Earlier this year, we caught up with legendary Pipe Major Robert Mathieson, and had a fascinating discussion about his thoughts on 'concert pitch' for bagpipes – and how it's not just preferable...it's inevitable.
Dojo U students enjoy access to regular interviews and workshops like these.
If you're not yet a Dojo U member, we'd love to have you join us!
For the first time here at Dojo U, we recently rallied our students to form Team Dojo – a 'virtual band' made up from Dojo students all…
Before we start - I just want to thank my diligent co-author Dr. John Holcombe for helping me assemble this article! This article was formed…
How many pipers have a firm grasp of the physics of sound that causes the unique and rich sound of our bagpipes? We are told that we should maintain a pressure in the pipe bag that is at the chanter reed’s “sweet spot”, that pressure that causes the reed to maximally vibrate and bring out the most “harmonics” and richness of sound of the reed. But what, really, are harmonics?
Do you know pipers who take their pipes out of the bag, put the drones together, and start playing without taking any time to “warm” them up? Unfortunately, the resulting sound is enough to make anyone dislike the sound of the pipes. But even if we play the pipes for a few minutes before tuning, how many of us have a deep understanding of reasons behind warming up?
Ever felt like there's no way you'll ever be as good a piper as you want to be? Maybe you started learning 'too late', you…
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