Learning from a distance
When I moved to Maine in 2006, I was concerned that my piping career would take a hit. Although Maine is known for many things (like cold weather, hiking, skiing, cold weather, the ocean, lobster, snow, and cold weather), piping is not generally among them. However I was fortunate enough to find a good instructor that I was able to see every few weeks, and I was able to improve significantly while I lived there.
Not everyone is as fortunate, and many people in remote areas or piping deserts still have an interest in learning or improving. Until the past few years, being in one of these places made it very difficult to get good instruction on a regular basis, and piping was generally limited to cities and regions with a high concentration of pipers.
But the times, they are a-changing.
Over the past several years, technology has allowed pipers to learn from some of the best in the game without all that pesky travel. Skype seems to be the preferred teaching method, allowing a free video chat between any two people on the planet who are appropriately connected.
In my experiences a video lesson is essentially limited to the practice chanter, which makes it more suited to a player who already knows the basics of playing pipe music. For someone who can readily translate practice chanter to pipes, though, arranging a video lesson with a top piper can be a tremendous opportunity.
I’ve recently signed up for a course through Andrew Douglas’ Dojo University, which has taken online lessons in the realm of group instruction. He’s currently offering several courses for pipers of all abilities with different instructors with excellent credentials.
I’ve signed up for the Big Piobaireachd class with Bruce Gandy, which starts next week. This goes nicely with my recent interest in piobaireachd, and Bruce Gandy certainly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to that.
I’m not sure exactly what to expect from this, but I’ll see how it goes. If it turns out to be a favorable experience, you’ll find out more about it here.
I’ve been taking Skype lessons for a couple of years now, and I absolutely love them. In my experience, the lessons are every bit as clear and useful as face-to-face lessons, and I can’t think of any serious technology-based limitation. I would recommend them to anyone. I hope yours work out as well as mine have!
I play both chanter and pipes for my instructor at nearly every lesson, and it works extremely well. We don’t have to do a lot of fiddling with microphones or anything. For chanter, I sit at the table in front of the computer. When I’m piping, I stand a few feet away or walk in a circle while playing piobaireachd, just as I would if my instructor was in the room.
September 17, 2011 at 9:58 am