We have had pipers play at a number of family funerals. Very moving.
(But bagpipe jokes are always pretty hilarious)-
Q. If you were lost in the woods, who would you trust for directions, an in-tune bagpipe player, an out of tune bagpipe player, or Santa Claus?
A. The out of tune bagpipe player. The other two indicate you have been hallucinating.
Q. How can you tell if a bagpipe is out of tune?
A. Someone is blowing into it.
Q. What's the difference between the Great Highland and Northumbrian bagpipes?
A. The GHB burns longer [but the Northumbrian burns hotter]
Q. What's one thing you never hear people say?
A. Oh, that's the bagpipe player's Porsche.
January 24, 2019, 06:40 AM
architect
quote:
Originally posted by Rinehart: (But bagpipe jokes are always pretty hilarious)-
Welcome to Heaven! - Here's your harp.
Welcome to Hell - Here's your bagpipes.
January 24, 2019, 06:44 AM
V-Tail
An ill wind that nobody blows good.
הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים
January 24, 2019, 09:57 AM
Mboroman
I started playing when I was about 12. The high school I would be going to was Higland High School and we were the Fighting Scotsmen. They had a pipe band to complete the ensemble. I started playing in middle school and then continued through high school. I practiced some through college and getting married. Shortly after, the guy that taught me to play wanted to start a local band and we played gigs for a few years. We eventually broke up and then I moved to Tennessee. The Nashville Pipes and Drums was the nearest band available but my schedule wouldn't allow for it. Since then, I have continued to practice, although it has decreased more and more over the years. Practicing the actual Great Highland bagpipe around family and pets is problematic. I bought a couple of sets of small pipes for playing indoors but my playing them has decreased along with my practicing over the years.
I really need to get back to practicing more as I'd hate to lose the ability completely. Playing in a band during those years are some of the best memories I have and the only regret that I have was that I couldn't continue due to my family and schedule.
Two more things:
I know things changed over the years after I was in it but as you progress to being around bagpipes, hearing protection is necessary. We didn't use it in the old days and it has cost me dearly. It took 20 years but I eventually developed a bad case of tinnitus followed by high-frequency hearing loss.
Regarding the electronic chanters, my advice is to stay away from them, at least for quite a while. Yes, they sound like a regular bagpipe which is fun when you don't want to disturb anyone. However, they can lead to bad habits. First, by not using your lips to blow, you won't get them into proper shape for playing the actual instrument. At your stage, you need to hit the practice chanter as much as you can until your lips give out. Even doing that, you'll find that advancing to the actual pipes is almost like starting over for your lips as there is much more air to push and the blowpipe is a much larger diameter. Second, electronic pipes can have an adverse effect on your fingering and I have experienced this firsthand. I bought one after moving to Tennessee and over time, I came to rely on it as an easy way to practice. A good electronic chanter will give you crossing noises on bad fingering but you are only covering small sensors with your fingers. If you play one a lot, you will lose the ability to properly cover the holes on the real thing, causing you to mangle tunes even though you know how to play. My most recent attempts at practicing have been back on the practice chanter and it definitely shows.
Anyway, welcome to the wonderful world of piping. I hope you can stick with it and make it happen. Have a great time with it and enjoy yourself!
January 24, 2019, 11:52 AM
sig sailor
It seems that people love or hate bagpipes. I love them, but I have a wee bit of the Scot in me background, so there is that. Rod
"Do not approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction." John Deacon, Author
I asked myself if I was crazy, and we all said no.
January 24, 2019, 01:13 PM
Tooky13
My Dad was born in Scotland (emigrated when he was 16) and we always attended the Highland Games while I was growing up. My Dad tossed the caber and was champion for many years (Santa Monica, CA). My Dad has passed but, to this day, I love to hear the bagpipes, brings back so many great memories, especially when I hear "Scotland the Brave".
We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln
January 24, 2019, 01:20 PM
TheFrontRange
Congratulations on this! Count me among the folk who love pipe-music!
