Piper's Dojo Audio Experience

No drummers were harmed in the production of this podcast. Repertoire expansion! How many bagpipe tunes are there in the universe? Well, you couldn’t possibly learn them all but, trying can certainly make one a more interesting musician. April 24th, 2013.

There are tons of books out there about creating music, several of which have really inspired us here at the Dojo. We’ll talk about the brave new world of music literature! April 17th, 2013

Scottish piping versus the rest of the world! What is it that makes piping out of Scotland so good? We’ll talk about this with special guest Derek Midgley, a local eastern U.S. piper who’s been burning up the solo boards in Scotland over the last few years. April 10th, 2013.

Dojo University hits its first anniversary! It’s seems like we’ve always been here, but yes, Dojo U has been delivering the finest bagpipe instruction online for only 12 months. Over that time, we’ve amassed quite a bit of quality bagpiping content. April 3rd, 2013

The bagpipe is one of the few instruments where players do NOT watch their music scores while performing. We’ll talk about the challenges of memorizing long tunes and long lists of tunes as well as share tips for making the whole thing easier. Also, how do we conquer the initial challenge of learning a tune – sight reading? March 27th, 2013.

Transitioning to the Bagpipe. What are some of the tips and tricks to starting off on this “beast” of an instrument? We’ll talk about all the things that will get you up and running on the big pipe. March 20th, 2013.

Spring Training! It’s time to get into form for the coming performance season. Whether you’re an active competing soloist or do the gig circuit, the warmer months always bring a flurry of activity for the piper. March 13th, 2013.

The “bag” in bagpipes. The seasons are changing and it is a good time to start fresh with a new pipe bag. But where do you start?

The famous Metro Cup was this past weekend, and Vin was there first hand. How did it go? Vin and hopefully you (you know, the guests) will have some thoughts about the weekend!

When it comes to bagpipe sound – you’ve gotta start somewhere. And actually, it’s impossible to produce good tone or tuning without a foundation of maintenance. So, we’ll cover the basics at this week’s Dojo Universe show. February 13th, 2013.

Allan MacKenzie has compiled an excellent new collection of Cape Breton music for pipers called “Co-chruinneachadh MhicChoinnich,” which contains gems from many composers. He’ll be on the show, and we’ll play through some of the tunes in the book. February 6th, 2013.

As pipers, we’re in a bit of a bind in that we only have one “volume” we can play, and that volume is best described as… well… loud. However, pipers across the centuries have been creating (or perhaps “simulating”) dynamics in extremely innovative ways. January 30th, 2013.

Matt Griffin is joining us today, and we’re going to talk a lot about sound and how it works. He will be teaching an all-new class at Dojo U called “MusicWorks: The Physics and Psychoacoustics of Sound,” where we’ll talk about this stuff in depth. Come check it out if you’ve ever wondered what “harmonics” are, or if you’ve ever wondered how tuning really works scientifically!

Different instruments articulate notes and rhythms in different ways. We use gracenotes, and gracenote combinations called doublings. This week, we’ll talk about the art of producing great articulations on the pipes. January 16th, 2013.

We’re going to talk crossing noises this week. Believe it or not – you still have crossing noises in your playing. Yep. Even you. We do too! Crossing noises, in some form or another, are always present. Our job is to minimize the effects so well that they don’t interfere with the music. January 2nd, 2013.

It’s hard to get your band together over the holidays, and, let’s face it, even the pipe major is a bit lax in regards to playing regularly when it’s sub-zero outside. Can you make the most out of this? (Hint: Yes!) Also, we’ll have a look at an ancient version of Grain in Hides, Corn in Sacks. December 12th, 2012.

Christmas is coming, and it’s time to get your Bagpiping Christmas list together! We’ll go through a lot of the great products we have that are perfect Christmas gifts. Viewers will help by offering up what they’ve got on their list this year!

We look at a bunch of Christmas Carols that can be played on the pipes and we talk about how to survive playing bagpipes in the cold!

On the eve of our Thanksgiving day, we’re thankful for bagpipe music. We’ll listen to tons of music, and generally reflect on how awesome bagpipes are. 11.21.2012

We do a redo of the jig’s show, because Andrew had to miss last week. What makes jigs tick? Why are they so much fun to listen to, and even more fun to play? November 14th, 2012.