When I ended my last post, I was finally ready to start making some phone calls.  I had done some initial internet research in Step One and learned a lot, but I kept reading the same admonition over and over again from different experts: To learn to play the bagpipes correctly, you need a good instructor…

Step two…finding an instructor. 

I discovered that there was a bagpipe band in Austin called Silverthistle Pipes and Drums.   I found the contact number for the pipe major, Ken Leichti; in turn, he gave me the number of one of the band members who gave private lessons…

I called the instructor that very same day and found out he only lived 25 minutes from my house! He told me I would need a ‘practice chanter’ and a piping tutor book to begin learning how to play. Fortunately for me, a store in downtown Austin called Things Celtic, sold them both.  Did you catch that? You don’t learn to play bagpipes on the bagpipes….who knew?

 I was so excited!! I got a notebook to keep track of my lesson times and progress. My husband helped me decorate the front with a picture of a piper in full Scottish regalia with my face inserted in the photo. It was hilarious!   Here’s a reduced copy on this page.  You can see what a practice chanter looks like on the right hand side of my piping book’s cover.   

Step three…mastering the fingering of the practice chanter and learning to read bagpipe music.

At my first lesson I learned that you don’t get on the actual bagpipes until you’ve proven a certain level of proficiency on the chanter.  For Matt, my instructor, that meant I had to complete the piping tutor book, playing all tunes therein without error, and then, learning to play “Scotland the Brave” by memory without error.  Admittedly, this news was a bit disappointing at first, but not for long.  I was determined to do it in record time!

This is my instructor, Matt Willis.  There is a pocket in this page with an envelope that you can pull out. Inside the envelope are reduced copies of my lesson schedules, milestones, etc. for the nine months that I took lessons with Matt.  Yes, I gave myself happy face stickers for important milestones.  🙂

I was ready for the pipes in 4 months.  That’s fast folks! I practiced every single day, several times a day and then at night in my closet.  My fingers were sore, my arms ached, and my lips felt like rubber. 

Matt Willis was an excellent teacher!  He had lots of tips and techniques to get me on the pipes!  He even translated some very simple nursery rhymes into bagpipe music to help me learn to read notes faster.

There are two tags on this page that pull out.  They have pics of Matt and the two things I remember him telling me over and over again…

Yessiree…at the ripe old age of 28 I was competent on the chanter with a  repertoire of around 30 tunes.  I set myself to the task of learning the basic 17 tune set that Silverthistle played at their gigs in hopes that I could join them soon.

Step four…purchasing my pipes!  YAHOOO!!!

When I was finally dubbed “ready for the pipes” I went shopping on the web.  I will not show you the copy of the receipt that is in the tiny envelope on this page, but I will tell you that I got an AWESOME set of half-silver African blackwood Kron bagpipes. *whistle*  I wanted all my hard work to sound as good as it could…

They arrived the day after my birthday! I could hardly believe it! I DID IT!!  I could actually play this incredible instrument. Well, sort of.   I annoyed all our neighbors by playing “Scotland the Brave” over and over, and then I discovered something else…I didn’t even know what sore fingers were until I got on the real thing.

Stay tuned for part 3 of my adventure in piping, where I will share my brief foray into competition piping and playing with the band!