"The sea was angry that day, my friends - like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli." - George Costanza
January 24, 2019, 01:47 PM
6guns
Best of luck, Ryan!
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"we've gotta roll with the punches, learn to play all of our hunches Making the best of what ever comes our way Forget that blind ambition and learn to trust your intuition Plowing straight ahead come what may And theres a cowboy in the jungle" Jimmy Buffet
January 24, 2019, 02:25 PM
jhe888
At least it isn't the banjo.
Or worse, the accordion!
The fish is mute, expressionless. The fish doesn't think because the fish knows everything.
January 24, 2019, 02:45 PM
flashguy
"Pity the man who hears the pipes and was na born in Scotland" -- Alan Ladd, in "Paratrooper" (aka "Red Beret").
Sportshooter, my church has several times had a clutch of bagpipers participating in services--one time there were 7 of them, and miraculously they were all in tune with each other!
flashguy
Texan by choice, not accident of birth
January 24, 2019, 03:09 PM
armored
Please don't move near me! They might sound good when they are played responsibly. My next store neighbor played in the Irish Rovers. I listened to her practice all the time, it eventually wore me down to the point I would have preferred a grade school age drummer on meth living next door. It ended when she died, no, I did not kill her.
January 24, 2019, 03:11 PM
V-Tail
I think that they are tuned to play in the key of L.
I sure sounds like L.
(kidding, I did like to listen to bagpipes, before I lost most of my hearing)
הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים
January 24, 2019, 06:02 PM
Rinehart
An oldie but a goodie. (A story told by one of your fellow bagpipers)...
Time is like a river. You cannot touch the water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of life.
As a bagpiper, I play many gigs. Recently I was asked by a funeral director to play at a graveside service for a homeless man. He had no family or friends, so the service was to be at a pauper's cemetery in the Nova Scotia back country.
As I was not familiar with the backwoods, I got lost and, being a typical man, I didn't stop for directions.
I finally arrived an hour late and saw the funeral guy had evidently gone and the hearse was nowhere in sight. There were only the diggers and crew left and they were eating lunch. I felt badly and apologized to the men for being late.
I went to the side of the grave and looked down and the vault lid was already in place. I didn't know what else to do, so I started to play.
The workers put down their lunches and began to gather around. I played out my heart and soul for this man with no family and friends. I played like I've never played before for this homeless man.
And as I played "Amazing Grace", the workers began to weep.
They wept, I wept, we all wept together.
When I finished, I packed up my bagpipes and started for my car. Though my head was hung low, my heart was full.
As I opened the door to my car, I heard one of the workers say, “I've never seen anything like that before, and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty-five years."
Apparently, I'm still lost....it's a man thing.
January 24, 2019, 06:21 PM
Bisleyblackhawk
quote:
Originally posted by jhe888: At least it isn't the banjo.
Or worse, the accordion!
How about both...a flat picked bango AND accordion...(it needs the 'pipes )...
"we've gotta roll with the punches, learn to play all of our hunches Making the best of what ever comes our way Forget that blind ambition and learn to trust your intuition Plowing straight ahead come what may And theres a cowboy in the jungle" Jimmy Buffet
January 24, 2019, 06:58 PM
tgtshuter
quote:
Originally posted by sigmonkey:
quote:
Originally posted by ryan81986:......I know it's going to be a long road before I actually pick up a set of pipes but I'm still excited. ...
It's a long way to the top...
I see what you did there.
Or am I just stating the obvious?
January 24, 2019, 07:00 PM
ryan81986
quote:
Originally posted by Bisleyblackhawk:
quote:
Originally posted by jhe888: At least it isn't the banjo.
Or worse, the accordion!
How about both...a flat picked bango AND accordion...(it needs the 'pipes )...
Originally posted by flashguy: "Pity the man who hears the pipes and was na born in Scotland" -- Alan Ladd, in "Paratrooper" (aka "Red Beret"). flashguy
The pipes call to me. At least in today's world I can self identify as Scottish!
____________________________ Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
)...
