Bagpipe Lessons in Virginia
Posted by Shamus O\'Leary | Under Arts & Entertainment Friday Feb 12, 2010Invented over 700 hundred years ago and making appearances in several continents, the bagpipes are most commonly known by their Scottish version. Although many people know what they look like and sound like, very few actually know what do with one. Its unorthodox shape and features make it difficult to master. Before performing an Celtic classic, there some basic bagpipe lessons that everyone must learn. If you are looking for bagpipe lessons Virginia has a number of places for you.
Before you do anything, pick up the instrument and make sure you know what all the pieces do. There’s the mouthpiece, which you blown on, then the melody pipe, which you treat you the same would a flute or clarinet with your fingers. There are also the three drone pipes, which give it that familiar sound. All of these are connected to the bag in the middle which disperses the air.
To hold the bagpipes properly, make sure the drones are resting on your left shoulder and the bag is tucked in between your elbow and chest. The melody pipe should be pointed down and the mouthpiece should be pointed up. Take the mouthpiece, place it in your mouth and you’re ready to go.
The hardest part about playing the bagpipes is mastering the art of blowing. This requires the player to fill the entire bag with air before doing anything. Since this is quite difficult for most beginners, it’s a good idea to block the drones in order keep air from leaking out.
The traditionally way to play the bagpipes is with two hands on the melody pipe. Although, some bagpipes do have two melody pipes. This will require one hand on each of them.
After you’ve filled the bag and situated your hands, you are ready to play. Start by squeezing your bag with your arm, but remember to keep adding air into it as you play. If the bag becomes deflated it becomes out of tune. You can adjust the pitch by how hard you squeeze the bag.
When trying to learn songs at first, it’s a better to use a practice chanter instead of the actual bag pipes. This tool is similar to a flute recorder and requires a lot less breath than using the actual bags does.
That concludes the brief bagpipe lessons. It’s certainly not the easiest instrument to learn but it can be very rewarding once mastered. A little time put in and you could become a legitimate player. Considering how few people can say that, it would be quite an achievement.
Want to find out more about bagpipe lessons Virginia, then visit Shamus O’Leary’s site on how to choose the best lessons for your needs.