SOME COMMENTS
First, I wanted to say that I very much enjoyed Eric's account of PHSD. I very much hope I'll be able to attend, one day.
I returned from Alaska late last week, where I finally got some real practice time in. While my wife, father-in-law, and mother were out enjoying the sites, I was playing my chanter as much as I could, and making the progress that had eluded me for the previous month. I also took a long walk down the park strip, through Bootlegger's Cove, and into downtown along the coastal trail, stopping to practice tunes. This was my first-ever awkward attempt to play outdoors where someone might accidentally hear me.
Most of my practice was on three tunes: Highland Laddie, Carles with the Breeks, and Scotland the Brave, plus a Strathspey exercise that focuses on C and B doublings.
I also spent time trying to work on my birls. This was tough. I showed Tom Begich my chanter and played him a couple of tunes, and told him about the difficulty in playing birls while keeping my A finger completely covering the whole. He suggested some exercises with my pinkie that he teaches his guitar students, which I have been doing, but it is too early to tell if it will help. (By the way, I'd love to hear more about finger exercises, if you know any that have helped.)
When I started (last November), I had hoped to by on a bag by now, but as my instructor (Lynne Miller of The House of Bagpipes) insists that I perfect my fingering before doing so. At the current rate, this may take well into the fall, and even then, I may well focus on the smallpipes long before acquiring GHBs.
I returned from Alaska late last week, where I finally got some real practice time in. While my wife, father-in-law, and mother were out enjoying the sites, I was playing my chanter as much as I could, and making the progress that had eluded me for the previous month. I also took a long walk down the park strip, through Bootlegger's Cove, and into downtown along the coastal trail, stopping to practice tunes. This was my first-ever awkward attempt to play outdoors where someone might accidentally hear me.
Most of my practice was on three tunes: Highland Laddie, Carles with the Breeks, and Scotland the Brave, plus a Strathspey exercise that focuses on C and B doublings.
I also spent time trying to work on my birls. This was tough. I showed Tom Begich my chanter and played him a couple of tunes, and told him about the difficulty in playing birls while keeping my A finger completely covering the whole. He suggested some exercises with my pinkie that he teaches his guitar students, which I have been doing, but it is too early to tell if it will help. (By the way, I'd love to hear more about finger exercises, if you know any that have helped.)
When I started (last November), I had hoped to by on a bag by now, but as my instructor (Lynne Miller of The House of Bagpipes) insists that I perfect my fingering before doing so. At the current rate, this may take well into the fall, and even then, I may well focus on the smallpipes long before acquiring GHBs.
posted by VMM at 3:50 PM
1 Comments:
There is a fingerwork book call "Rhythmic FingerWork". Here is the link: http://216.71.156.105/rythmic_fingerwork.html
This is a great book for fingering exercises recommended by everyone I have talked to.
As for actual physical finger exercises, Jack Lee told me that he stretches out his fingers and wrists bout 35 times a day, simply bending his fingers and wrists back and flexing them. He told us to do this regularly.
Keep up the great work. You will soon have your pipes!
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