Bagpipes Starter Kit with Tutor Book Practice chanter for beginner

Product Information

Finlay has played in several pipe bands over his career, most recently with Inveraray & District under Pipe Major Stuart Liddell during their rise from Grade 2 to the top end of Grade 1. He played in The Spirit of Scotland Pipe band under Pipe Major Roddy MacLeod. Previously he has placed 3 times in the silver medal at Oban and Inverness before moving up to the Gold medal. David has won the former winners March, Strathspey and Reel Competition at the Scottish Pipers Association competition and has won a prize on every occasion that he has been invited to the Uist and Barra competition as well as continuing to be a force on the Scottish Highland Games Circuit, winning many aggregate titles over the years. A productive collaboration between two renowned companies—MacCallum and Start Liddell and the result is a nice quality, dependable bagpipes.

This article will help you sort that out, as we review some of the best on the market today, which will help move you along on your learning journey and enable you to play the bagpipes with beautiful mastery. Table of Contents

Peter Purvis

A beginner piper should start out on a good instrument, but one would want to wait before going for the "gold medalist" set-up. A new piper really shouldn't start out with a wooden chanter. Even experienced pipers can break these as the wood, while strong, is as thin as glass. Turning a wooden chanter from the bottom (or sole) can result in a spiral snap in the bore of the chanter. This destroys the chanter and cannot be repaired. A plastic chanter is best for beginners as you won't have to worry about replacing an expensive part early on into playing. Concerning hide and skin bags, a new beginner shouldn't start with this either. While hide bags will improve the sound of the instrument, they take a lot of dedication and knowledge to maintain. They require a manual installation and priming and will also need regular seasoning to keep the pores of the skin airtight. An investment like this should be for a more intermediate player who is looking to upgrade their tone. To begin learning, one should have a standard synthetic (or hybrid synthetic) bag to ensure ease of playing. The synthetic bags require less maintenance and last longer than all-hide bags.

Getting used to the blowing technique and maintaining constant pressure on the bag can be challenging at first. Coordinating the drones, chanter and bag takes a lot of practice. Fingerwork patterns can also be difficult to master. Go slowly and be patient with yourself as you build these skills. Should I take private lessons or teach myself? In his solo career, Wilson won the Silver Medal, A Grade Strathspeys and Reels and the Gold Medal at the Northern Meetings. He retired from competitive piping in 1996 to focus on his police career. In 2016 he returned to the competition circuit where he competed in the Clasp at the Northern Meeting for the first time. John's piping career began in earnest at the age of nine, under the watchful eye of his father, Brian, and former double Gold Medallist and Pipe Sergeant of Strathclyde Police Pipe Band, Angus J. MacLellan. Alongside close attention to the technical intricacies of the chanter and pipes, a deep appreciation for the music and traditions was instilled at an early age. This rigorous grounding has gone on to influence what has become a wide and varied career as a professional piping teacher and performer.

1-on-1 Bagpipe Coaching

Steven’s main project RURA are a multi award-winning act and one of Scotland’s most sought-after folk bands. With three heralded albums, Rura affirm their position as one of Scotland’s leading instrumental groups. Over the years Rura have collected many of the coveted awards in the folk scene including “Up and Coming Act of the Year” at the MG Alba Traditional Music Awards 2012, nominees for ‘Folk Band of the Year‘ 2013 and were nominees BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for the coveted ‘Horizon‘ award and are this years winners of ‘Live Act of the Year’ and they were nominated for ‘Album of the Year’ in the MG Alba Traditional Music Awards. Glenfiddich Piping Championship, overall winner (5times), MSR winner (twice), Piobaireachd winner (10times);

Ross has 3 solo albums to date Wide Open in 2013, Remembering in 2015 and Sanctuary in 2017, he is currently working on his 4th which is due out in spring 2020. Getting a brand that you can trust for quality bagpipes is essential. Best Beginner Bagpipe Brands:

Spread the Cost

To verify you are getting the genuine collaboration model, the SL1 features a Stuart signed authentic signature. The bass top cord groove also carries a serial number for further identification of the brand. So if you are in doubt of the quality you are buying, these should put your doubt to rest. Alisdair is from Perth, Western Australia. He began piping at Trinity College, Perth at the age of 13 where he also received tuition from local pipers June Corcoran, John MacMurchie and Malcolm Brown. In 1996 which was his final year of high school, he was promoted to Pipe Major of the Trinity College Pipes & Drums where he led the band to various juvenile championship wins in Western Australia. In the same year he was also a member of the Grade 3 Armadale City Pipe Band when they won the Australian & South Pacific Pipe Band Championships. This is a good quality bagpipe for the professional who wants something nice and sturdy to play with. The tuning slides and ferrules on this model feature stainless steel design, thereby providing dependable feel and reliability across all levels of note renditions. However, Dumbar seems to have pre-empted this fear and consequently slap the product with a lifetime warranty, meaning you can rest assured that it will deliver the said quality and expectation. If it doesn’t, you know you can always return it for another one. So, this is one of the reasons why people are investing in this bagpipes.

They allow for plenty of notes without having to gasp or struggle. Your kids can get a serious sense of pride and accomplishment when they play these bagpipes, as the process of filling the bagpipes with air is not as cumbersome as with other types of bagpipes. For children, this means way more enjoyment, and way less frustration. Parading a distinct sound, the MacLellan Waterloo bagpipes is a classic option for the ardent and upcoming bagpipes player. To ensure you have the comfort that you need, the manufacturer added a Bannatyne sythentic pipe bag that is durable and has zippers to keep everything in place. From the design of the thistle ferrules, you can tell this is a top quality piece of bagpipes. The bagpipes feature 4 hand-engraved ferrules with solid aluminum material created by the pipe maker himself on the drones of the bagpipes.

Learn to Play High G on the Bagpipes

David Wilton started learning at the age of 6 under the instruction of P/M Willie Whyte in Montrose R.B.L. Pipe Band. He soon begun solo piping lessons with Walter Drysdale, competing successfully in the junior solos circuit until progressing into the senior level at 17. David has enjoyed solo success over the years; most recently winning the first Capt MacLellan Memorial Piobaireachd medal in the P/A grade; P/A Highland and Island Piobaireachd competition in Oban and the A Grade Rams Horn Snuff Mull Piobaireachd competition in London. The MacRae SL1 distinctive features allow the user to easily find his or her way around the bagpipes. For instance, the manufacturer marked the middle tenor top ferrule with the letter ‘M’ for easy accessibility. Also included is the MacCallum famous polypenco pipe chanter, which gives you that tonal difference during practice, when compared with a host of other instruments on the market. Margaret returned as Pipe Major of her local home band, Cullen, in 2006 and in 2007 the band won the World Pipe Band Championships in Grade 3B. The band progressed to grade 2, where they won the All Ireland Pipe Band Championships in 2013. In 2018 Alisdair was appointed Pipe Sergeant of the Glasgow Police Pipe Band where he is currently developing his skills as a leader of one of the UK’s premier pipe bands.