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Get More Tips for Playing the Bagpipes

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Part of the video series: Prepare a Bagpipe Before Playing it

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Summary: Learn Pointers for playing easier in this free video series that will show you everything you need to know about playing the bagpipe.

Views: 483 | Tags: instrument, tuning, wind, reeds, pitch, scottish, highland, drone, volume, bagpipe, bagpipes, Scotland

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About the Expert

Neil Hubbard Neil Hubbard has taught the Scottish Highland bagpipes to individuals and groups since the early 1990's. In addition to coaching the Seattle Firefighters Pipe... read more

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Video Transcript

Get More Tips for Playing the Bagpipes

NEIL HUBBARD: So there's a few tips and pointers that I wanted to add on. One is putting a little piece of rubber tubing, this is basically like surgical tubing on the end of your blowpipe, just makes it a little more comfortable, you don't want to bite on the thing but it just makes it a little easier in your mouth. On the inside of my bag, I have a piece of this rubber stuff that keeps the bag from slipping when it's against your body. After you put it up under your arm, you want it to stay there; you don't want it to be sliding down and causing discomfort. The other thing is you want to stand straight while you're playing. You don't want to hunch your shoulder up. You want to get your blowpipe adjusted either by a shorter one or a longer one or they do make adjustable ones because you don't want to be you know crooking your head in there to get to the blowpipe or you don't want it way back you know against there. You want to be comfortable while you're playing, stand in a normal posture with your heels together. Also, as I strike in the bag, it's called striking it in, you'll see me sort of push the bag with my hand to get the reed started [PLAYS BAGPIPES] and then make a nice clean cut off by stopping breathing in and squeezing the air out of the bag to the point where I can release my arm quickly and it shuts off like a light switch.

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