Piper's Dojo Audio Experience

This week on Dojo U’s "Strike-In" Q&A, Andrew and Carl launch our special "Real Feedback Month" – you can join Dojo U before June 5th for a free 30-day trial and get direct feedback on your real summer repertoire through live critiques, recording reviews, and 15+ weekly classes designed to get your piping performance-ready for the season ahead. They also tackle listener questions on chanter tuning, synthetic reeds, blowing efficiency, recording gear, pitch standards, and more. Here’s what we cover this week: 00:00 – June’s Real Feedback Month: how it will work and how to get involved 04:43 – Fixing a chronically sharp high G: warmups, carving myths, reed positioning, moisture control systems, and alternative chanter modifications 14:03 – Synthetic chanter reeds: thoughts on the Highland Bagpipe SureFire reed, why synthetic drone reeds have succeeded more easily, and what’s still missing from synthetic chanter technology 19:20 – Reed gurgling on E: what causes it, why overblowing is usually the main issue, and how reed strength affects stability 25:27 – Puffing your cheeks while playing: why it happens, whether it’s a problem, and how it relates to blowing mechanics 28:40 – Recording gear and adapters: getting the Zoom IQ7 working with USB-C devices and why cable quality matters 30:14 – Current limitations of AI transcription for bagpipe content 32:00 – Acceptable low A pitch frequencies: why 480 Hz can be completely normal depending on weather and conditions 34:40 – Wrap-up and sign-off

Pìobaireachd can feel intimidating for so many pipers… so why do the people who fall in love with it become completely obsessed? In this first episode of a new multi-part series, Andrew and Jim explore the historic, musical and sometimes mysterious world of pìobaireachd (piob mhòr, the big music, or “peeb-rock”) — the classical music of the Great Highland Bagpipe. They unpack the myths, traditions, gatekeeping, history, and genuine beauty surrounding the art form, while making the case that piob isn’t just for elite competitors or music scholars. It’s a completely different way of experiencing music on the pipes. They explore why piob can feel so inaccessible at first, the parallels between tradition and storytelling, and why learning even a little pìobaireachd can fundamentally change the way you hear and play the instrument. Here’s what we cover in this episode: 00:00 – Introducing piping’s forbidden dinner-table topic 00:40 – Why pìobaireachd can feel like a secret society (and why that barrier exists) 02:20 – The psychology of exclusivity and piob as a “club” within piping 04:30 – Inside Andrew’s massive Dojo pìobaireachd course and how it was built 07:00 – Why your apprehension about piob is completely normal 09:00 – Piob vs light music: why the experience feels fundamentally different 16:00 – What the Urlar (ground) actually is and how variations are constructed 17:45 – How simple melodies evolve into elaborate musical “finger fireworks” 18:30 – The MacCrimmon legend, the Skye school, and the mythology surrounding piob origins 21:00 – Teacher lineage and the idea of tracing musical ancestry 22:30 – Piob as “bagpipers’ religion”: storytelling, tradition, and the mystery factor 28:00 – Gatekeeping, authority, and why modern piob culture is slowly becoming more open 32:00 – Tradition as a guide rather than a prison: descriptive vs prescriptive teaching 36:00 – Why even “boring” piob deserves an open mind — plus a preview of next episode’s deep dive into history and the legendary black chanter

