I want to learn to play bagpipes. Can you help?

You’ve come to the right place! The Billy Mitchell Scottish has qualified, award winning instructors that can teach you. Lessons are one-on-one, so you get all the individual attention you need. If you intend to join the Band, there is no cost for instruction.

Please contact us by the email form on the Home page. We’ll invite you to a band practice (Monday evenings at the Irish Cultural and Heritage Center, 2133 W Wisconsin Av). When you come, we’ll discuss how we can help you, and you can see what happens at a band practice.

I offer one caution. There are any number of “teach yourself to play bagpipes” books and recordings available. These approaches are rarely successful. There are many subtleties in piping that are almost impossible to learn without an experienced piper guiding you.

I’ve never played a musical instrument, and I don’t know how to read music. Does that matter?

Not at all. Scottish Highland bagpipes are different enough that skill with other instruments doesn’t easily translate to pipes. Knowing how to read music can give you a step up, but most people who learn to pipe start without being able to. We’ll teach you..

Is it hard to play the pipes?

Pipes have a fingering technique that requires practice to master. Pipes need an amount of physical ability. While you will initially use muscles in different ways, you will build strength and learn that coordination counts for more than brute force.

I have taught asthmatics and grandmothers to become successful pipers. Playing pipes is within the reach of a person with average abilities.

How long does it take to play the pipes?

Fingering technique is learned on a practice chanter. This replicates a pipe chanter (the pipe that produces the melody), except it is smaller and is blown directly by mouth. I have taught people who were ready for pipes in less than 3 months, but it can take longer. It depends on the person and their drive to progress.

Do I need to buy pipes to start?

No. In fact, I recommend that you do not.

Some people start to learn, and for whatever reason, stop. Owning pipes you can’t play is fruitless. You should be warned that you can go to music stores or on the web and buy bagpipes, but there are pipes sold that are not of a good standard, or you may pay more for them than you need to.

When you are ready for pipes, we can suggest reputable dealers who sell at a fair price. A decent set of new pipes will cost about $1,000. More than that, and you start to pay for decoration that doesn’t affect sound quality. With proper care, a good set of pipes will last a lifetime. We may know someone who seeks to sell previously played pipes, which would be available at a lower cost.

If you have further questions, please contact us and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Answered by Gary Bottoni, Pipe Major

Pipe band drumming has been called some of the most interesting drumming in the world.

The drums are an integral part of a pipe band. Providing far more than a repeating rhythm, the drums play to the music the pipes are producing, adding a dynamic lift and emphasis to the melody. Typically, the lead drummer plays to a part of music which the other “sides” (snare drums) then echo. The bass drum, the heart of the band, supplies a basic rhythm, but also, through subtle shadings, adds to the band’s musicality. The tenor drums compliment the bass drum, adding accents at key points, and with “flourishing”, a visual art form in itself. The Drum Major, an almost universal term from the British army “drum sergeant-major”, leads the band and can be a drummer himself.

Pipe band drums are not the same as a drum-set or brass band drums. They are tuned to the pitch of the pipes, and are strongly built to meet the stresses required. The Billy Mitchell Scottish owns the Band’s drums, and will provide one, along with a Band uniform, to you.

If you want to learn to drum, or if you are a drummer interested in playing with us, please contact us by the email form on the Home page. You will be invited to a band practice (Monday evenings at the Irish Cultural and heritage Center, 22nd & Wisconsin), and we can discuss how we can proceed.

As said in the pipe section above, if you have further questions, please contact us and I’ll do my best to answer them.