Hey! I have just lately taken up the pipes and am currently looking for a good tutor.. I play flute but have no idea what I should start start off with. Any tips or advice would be much appreciated!!!!!!
The Heather Clark tutor is the one I keep hearing good things about -- Dirk'll probably be along in a while to give you a website for it, or you can just look it up on Google or some such...
Well, Zina always gets there first. Yes, the Heather Clark tutor is the one I started with, and every good piper I have met says that's the one to use. Unfortunately, I can't find a web site for her. I got the tutor from the local "Boulder Early Music" store, and it came with a tape. Since then, some of my fellow beginner piper friends found it with a CD. Definitely, get the CD if you can. Other than that, I recommend getting a good practice set if you don't have one yet. Don't settle for a cheap set, or you may frustrate yourself right out of the hope of ever playing the instrument. You pay for what you get. Also, find the nearest good piper to give you lessons. Even though I played three other woodwinds before the pipes, I needed all the help I could get, (and still need it!) Good Luck!
I have just looked over the madfortrad (www.madfortrad.com) mulitmedia pipe tutor with Sean Potts as the teacher. i have also worked my way through the Clarke Tutor, and Volumes 1-3 of the NPU Pipe video Tutors. In my opinion, the Clarke is last on the list, but I still refer to it and it was my first.. It is tough for me to say which of the other two is the better tutor.
I am no fan of Sean Potts, he makes things look hard by the way he does things, however, he does get the point across very well and the format of the CD is amazing. I will post a detailed review describing it on another post .
The NPU Tutors from the Pipers Club in Dublin (http://www.iol.ie/~npupipes/index.html) go into much better deatil of how to wear the pipes, what you minimally need to know about reeds, and other excellent pointer throughout, including basic drones in volume 2 and regulator work in volume 3. It also features my favorite still living piper, Gay McKeown, hence my obviously biased review. The tunes are taught the way they are in a workshop, a phrase at a time. I've spent many hours learning from this video set and highly reccomend it.
I have only been playing a year, myself, so Mike's advice certainly is what I would go with if I werr you. I had some luck in the areas of learning how to take care of the pipes, wear them, and learn about reeds. Some pipers around here (Colorado) have been kind enough to teach me some of what they know, and we try to invite good pipers and pipe-makers to visit us and teach workshops. By far, the one-on-one experience with good teachers is more important than anything else. With that in mind, if you just can't find a teacher or teachers, the web site Scoiltrad.com has top-quality teachers who will work with you over the internet. They have helped me a great deal. Other than that, I think I'll check out the NPU videos next. Thanks for your posting, Mike. By the way, where is it you are living?
a good pipe tutor
a good pipe tutor
Hey! I have just lately taken up the pipes and am currently looking for a good tutor.. I play flute but have no idea what I should start start off with. Any tips or advice would be much appreciated!!!!!!
# Posted on January 18th 2002 by sizzler
Re: a good pipe tutor
The Heather Clark tutor is the one I keep hearing good things about -- Dirk'll probably be along in a while to give you a website for it, or you can just look it up on Google or some such...
Zina
# Posted on January 18th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: a good pipe tutor
Well, Zina always gets there first. Yes, the Heather Clark tutor is the one I started with, and every good piper I have met says that's the one to use. Unfortunately, I can't find a web site for her. I got the tutor from the local "Boulder Early Music" store, and it came with a tape. Since then, some of my fellow beginner piper friends found it with a CD. Definitely, get the CD if you can. Other than that, I recommend getting a good practice set if you don't have one yet. Don't settle for a cheap set, or you may frustrate yourself right out of the hope of ever playing the instrument. You pay for what you get. Also, find the nearest good piper to give you lessons. Even though I played three other woodwinds before the pipes, I needed all the help I could get, (and still need it!) Good Luck!
-Dirk
# Posted on January 18th 2002 by dirk
Re: a good pipe tutor
I have just looked over the madfortrad (www.madfortrad.com) mulitmedia pipe tutor with Sean Potts as the teacher. i have also worked my way through the Clarke Tutor, and Volumes 1-3 of the NPU Pipe video Tutors. In my opinion, the Clarke is last on the list, but I still refer to it and it was my first.. It is tough for me to say which of the other two is the better tutor.
I am no fan of Sean Potts, he makes things look hard by the way he does things, however, he does get the point across very well and the format of the CD is amazing. I will post a detailed review describing it on another post .
The NPU Tutors from the Pipers Club in Dublin (http://www.iol.ie/~npupipes/index.html) go into much better deatil of how to wear the pipes, what you minimally need to know about reeds, and other excellent pointer throughout, including basic drones in volume 2 and regulator work in volume 3. It also features my favorite still living piper, Gay McKeown, hence my obviously biased review. The tunes are taught the way they are in a workshop, a phrase at a time. I've spent many hours learning from this video set and highly reccomend it.
Mike
# Posted on January 20th 2002 by unionpiper
Re: a good pipe tutor
I have only been playing a year, myself, so Mike's advice certainly is what I would go with if I werr you. I had some luck in the areas of learning how to take care of the pipes, wear them, and learn about reeds. Some pipers around here (Colorado) have been kind enough to teach me some of what they know, and we try to invite good pipers and pipe-makers to visit us and teach workshops. By far, the one-on-one experience with good teachers is more important than anything else. With that in mind, if you just can't find a teacher or teachers, the web site Scoiltrad.com has top-quality teachers who will work with you over the internet. They have helped me a great deal. Other than that, I think I'll check out the NPU videos next. Thanks for your posting, Mike. By the way, where is it you are living?
Dirk
# Posted on January 20th 2002 by dirk