This course was written to fulfill a specific need - to guide new piping students, in a group format, in learning how to play the bagpipe, with the ultimate goal of playing with St. Andrew's Pipes & Drums. It assumes no prior ability to read music or play an instrument. Classes have been completed for the 2021 - 2022 session. Contact us for the next session.
The course consists of 27 classes, or modules, designed to be held weekly. Our experience has been that students need more time on some lessons, and jobs, medical issues, and family priorities get in the way, leading to the course being extended as needed. It may stretch out to a period of 8 or 9 months. The above link to the COURSE is for registered students only.
The most important part of learning the pipes is your practice at home on what is known as a “practice chanter”, the instrument we all learned on and continue to use for practice at home and with the band. After about 16 classes, with a little dedication, you will be able to play many standard tunes and will be ready to acquire and begin playing the bagpipe.
You must be prepared to spend a half hour to one hour EVERY DAY
if you want to play the pipes by the end of the course.
In spite of its length, this is an accelerated course. Most teachers will tell you that it takes a year or two to become proficient on the pipes. We plan to teach the simple band tunes of St. Andrew’s (SAP&D), practice together as a group, and get you “on the pipes” in 16 to 24 weeks.
The initial investment is small - students will need these 3 items:
Please do NOT purchase a bagpipe at this time, especially not from Amazon or eBay which are usually inferior pipes made in Pakistan. Even a good set of used pipes may need a new bag, reeds, and chanter which will quickly run into hundreds of dollars. Talk to one of us about how to purchase your pipes.
If you want to learn to play the bagpipe and join our band, fill out our contact form at SAP&D Contact Us. Please include any experience you have had, what city you live in, and your age (approximate is fine - we need to know who are school age, young adults, middle age, centenarians, etc.). We will let you know when our next beginner's course is scheduled. Meanwhile, you are welcome to stop by Tuesday evenings at our practice hall in Largo.