Piper's Dojo Audio Experience

Ever wondered why bagpipes are tuned "wrong" on purpose?   This week, Andrew and Carl answer your piping questions on everything from why high A isn't actually tuned perfectly, to bagad bands, high-altitude piping, reversed-handed playing, fixing sharp high Gs, and the mystery of an unexpected E pickup in one of piping's classic tunes.   Here's what we cover this week: 0:00 – Why bagpipes are tuned to the drones, not equal temperament 2:38 – The science behind high A and why pipers flatten it
 9:50 – Why top bands "cheat" notes like D, F and B
 12:23 – Teaching young pipers the right tuning habits
 15:12 – Playing with bagad bands and different chanter pitches
 16:43 – The history of bagad bands and Breton piping
 19:42 – What Scottish and Breton pipe bands have in common
 21:25 – Should you learn to play with the opposite hand?
 26:55 – How to use a manometer correctly
 28:59 – Fixing a sharp high G: where to start
 33:09 – What happens to your pipes at high altitude?
 34:31 – Learning the Sardinian launeddas
 35:55 – How to tell a hornpipe from a reel
 41:33 – Indiana Jones, bagpipes, and pop culture
 42:38 – The mysterious E pickup in The Maids of the Black Glen and why sheet music doesn't tell the whole story   Want to join our weekly Q&A sessions live, or get your piping questions answered? Check out our membership options: https://pipersdojo.com/store

Sometimes the best piping stories start with a simple question: “Can you bring your pipes?”   Not all of them end up playing on a rooftop with NFL legends, becoming a viral sensation playing alongside Grimace, or partying with the 60,000-strong Tartan Army though…   This week, Andrew and Jim are joined by Matt McArthur – a Quincy, Massachusetts-based piper, comedian, and longtime friend of Andrew’s from their days studying under legendary piper Donald Lindsay at Invermark Piping School in 1998.   Matt tells us how a throwaway joke at a comedy show escalated into national TV appearances, NFL legends, and becoming the unofficial mascot of the Tartan Army. From piping on a penthouse rooftop alongside Gronk and Julian Edelman, appearing in a White Claw ad he didn’t know he was part of, and having a dance-off with Grimace, this is one World Cup adventure you won’t believe.   We also talk about the power of just getting the pipes out and playing for people – because sometimes the strangest gigs lead to the best stories (and opportunities!).   Here’s what we cover in this episode:  00:00 – “So you met Grimace…” 
  01:41 – Introducing Matt: bagpiper, comedian, and accidental “sports ball legend”
  02:50 – How Matt ended up at the centre of Boston’s World Cup celebrations
  08:00 – The random bar gig that started it all
  11:20 – The Tennent’s shortage and the White Claw twist
  18:30 – BBC Scotland goes viral: “The Americans don’t even know the World Cup is here”
  20:00 – Learning the songs the Tartan Army actually want to hear
  21:00 – The casting call that led to a rooftop TV appearance
  23:55 – Playing live on national TV, 100 feet up!
  28:11 – “No Scotland, No Party” 
  30:00 – Meeting Grimace and accidentally becoming part of an ad campaign
  31:37 – The big takeaway: just go play for people

Ever feel like your pipes have gone from a passion to a chore? On this week's Q&A session, Andrew and Carl tackle your questions about keeping the passion alive, avoiding piping burnout, setting up your practice space, getting the most from your reeds, recording yourself, and more. Here's what we cover this week: 0:00 – Dealing with bagpipe burnout 6:50 – Getting ahead of burnout before it starts 6:50 – Is your practice room too small? 11:32 – How much should you play your band reed? 17:18 – Making the most of the Tartan Army's viral moment 20:02 – Multi-track recording tips 24:08 – The moose valve disaster 27:10 – Will live audio judging catch on at more competitions? 31:33 – Why competition results can take time to appear Want to join our weekly Q&A sessions live, or get your piping questions answered? Check out our membership options: https://pipersdojo.com/store  

Most pipers know that bagpipes don’t always play nicely with other instruments. But why is that? And is there actually a simple way to fix it?   This week, Andrew and Jim revisit how to tune bagpipes to other instruments, diving back into 'just' vs 'equal' temperament to explain why the Great Highland Bagpipe sits so far away from concert pitch, and what that means when you try to play with guitars, pianos, or other instruments.   Exploring everything from the physics of pitch and the history of how the bagpipe ended up being called an “A” instrument, to pitch creep, B-flat chanters, and practical ways to bridge the gap, they discuss the idea that playing with other musicians is really just a matter of understanding the “currency conversion” between bagpipe pitch and the rest of the musical world.   Here’s what we cover in this episode:  00:00 – Why don’t bagpipes sound good with other instruments? The pitch problem explained  01:43 – The drone dilemma – why the bagpipe is locked into its harmonic world  02:56 – The 40 Hz gap – how far the GHB sits above concert pitch  06:26 – Why is the bagpipe called an “A” instrument anyway?  07:36 – Angus Mackay, Highland Societies, and the story of written piping music  12:47 – Historical pitch and why the bagpipe was probably never really at concert A  20:08 – Pitch creep – how competition culture pushed the pipes higher  22:52 – The B-flat chanter experiment – and why the drones complicate things  25:26 – The core problem: the bagpipe A isn’t the same A as everyone else’s  27:24 – How to make bagpipes work with other instruments: the practical solutions  31:55 – Guitar hacks, capos, and meeting the pipes where they are  33:14 – Digital pianos, transposition, and instant pitch adjustments  34:54 – Thinking in B-flat: translating bagpipe music into concert language  39:25 – How to transpose bagpipe scores for other musicians  41:37 – Backing tracks, DAWs, and Andrew’s favourite workflow  44:39 – The currency conversion analogy – understanding the exchange rate  47:14 – Could we just go higher instead? The case for B and beyond  48:25 – The big takeaway: communicating pitch is the real unlock  50:32 – Just intonation vs equal temperament revisited

Real Feedback Month has officially kicked off at Dojo U! On this week's Q&A session, we explain how to get the most out of this special monthly theme, then dive into our regularly scheduled burning piping questions, covering a range of topics including competition etiquette, chanter reeds, tone enhancers, tuning habits, and more. Here's what we cover this week: 0:00 – Real Feedback Month begins 2:28 – Recording and submission tips 11:57 – Sunglasses at competitions 17:38 – Rubber bands on chanter reeds 22:37 – What to do with a reed that's too hard 26:00 – The D throw and teaching methods 32:18 – Tone enhancers: pros and cons 40:12 – Starting drone tuning from sharp 43:12 – An unexpected Isle of Skye story Want to participate in Real Feedback Month, or join our weekly Q&A sessions live? It's never too late to get started! Check out our membership options: https://pipersdojo.com/store