Understand the Best Way to Learn Bagpipes

Series Summary

Bagpipes are in a class of musical instrument called aerophones, and use enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The term bagpipes or bagpipe is equally correct, although pipers usually refer to "pipes" and "the bagpipe." A bagpipe must at least consist of an air supply, a bag, a chanter, and usually a drone. Dozens of types of bagpipes are widely spread across Europe and the Middle East today, as well as through much of the former British Empire. The name bagpipe has essentially become synonymous with its most well-known form, the Great Highland Bagpipe.

In modern music, bagpipes are scarcely used, but remain a recognizable instrument because of their unique look and sound. However, bagpipe lessons can be hard to arrange because of their lack of general popularity. That's where our free video series comes in. With our expert's instructions, you'll have your first lesson in learning to play bagpipes. From finger positions to using a practice chanter, and learning grace notes, all of the bagpipe basics are taught in this free video. If you want to learn how to play this unique instrument, you have to start somewhere, and now you don't have to go to the Scottish Highlands to do it!

Video Transcript

"NEIL HUBBARD: A lot of people who have Scottish or Irish or Celtic heritage liked the idea of learning how to play the bagpipes. They want to do something that expresses their culture and the music of the bagpipe is one way that they do that. There's a real important difference in being--trying to pick up the instrument and teach yourself versus having somebody teach you who knows something about the instrument. You may have seen the guy down on the street corner downtown in street clothes playing and thought,"Oh my God, that sounds terrible! Bagpipes are an awful sounding instrument." They're not. Played by somebody who knows how to set the instrument up and who knows the basic fingering technique and has had somebody show them where the mistakes are and what to do to improve, the bagpipe can be a very pleasant instrument to listen to and in fact there are virtuoso bagpipe players all around the world who play it quite beautifully."