Teach Yourself Bagpipes by Lindsay Davidson
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How to Practice
Order of Study
Rhythm and Reading Music
Exercises
Tunes
Bagpipes:
Transition to Bagpipes
Tuning a Bagpipe
Getting Better:
Using Midi files
Intermediate exercises
Advanced
Band repertoire
Links:
Where to buy equipment
Links to teachers
Links to Organisations
Links to pipe bands
Links (other)
There are several important things to remember about birls.
Firstly, there are two types in common use – “tap and across” and an “upside down seven”
Secondly, the rhythm of a birl will be different according to its musical function.
Thirdly, birls can appear with and without a high ‘G’ gracenote at the start, and will also sometimes appear without a low ‘A’, depending on context.
In old pipe books, a birl is often written out, with the rhythm indicated by changing the low ‘A’ between the strikes.
These exercises should be done using both birls. The object of these exercises is to gain control over the rhythm of a birl.
Birls 1a
Using both types of birl, practise this over and over again, getting faster with each repetition. Be careful to keep the rhythm exactly as is written.
There are no sound files with these examples as you should speed up according to your own possibilities.
Birls 1b
Using both types of birl, practise this over and over again, getting faster with each repetition. Be careful to keep the rhythm exactly as is written.
There are no sound files with these examples as you should speed up according to your own possibilities.
Birls 2a
Using both types of birl, practise this over and over again, getting faster with each repetition. Be careful to keep the rhythm exactly as is written.
There are no sound files with these examples as you should speed up according to your own possibilities.
Birls 2b
Using both types of birl, practise this over and over again, getting faster with each repetition. Be careful to keep the rhythm exactly as is written.
There are no sound files with these examples as you should speed up according to your own possibilities.
Birls 3
Using both types of birl, practise this over and over again, getting faster with each repetition. Be careful to keep the rhythm exactly as is written.
There are no sound files with these examples as you should speed up according to your own possibilities.
Hand Position and the Scale
Crossing sounds
G Gracenotes
D Gracenotes
E Gracenotes
G,D,E Gracenotes exercise
Strikes
Throws
Doublings - general principles
Low G Doublings
Low A Doublings
B Doublings
C Doublings
D Doublings
E Doublings
F Doublings
High G Doublings
High A Doublings
Grips
Taorluath
Birl
Tachum
Hara
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