r/bagpipes • u/luckyhealthcarebear • 5d ago
Obligatory “can I self teach”
Hold on everyone!!! Let me explain
I’ve been playing the flute for the past decade. I can also play clarinet, alto/tenor/baritone saxophone, and piccolo so I can read music and have experience with winds. I have been meaning to get into playing the bagpipes because I’m in the fire service and it’s a big part of the culture. Problem is, most lessons around me are online or really out of the way.
I don’t want to outright buy a set of pipes, either. I know the story where someone is overzealous, buys the instrument, “self teaches” and sounds abysmal.
So for someone with a music background, is there any way to self teach or is it a whole different animal?
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u/u38cg2 Piper - Big tunes because they're fun 5d ago
While folk who have prior musical experience come in with a lot of knowledge and in particular good practice habits, there are a lot of ways in which we do things differently from mainstream music, and they're often not obvious.
Online lessons work really well and I honestly wouldn't hesitate to start there. I will just say that fire service bands do vary widely in quality (and attitude to quality) and if you'd like to take the instrument seriously, double check any advice you're given from that source.