Best products from r/bagpipes

Well, pretty much off the bat, I'd probably have to admit you may have more musical talent than just about any bagpiper I've ever met. (Although, this is by no means an exhaustive list...)

Most importantly, regardless of anyone's level of talent, I would ALWAYS have to recommend getting a teacher -- if you only have one lesson a month (or even less), this will still go a long way toward avoiding embedded bad habits that plague you for a long time...

However, it is certainly possible to teach yourself at least the basics. First, find a bagpiping store within reasonable driving range -- not a music store with a set of pipes in a back corner, this is not a recipe for success. From this store, you'll need to purchase a practice chanter, here are examples: http://www.piperscove.com/proddetail.asp?prod=PC Obviously, you can still do this on the internet, but I would definitely be happier touching the goods before I purchase...

Next, get this book: http://www.amazon.com/College-Piping-Highland-Bagpipe-Tutor/dp/B001PFBW42 You don't have to get it from Amazon if you don't want, the store you found in step one will certainly have a copy, and if you're REALLY Scottish (meaning cheap), the entire text of the book is here: http://mhgtr.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/piping-tutor-book-01.pdf

This book has descriptions of 99% of the technique you'll ever use, has been used by millions people already (really), and still going strong with pipers around the world. It's got a fair bit of sheet music inside, as well. (I've been playing for 16 years, btw, and I've never seen volume 2.)

I should finish up with one more thought: Piping (heck, music) is a communal activity. You're obviously a talented and experienced music and I'm guessing you already know this. If possible, find a band in your area, do their shows and march in their parades. It shouldn't be expensive -- if it is, find a different band. Your playing will definitely benefit, and so will the band you join. You could join a band and learn to play, or you could learn to play and join a band -- whichever works best for you. Again, that store you found in step one can help you, and so can this subreddit, if you need it. And if, by some chance, you live in central New Jersey, let me know and I'll send you directions to Thursday's practice....

Not really a reference book, but a fun collection of stories from famous pipers, is A Piper's Tale by Fergus Muirhead.

I've also been interested in is Bill Livingstone's memoirs - which I've somehow managed to not nab a copy of yet.

Dance to the Piper is a great book, can certainly second that volume.

A great novel I've read which heavily features piping is The Big Music, by Kirsty Gunn. It isn't a bagpipe book, per se, but it's nice to see a novel which talks about our music.

Out of print, but if you can find a copy at a library The Highland Bagpipe: Music, History, Tradition by Joshua Dickson is a good survey of history, musicology, material culture, and biography of the Scottish bagpipes. You can get it for Kindle for $150, but that price is quite steep!

Learning to zen meditate may be of use. It's core is the practice of controlling your breath. Taking in as much air as possible, and exhaling completely. To do so you must learn to breathe with your diaphragm rather than your lungs. It might sound simple, but it's a pretty strange feeling.

Stamina on the pipes can fade quickly, so playing 5-10min a day, every single day, will be a huge help. I've noticed stamina loss even after 2 weeks of not playing.

To strengthen your lips, treat them as you would any other muscle. Every now and then you need to "lift" to failure. That means playing until you literally can not keep a seal any longer... and playing for another 5 minutes.

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Aside from the physical aspect, having your pipes set up properly, with a reed that you're actually capable of playing, helps a lot. Often times instructors or PMs will give you a harder reed because it sounds better, but it becomes so difficult to play it's simply miserable.

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Edit: Some new thoughts after reading some comments: Switching to an oval mouthpiece really helped me. Also, some pipers will have the mouthpiece in the corner or their mouth. I find that makes it extremely difficult to keep a seal given how lips muscles function. So I'd also recommend learning to play with the mouthpiece right in the center of your mouth to allow your lips to use their full strength.

Also also, this is the book that taught me how to zen meditate https://www.amazon.com/Meditation-Plain-English-Daishin-Buksbazen/dp/0861713168/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=meditation+plain+english&qid=1549821441&s=gateway&sr=8-7

That works, but not terribly well. The drill will wander slightly inside the wood and start rubbing against the side of the bore. You’ll hear squeaking and then the heat will come.
You’ll end up having to take the bit out of the wood 2 dozen times during the drilling to bring out shavings and cool things down. Cheap would will just let you fly right through it but cocobolo will laugh at you with a squeaky sort of laugh.

