Piper's Dojo Audio Experience

Why do you play bagpipes? Is it because they draw a crowd? Is it for the mental challenge? What do two professional pipers think about this? Andrew and Carl discuss what draws them to play bagpipes. Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a member! Join us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter… wherever you do your social media!

Have you been off your pipes for a while? Are your pipes now hard to play? How do you know whether the struggle is because of your pipes or because of you? Andrew explains the chanter reed litmus test to be sure your reed is the correct strength. Carl addresses how best to check your bag for airtightness. These guys will help you get back on your pipes no matter how long it has been. Visit DojoUni...

Overwhelmed with many piping projects? Are you trying to balance solo tunes, band sets, Dojo tunes, and life? How do you prioritize what’s most important? Carl and Andrew address this common issue with suggestions that can help all pipers get focused to work on what is most important. Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a member! Join us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter… wh...

Are you hitting the beat accurately? Are you like most pipers who struggle with this piping fundamental? Can you easily identify what exactly should be on the beat? Andrew uses a jig to demonstrate how to identify what should be on the beat and how that should sound. Learn the two simple steps to playing with great rhythmic accuracy. Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a member! Join us on F...

The metronome lies, right? Or are we frustrated with our inability to accurately play on the beat? How should that sound? How does this affect our ability to play great dotted rhythms? Andrew clearly diagrams how we should be playing to the metronome beat and how this can be applied to dotted rhythms using ALAP/ASAP. Stop rushing, rounding, and getting frustrated. Start finding the value in your s...

Do you struggle with dot and cut notes? Did you play another instrument and think you understood how to play dotted rhythms until you played bagpipes? What is ALAP/ASAP anyway? Andrew decodes dotted rhythms using the ALAP/ASAP terminology and makes sense of bagpipe math. Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a member! Join us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter… wherever you do...

Have you struggled to understand comments from judges? Does improvement seem overwhelming when described in subjective terms? What does the judge really mean? Andrew describes how most judges comments can be translated into objective fundamentals you can practice and improve. Stop being confused by the fluff and start targeting the fundamentals that can make a difference in your piping. Visit Dojo...

Do you play your tunes so fast you can’t hear your mistakes? Or maybe you always keep the metronome at the same easy tempo for every practice session? How do you know what tempo to choose to improve your playing? Andrew walks you through why choosing the correct tempo for practice is a major factor in your ability to improve. While the perfect practice tempo is not the same for everyone, finding t...

Are you considering a Blair Digital Chanter? Want to know more about how it works? Andrew shares the inside scoop from Murray Blair about the Blair Digital Chanter. This includes some more of the technical details on how it works and how it can be adjusted for many different types of pipers. Hint: it’s not all just magic! Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a member! Join us on Facebook, You...

Do you have a Digital Chanter on your wish list this year? Not sure if the Blair Digital Chanter is the right one? What makes it different from the other electronic chanters out there? Is it worth it? Andrew not only explains how the Blair Digital Chanter works, but also shares his experience adjusting the sensitivity to make it even more useful. Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a member!...

Scheduled to play a parade in November? In Canada? Preparing for that graveside memorial and the temperature takes a nosedive? How do you play in cold temperatures and stay in tune? Most pipers have been given the wrong advice! Andrew discusses how best to prepare and play your pipes for events in the cold temperatures. Be warned! The answer may not be what you think! Visit DojoUniversity.com toda...

Struggling with a section of a tune or a particular note progression? Do you spend a lot of time browsing through exercise books to find the right exercise and it still doesn’t help? How do you break down and target an issue in a way that is fun and effective? Carl uses arpeggios to demonstrate how to create our own exercises to target and practice those trouble areas in our music and fingerwork....

You are playing the right notes, you’ve worked on eliminating crossing noises, you play with a metronome, and you accurately play all rhythms, but your tune still doesn’t sound crisp and clean. And you can’t bring your tunes up to band tempo. What’s wrong? Andrew articulates the one fundamental that could be holding you back from reaching that next level of playing. It may surprise you that this t...

Have you been told to blow tone or blow steady? Does your chanter reed cut out or squeal? Is it hard for you to tune your drones to your chanter? Does this whole concept of great tone seem ambiguous? In this recording, Andrew defines tonal quality and explains how to get it in simple, easy to follow steps. Imagine not just blowing tone but actually producing great tonal quality on your bagpipes! V...

Did you enjoy your last bagpipe performance? Was it meaningful to you as well as the audience? Did you have complete control over the delivery of that tune and your instrument? Andrew describes how having control over the basic fingerwork fundamentals will lead to a gratifying performance. He will also explain how using a metronome can take you there. Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a me...

Don’t you just love the sound of a beautifully tuned bagpipe? The full harmonic sound of the drones blended perfectly with the chanter notes. Are you amazed how professional pipers seem to tune easily and get that steady full sound? What if I told you that it’s not just about good tuning? Andrew walks us through the 13 steps of achieving great bagpipe sound. Tuning is only one part of this process...

Ever been told you are playing too "round"? Do your doublings turn to mush when after cut notes? Does your grip fall apart when it comes from a sixteenth note? Why do two sequential cut notes cause pipers so many issues? Andrew breaks down this common issue into two fundamentals that we can easily see. He explains why it is so difficult, and what you can do to stop playing mush and start playing m...

How long does it take you to learn a tune? Do you work on it for weeks without much progress? Does it take you months to memorize a new tune and still have parts that cause your fingers to stumble? Join us as Andrew walks you through a simple process to learn a tune. Practicing is not enough. You need to know how to practice to make your time worthwhile. Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a...

Today Glenn Brown is in town hanging out, and we get a podcast in. Enjoy this long form chat!

Do you work really hard on your crossing noises but they still seem to creep in at the worst moments? Do you have trouble with sloppy gracenotes and embellishments, and nothing you do seems to fix them? How about rushing key phrases in your tunes? Struggling to stay “tight” with the rest of the pipers in your band? Well, this lesson could be eye-opening for you. Andrew shows us ONE key aspect of f...

A great discussion was had in a recent class in regards to reducing condensation in your instrument. Do you think you're a "wet blower?" (Hint: You're not!) Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a member! Join us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter… wherever you do your social media!

What is the common denominator of bagpipe success? Well, let's think about this for a few moments together.

Dojo U is live with Critiques and an Open Q&A this morning! This week's challenging tune: Rory MacLeod! Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a member!

Sometimes known as the co-host of the Chanter Rant podcast, Andy is also a great teacher and member of the Dojo U community. Join us as we have a wide-reaching conversation about... well... bagpipe stuff. To become a member of Dojo University, visit DojoUniversity.com today!

Dojo U is live with Critiques and an Open Q&A this morning! This week's challenging tune: Lucy Cassidy (Parts 3 and 4)! Visit DojoUniversity.com today and become a member!