GG..., please forgive me but I’ve just noticed your posting. You should have PM’d me ! Genealogy seems to be pinning me down on this site ! Lol !
viewtopic.php?f=60&t=14017A great decision ! Nonetheless, I feel that someone soon will probably be sending me a digitalised smack around the heed ! Lol !
If you were my daughter, (and you probably have her age) if she’d asked me that question, I would have replied “accordion”! Sorry ! An accordion is an instrument that can be picked up at any time of the day or night and it sounds Jimmy-Shand-perfect every time. Not the case for the bagpipes !
Another reason for a negative point of view is the following:
Because you had to make a decision between two instruments, means that the bagpipe-choice didn’t come from the heart ! It sounds as if you just about flipped a coin !
The Great Highland Bagpipe is an extremely difficult instrument to learn. They say you need at least seven years, playing every day. Of course, at that rate, you’d then be able to enter competitions..., but I suppose that’s not a short-term ambition !
There are many additional problems with the instrument. Firstly..., and like many women (
) ..., they are very temperamental, and more than just once-a-month ! Lol !
If you don’t play the instrument every day, (for at least 10 minutes) then the pipe bag dries up. In fact, in parallel with the seasoning, it’s the humid breath that keeps the bag wet, supple and as a result, airtight. Like our skin, the pig or kangaroo skin is full of pores and if the bag is not seasoned correctly, the holes leak air and you’ll find yourself puffing till you’re blue. Visualize the lone, inexperienced piper while playing and doubled-up looking “Disney” ridiculous. Also, when the reeds start drying up as a result..., the sound is awful !
So..., do you have the time for maintenance, as well as learning, and learning and learning ! Don’t forget that a piper has to memorise all the tunes..., no place on the uniform to fix a music-stand ! Lol !
Also, another major problem is the fact that you do not have a teacher. Learning the pipes without a GOOD teacher is fatal !
Don’t forget, it’s not a CD that will tell you you’re playing a false note or not keeping an even pressure on the bag !
Nonetheless..., if you succeed in playing correctly, there’s a great deal of pleasure that can come with solo piping and playing with a band..., not to mention all the benefits it provides for the lungs.
Do you smoke ? Lol ! Think about that question ! (such an act is not for a beginner)
If my daughter was to ask that question, my choice would be the Northumberland bagpipes ! (or the regional equivalent)
http://www.burleighsmallpipes.com/index.htmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiuMwskh ... re=related And look..., lol..., it’s feminine !
The UTube URL is rhythmic, but it has so much versatility it can provide “musical softness” and harmony and is a great ambiance-maker..., and you’d also be able to put your poems to music. (not the case with the bagpipes)
You can sing along with yourself, (no puffing, as the lungs are replaced by bellows) ..., and it’s much easier on the ear..., morning, noon and night.
Not to forget that if played slowly it conjures up the waves lapping on the rocks of Low Askomil accompanied by some goose-pimple-Gaelic singer from some Hebridean CD filtering for added ambiance. Peaceful bliss ! (but don’t forget that the chanter has more than one octave plus one note)
Also, it’s an instrument you can play sitting down and after sharing Mister Govan Girl’s bottle of Springbank, a chair is more comfortable when you start “swaying” to the music. Lol !
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t205 ... Guards.jpg Angus, one of my Pipe Major teachers. Alex..., a Sovereign Piper teacher. (just for the manufacture of reeds in Chelsea Barracks..., thanks to Pipe Major R.L. Kilgour, today in Denmark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LnLz6mVUk4 Flowers of the Forrest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a68U7ob5WzoAnyone wanting Scots Guards FACEBOOK friendship can PM me ! We'd also like you to participate in a survey which will finally help wounded Scots' soldiers from the Arab wars. Thanks !