So if you were to want to make things a lot easier or make more pipes in the future then you’d need something like this;

Woodworking https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AO01JII/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_O6o5CbCMWBE43

That way you can turn just the right hand end round while using the tail stock live center, then mount this steady rest on that end and then pull the tail stock completely away and drill the spindle by hand with a D bit or preferably a gun drill with compressed air running through it for cooling and chip clearing.
I literally just hold the enlarged shank portion of the gun drill in my hand while feeding it through.
If you already have an air compressor then this is probably $140 worth of tools that will make life a lot easier.

To put it in trumpet terms, you have the equivalent of this. You may actually be able to get it to sound well with a different reed, but if you are really interested it is worth purchasing a decent practice chanter. I started with this package from The Piper's Hut (I found the book really helpful and think it is a bit better for the rank beginner who may not have a teacher than the 'green book' after looking at both).

The Piper's Hut has plenty of other options as well if you just want to pick up a nice practice chanter (it'll run you ~$60).

Most people would recommend starting out with an instructor. I guess it saves you from learning too many bad habits when you try to start learning by yourself. However, if you want to give it a go I'd recommend this book. I'm sure using it in conjunction with an instructor wouldn't do much harm either.

Not to be all negative and shit, but I wouldn't expect too much from that chanter you bought. Generally any bagpipe-related stuff made in Pakistan is of poor quality. Then again, I've never tried a Pakistani practice chanter, it might tide you over okay for a little while. I'm sure you'd have a much nicer learning experience with a chanter by a reputable maker though. You can get one bundled along with that book I recommended here.

Hope you stick with it and enjoy the ride. :)

I've found The Great Highland Bagpipe and its Music by Roderick Cannon to be a fantastic book. I particularly enjoyed the piobaireachd chapter!

1. Stop playing in a grade 5 band (I kid, I kid... but... grades exist for a reason and you are playing with the lowest. We should always strive for improvement but I don't think I've ever played with a grade 5 band that could make it through an entire set without one and usually multiple people screwing up. Your post indicates that you are putting in a level of effort generally not found among the membership in grade 5, maybe time to move on to a higher level where you will be happier? I know it worked for me).
   
   
2. I found this book to be extremely helpful, but in order for it to work your members have to actually read/implement it: https://www.amazon.com/Strategies-Learning-Memorising-Jumping-Musical/dp/1721860657/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?keywords=memorizing+tunes+stephanie&qid=1562593346&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr2

I've owned a set for a little over a year now. I really like both the look and sound of them, and have gotten plenty of positive comments about the sound of the pipes when playing with bandmates.

They're a little louder than regular smallpipes, but not by too much. The decibel meter on my phone has them at 80dB, vs. the 100 dB for my pipe chanter, and ~70-75 dB for my acoustic guitar. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but that should give you an idea.

I don't wear hearing protection with them - although they're probably borderline whether I need to or not. These are what I wear when practicing highland pipes at home. What I like about them is that I can hear just fine for normal conversation, but they'll shut off the microphone for when I'm actually playing, although I'm looking for some musician grade plugs that I can wear to band practice/performances instead of foamies.

In short, microphones. Don't know if you can plug more than one into an iPhone but you need more than one to really make it work.

This book is really good for getting a basic understanding of the recording process and ideas for doing it with what you have.

That said, studio time is cheap these days. Depending on what you want to do it may actually be the easiest route.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guerilla-Home-Recording-Studio-Leonard/dp/1423454464

There is a great little book of (trad) Irish tunes for fairly cheap - "Traditional Irish Music for the Bagpipes" - Dave Rickard. Really fun stuff and, I think, a lot of room for your personal interpretation.

https://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Irish-Music-Bagpipe-Rickard/dp/0946005745

I am looking into trying to learn how to play the bagpipes and need some advice on buying a practice chanter. I understand that with most things, you get what you pay for. My question is should I get a name brand like Dunbar/Gibson or is going with a less expensive one just fine?

Here are two that I was looking into:

Dunbar long practice chanter

Pringle long practice chanter