This week on Dojo U’s "Strike-In" Q&A, Andrew and Carl tackle students' top-voted questions covering everything from competition tempos and reed setup to drone threading, posture, and grading standards. Here’s what we cover this week: 00:00 – Welcome & intro 00:07 – Threading drone reed seats: the pros, cons, and ongoing debate. Does it change the sound? Is it reversible? And should you do it on vintage or high-end pipes? 07:00 – What actually separates the grades? A practical breakdown of Grade 5 through Professional, including what players should realistically be aiming for at each level 14:40 – Using the Two-Week Tune of the Week process for competition prep: applying the freedom phase approach to building and polishing solo or band repertoire 19:10 – Andrew’s move to St. Andrew’s College: will he continue playing with Inveraray? A look at how yearly “renewals” work and what he shared during the interview process 21:30 – Do bagpipes make people look better in photos and videos? Why posture matters more than you think, and the four key points that change everything 23:58 – What’s a safe tempo for a Grade 4 2/4 march? Live metronome demos using Siege of Delhi, Iron Division, and Prince Charles, plus why groove matters more than raw BPM 33:00 – Decoding judge feedback on tempo: how to turn “too fast” or “too slow” comments into practical adjustments 33:54 – Willie’s Glenfiddich tempo check: Mike’s rule that Grade 4 players probably shouldn’t be playing faster than 58 BPM 33:52 – Adding phase-passing recordings to Dojo-U congratulation posts: logistics, community feedback, and possible improvements 35:12 – Reed selection: when is a reed truly bad, and when is it just a poor match for your setup? Including the “90% rule” for chanter and drone reeds 37:57 – Why trial and error is still the best teacher: how running a band, experimenting with chanters, and buying cheap used gear speeds up learning 39:52 – Reed humidity prep: Andrew’s Ziploc bag and cigar humidification pack method for conditioning reeds before testing 41:30 – Hygrometer accuracy: why Andrew replaced his old hygrometers, and how unreliable readings can quietly sabotage your setup

What if the reason your pipes sound incredible on their own… is the exact reason they clash with everything else? This week, Andrew and Jim dig into one of the most fascinating (and frustrating) realities of bagpiping: why the instrument’s beautiful, locked-in sound can feel completely at odds with a piano, organ, or other orchestral instruments. It all comes down to two competing systems of tuning – so buckle in for a music nerd deep dive into just intonation vs equal temperament, why they are often at odds with each other, and what you can actually do about it in real playing situations. Here’s what we cover in this episode:00:00 – Perfect intervals and the bagpipe’s unique tuning identity00:22 – Intros, hats, and an unexpected Albany geography tangent05:49 – Just vs equal temperament: what are we actually talking about?08:03 – Why the drone locks bagpipes into just tuning13:21 – A practical demo using 100 Hz to explain pure intervals17:00 – The ratios behind the bagpipe scale (B, C#, D, E, F#, G)22:32 – Equal temperament explained: 12 equal slices of the octave27:01 – The trade-off: why “in tune” sometimes means slightly out30:38 – Bagpipe vs piano in real numbers (e.g. C# at 600 vs 604.7 Hz)32:27 – The biggest clashes: why high G and low G hurt the most33:09 – Splitting the difference: practical tuning compromises35:04 – Can digital instruments meet the bagpipe halfway?35:45 – The hidden truth: even great pianos aren’t perfectly “in tune”37:11 – Why pure intervals are so addictive (and ruin everything else)41:38 – Do B-flat chanters fix the problem?43:47 – Finding your place on the just ↔ equal temperament spectrum

This week on Dojo U’s "Strike-In" Q&A, Andrew and Carl dig into everything from reed disasters and confusing judges’ comments to tuning, piobaireachd mindset, and band dynamics. Here’s what we cover this week: 00:00 – Exhibit D: introducing the new segment breaking down piping-related social media images 01:25 – A crushed, darkened reed: what it reveals about mold, storage, and poor setup habits 06:18 – Another smashed reed: how it happens (yes, the chanter cork) and a simple pre-play check to avoid it 10:01 – Matching shirts Q&A: “Who’s the nice one?” (inspired by Ed Best) 12:45 – Piobaireachd: is it more about mental endurance or technique? 20:38 – “Pipes tuned too close”: making sense of confusing or contradictory judge feedback 27:46 – Struggling to hear locked-in drones: how to actually develop your ear (and why it never really ends) 37:20 – Favourite places to play: from the World’s to the band hall when everything clicks 40:56 – Demoting players in a band: how to handle it clearly, fairly, and without unnecessary friction 46:00 – Blowing inconsistencies at band: what helps, what doesn’t, and why the real work happens at home