Do you want to sound just like your favourite pipers? Maybe we all do, to start with. But after a while, most pipers realise that true satisfaction comes from being able to create any musical ideas or interpretations that you want to – not just copying others.

Having this kind of freedom is the ultimate goal of any musician – and any bagpiper.

But when we skip early skills and rush through to play the pipes, it can be hard on the ol' ego to go back to the basics to re-learn them. But that mastery of the essentials is the key to finding that musical freedom, when you consider how many skills we have to juggle at the same time...

This week, Andrew and Jim continue discussing the chapter of Andrew's book, Finding Bagpipe Freedom, that tackles how to juggle all the essential piping skills at once to be an excellent player. It's tricky, but not impossible, as long as you follow some simple principles.

Got a question for a future episode? Leave a comment or email [email protected]!

On this episode:

00:00 The Meeting of the Dimensions: Where the Rubber Hits the Road
00:43 The Power of Control: Bagpipe Mastery
01:35 The House Analogy: Owning Your Bagpipe Skills
03:45 Building Skill Capital: The Importance of Learning New Tunes
07:19 The Journey to Bagpipe Freedom: Overcoming Ego Pain
11:06 Finding the Sweet Spot: Mastering the Art of Blowing
20:11 The MBA: Understanding Mental Blowing Anomalies
22:53 Debunking Bagpipe Myths
23:36 The Art of Steady Blowing
24:47 The Impact of Fingerwork on Blowing
25:40 The Importance of a Quiet Mind
26:02 Musical Influences and Inspirations
27:08 The Power of Learning New Tunes
27:21 The Art of Separation in Bagpiping
32:54 The Importance of Variety in Practice
36:09 The Danger of Repetition and the Need for New Material
38:19 The Importance of Being a Well-Rounded Piper
39:06 The Art of Creating Yourself in Bagpiping
42:11 The Power of Criticism and Questioning in Learning
45:14 The Art of Teaching and Learning: A Conclusion

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Dojo University is the longest-running and most successful online bagpiping and drumming school in the world.

We teach thousands of students around the world how to play good music – mastering the art of learning and playing the bagpipes and drums in the process – in a highly accessible way that is completely unlike anything else you'll find online or in person, anywhere in the world.

We created Dojo U because we noticed that too many pipers and drummers were struggling out there in the world.

Bagpiping should be a joyful experience, each and every day you pick up your instrument. If it's not, we strive to fix that before it's too late. And whether you're a complete beginner, a parade or experienced player, a pipe major or drum sergeant, or a pro-level competitor... you can free yourself from musical frustration at Dojo U.

At Dojo U, we do things a little differently to how you may have approached learning to play the bagpipes before. One of the key reasons for our ongoing success is that we're always evolving, improving, and growing. We'd love to welcome you and show you around!

Find Andrew and the Piper's Dojo Team here: