Teach Yourself Bagpipes by Lindsay Davidson
bringing quality 'piping instruction to you for freeBack to Welcome page
How to Practice
Order of Study
Rhythm and Reading Music
Exercises
Tunes
Bagpipes:
Transition to Bagpipes
Tuning a Bagpipe
Getting Better:
Using Midi files
Intermediate exercises
Advanced
Band repertoire
Links:
Where to buy equipment
Links to teachers
Links to Organisations
Links to pipe bands
Links (other)
This is a partly experimental project aimed at allowing aspiring bagpipers with no local teacher to learn by themselves with the confidence that the method has been created by a reputable and highly experienced teacher, Lindsay Davidson. Likewise it is hoped that teachers may come to this resource for ideas, materials and to offer their own suggestions and exercises.
Before starting bagpipes, one needs a practice chanter; that is a very quiet and inexpensive instrument for practising at home. There is no need to spend a lot of money on this unless you are absolutely sure you want to play.
Here is a page offering a list of chanter and bagpipe suppliers
Bagpipe music consists of many rudiments. Each rudiment is described in a separate 'chapter', with an mp3 of it being played - please click on the image. Traditionally one learns all the basic rudiments and then progresses onto simple tunes. A suggested order of study is included although this is some cases can be altered. Each chapter is very short and it is hoped that time will be spent becoming fluent at playing. It is also hoped that approaching this task in small steps will make it easier and more enjoyable.
A free program written by Alan Corrie in the mid 1990s, developed together with Lindsay Davidson for the Complete Piping Service can be downloaded here.
For information of what is planned and what upgrades will be made to the site please click on 'coming soon....'.This will be regularly updated.
Please add the site to your favourites and keep checking back regularly for upgrades, improvements and new exercises.
The site has been translated into Polish. If you want to see it in another language and are able to help with translation, please contact the author.
The idea behind this website is not only to encourage and enable people to learn to play, but to collect experience and feedback and improve not only the face to face teaching experience, but to create the world's best distant learning programme for bagpipes.
You can find out more about bagpipes (and lots of other things) from this howtodothings.com article.
Please send your comments to Lindsay Davidson (email: lindsaydavidson(at)lindsaydavidson(dot)co(dot)uk) - they are critical to making this whole project worthwhile.
Happy 'Piping.
Hand Position and the Scale
Crossing sounds
G Gracenotes
D Gracenotes
E Gracenotes
G,D,E Gracenotes exercise
Strikes
Throws
Doublings - general principles
Low G Doublings
Low A Doublings
B Doublings
C Doublings
D Doublings
E Doublings
F Doublings
High G Doublings
High A Doublings
Grips
Taorluath
Birl
Tachum
Hara
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