Irish pipes, flamboyant and beautiful - but try and get a quick go on a good set !
The Northumbrian smallpipes - the complex and distinctive sounding bellows bagpipe of the region is seldom encountered. Both have an unwarranted reputation for being difficult to learn.

This is an opportunity to put that to the test with Dave Shaw - piper and pipemaker in North Durham for over 20 years.

Twelve sets of simple smallpipes are available for a workshop covering use of bellows, blowing and fingering techniques, tuning of drones etc. Over about five hours the class learns a relatively simple tune, generally a jig or Northumbrian reel.

There is a similar workshop for the Irish pipes, now more widely appreciated thanks to the success of Riverdance etc. We have available 10 sets of practice-pipes, fitted with simplified drones and aim to take the novice piper through a tune in a day, covering all relevant technique with the opportunity to dissect a set for a more complete understanding of the instrument.

No written music is involved and previous instrumental experience is not necessarily an advantage. Many participants making their first attempt at any instrument have succeeded in these widely enjoyed and fun workshops.

Minimum age 14 for each workshop.

If you represent an Arts Association, Festival or just a group of interested individuals and would like to book a workshop for your event please contact me for further details.

The Lowland and Border Pipers’ Society have produced a manual and CD-ROM
More Power To Your Elbow
A practical guide to acquiring, playing, tuning and maintaining Scottish bellows-blown bagpipes.

Full details available from  www.lbps.musicscotland.com/CDmanual.htm