episode, Andrew and Jim (Heritage Bagpipes, Droning On Podcast) delve into the sticky subject of bagpipe chanter tape, looking at its many uses, what to do, what NOT to do, and much more.

So you've checked your chanter reed is the right strength, your bag's airtight, and as far as you can tell, you're not leaking air anywhere else. Then why are you still struggling to maintain pressure and tone?! Calibrating your drones is the fourth step in setting up your pipes to be completely air-efficient – and therefore comfortable to play. But do you know how to calibrate your drone reeds properly? On this week's episode, Andrew and Jim (Heritage Bagpipes, Droning On Podcast) talk you through our "drone reed calibration" process, from making sure your drones are set up to perfectly complement your chanter reed, to matching drone reeds, plus how marriage counselling could help your pipe band (believe it or not!) and much more. ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the

An airtight bag is step 1 for a bagpipe that's easy to play. But do you know how to check if your bag is airtight? Does it matter that much whether you play hide or synthetic? Does duct tape work as a stopgap solution? And what should you do when you think you've done "everything right" and STILL can't get it to hold air properly? Andrew and Jim delve into all of these, plus 3D printed bagpipes, hemp compressors, and much more in this week's episode of Dojo Conversations. ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We hope you'll subscribe and join us on our mission to help the world play this great instrument as a tr

Do you record yourself when you practice and perform? So many of us are daunted just by the idea of it, but recording is a must if you want to improve at anything. In this week's episode of Dojo Conversations, Andrew and Jim discuss the many, many benefits of recording yourself, as well as a few practical tips about what gear works best, and how to use it for optimal sound on your recordings. ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We hope you'll subscribe and join us on our mission to help the world play this great instrument as a true extension of their Selves. Andrew is also a prolific "real world" teacher and

What kind of birl do you play? Do you know all the ways you can execute one? Is there a "best" way? On this week's episode of Dojo Conversations, Andrew and Jim delve into everything you want to know about birls – including how pipers in the distant future will play, and the rare and mysterious "birl on B"... ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We hope you'll subscribe and join us on our mission to help the world play this great instrument as a true extension of their Selves. Andrew is also a prolific "real world" teacher and bagpipe performer. You can watch several of his performances and workshops on this c

Should you ever lick your reed? Why do pipers lick (or shave, or poke, or manipulate in any way whatsover) their reeds in the first place? Andrew and Jim (Heritage Bagpipes / Droning On Podcast) delve into the dos and don'ts of reed manipulation on this week's episode of Dojo Conversations. ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We hope you'll subscribe and join us on our mission to help the world play this great instrument as a true extension of their Selves. Andrew is also a prolific "real world" teacher and bagpipe performer. You can watch several of his performances and workshops on this channel. Find An

Is there a "right" or "wrong" way to hold your chanter? Why do some of the world's best pipers seem to hold their chanters the "wrong" way to how most of us are taught? Andrew and Jim (Heritage Bagpipes, Droning On Podcast) do a deep dive on finger position, posture, and much more in this week's episode of Dojo Conversations. Note: A few of the descriptions in this episode relate to visuals in the video version of this interview – visit our Facebook page or YouTube channel to see the on-screen prompts as well. ____ While we've got you – do you ever get frustrated, dizzy or out of breath when you play your pipes? Far too many pipers struggle in "bagpipe hell" with an instrument that's way too hard to play, and no idea how to fix it. So join us in March 2023 for "make your bagpipes easy" month at Dojo U. We're taking over our entire online bagpipe school for the whole month of March this year to focus on making your bagpipes easy to play. Join us for: – 3 months of premium membership for the price of 1 – L

Where do embellishments come from? What can go wrong with a grace note? Do you need to play tunes exactly as they're written? Does the way we write embellishments negatively impact our playing? Andrew and Jim (Heritage Bagpipes, Droning On Podcast) dive into these questions and much more in this week's show as they discuss the best ways you can diagnose and then "clean up" your embellishments. ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We hope you'll subscribe and join us on our mission to help the world play this great instrument as a true extension of their Selves. Andrew is also a prolific "real world" teacher an

Can anyone actually tell if you play the wrong grace note? And does it really matter which grace note you play on different notes and embellishments? Andrew and James Moyar (Heritage Bagpipes, Droning On Podcast) delve into the grace note system, how experienced players can 'compress' tunes and embellishments into their memory, and how grace notes likely evolved in the first place.

The piping world has an epidemic of bagpipes that are hard to play. But can playing a hard reed ever be good for you? In this week's episode of Dojo Conversations, Andrew and James get to the bottom of 'piper's snot' and whether 'majoring in the minors' with a hard reed is a good idea for most players... ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We hope you'll subscribe and join us on our mission to help the world play this great instrument as a true extension of their Selves. Find Andrew and the Piper's Dojo Team here: Dojo University Online Bagpipe School: pipersdojo.com Facebook: facebook.com/pipersdojo Twitter:

Can a judge actually tell if you aren't playing all your drones? Should you use all of the tuning time you're allowed? How much does tune selection REALLY matter? James Moyar(Droning On Podcast, BagpipeSwag.com, Heritage Bagpipes)quizzes Andrew for a judge's perspective on what they look for when you're competing. ____ The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpipes with the e-world. We hope you'll subscribe and join us on our mission to help the world play this great instrument as a true extension of their Selves. Andrew is also a prolific "real world" teacher and bagpipe performer. You can watch several of his performances and workshops on th

Pipers at all levels of ability and experience can find pesky crossing noises creeping into our playing. Do you know the different kinds, how to eliminate them, and what causes them? The answer, especially to the last one, may surprise you... __________________ The Piper’s Dojo Weekly Show, Dojo Conversations, brings you weekly advice about how to be a better bagpiper. This episode was first livestreamed on Facebook – so like our Facebook page (The Piper's Dojo, linked below) to tune in live to our weekly streams, subscribe to our YouTube channel, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing as much value as possible to the bagpipe world by sharing knowledge, taking your questions, interviewing pipers at all stages of development, and just generally talking bagpip

Did you know that embellishments aren't just a collection of grace notes mashed together? They may look that way when they're written out in sheet music, but there's a bit more to them than that. They're actually rapid-fire combinations of melody notes and grace notes used to embellish a bagpipe tune. And to get anywhere near close to playing them well, there are three key things you're going to want to master... __________________ The Piper’s Dojo Weekly Show, Dojo Conversations, brings you weekly advice about how to be a better bagpiper. This episode was first livestreamed on Facebook – so like our Facebook page (The Piper's Dojo, linked below) to tune in live to our weekly streams, subscribe to our YouTube channel, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts! The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one's life through bagpipes. This channel is our way of providing

Sight-reading is something a lot of pipers struggle with, especially if you didn't learn how to read music before you started learning to play bagpipes. But it doesn't have to be hard. This is my simple, straightforward approach to sight-reading. It's a bit like juggling – you can quickly master it, if you just tackle it one ball at a time. ____ The Piper’s Dojo Weekly Show, Dojo Conversations, brings you weekly advice about how to be a better bagpiper. This episode was first livestreamed on Facebook, so like our Facebook page to receive notifications when our weekly streams go live; subscribe to our YouTube channel; or follow, rate and review wherever you tune in to your favorite podcasts!