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PODCAST

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience

Andrew Douglas and the Piper"s Dojo Team

The Dojo engages thousands of bagpipers around the globe, by harnessing the power of the internet to help connect those in the world who share a specific passion; enriching one"s life through bagpipes.

education how to

All Episodes

51:24

502 - The Hidden Cost of “Fixing” Your Reed (Dojo...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/04/06

Should you be messing with your chanter reeds? This week, Andrew and Jim discuss the pros and cons of reed manipulation — pinching, licking, shaving, bridling, and everything in between. Are these habits actually helping your playing, or just creating more problems? Reed tweaks can feel like quick fixes. But as Andrew and Jim explore, most of them are temporary, inconsistent, and quietly destructive. Drawing on personal experience (and a few cautionary tales), they unpack why so many

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38:03

501 - Mastering the Variables: Reeds, The...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/03/30

This week on Dojo U’s Friday Strike-In, Andrew flies solo to answer a wide range of student questions, from solo playing tips to tenor reed management, pitch standards, finding a practice space after moving, and more.Here’s what we cover this week: 00:00 – Solo playing insights 03:55 – Changing tenor reeds: one at a time or both? (plus transitioning from synthetic to cane) 10:37 – Practicing full pipes in a small apartment after moving (and piping vs married life) 15:28 – How high is too

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51:03

500 - How To Turn Performance Nerves Into A...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/03/23

Ever felt your heart race, your hands shake, or your mind go blank before playing? This episode will help you understand why... and what to actually do about it. Nerves can feel paralysing for pipers (or any performer). But they're a natural part of performance, and when understood properly they can become one of your greatest tools as a musician. This week, Andrew and Jim dig into why performing feels so different from the practice room, drawing on insights from violinist and

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40:12

499 - Cane Reeds, Ear Training & Synthetic Myths...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/03/16

Getting better at piping isn’t about chasing every new piece of gear — it’s about understanding how your instruments, your ears, and your environment all work together. This week on Dojo U’s Friday Strike-In, Andrew and Carl tackle student questions on cane drone reeds, ear training, synthetic chanter reeds, competition judging, and more practical piping topics. Here's what we cover this week: 00:00 – Old cane reeds vs buying new 06:33 – Cane season, setups, and batch buying 10:00 –

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33:51

498 - Why Most Pipers Struggle With Rhythm (And How...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/03/09

Rhythm isn’t just about keeping time. It’s about understanding how music moves– and learning to control that movement note by note, beat by beat.Welcome back to part 2 of our episodesabout piping's most fundamental skill:rhythm. Andrew and Jim continue exploring the foundations of rhythmic understanding for bagpipers. They dig into how rhythm actually works in practice: how beats organize music, how tempo shapes space between notes, and why so many piping technique problems are really

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39:58

497 - Why Posture Is More Important Than Bag Size...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/03/02

Getting your setup right isn’t about endlessly changing gear – it’s about understanding what actually affects your sound and comfort.This week on Dojo U's Friday Strike-In, Andrew and Carl answer students' burning piping questions, covering everything from bag choice and posture to competition judging and drone reed lifespan. Here’s what we cover this week: 00:00 – Bag Size & Posture: Does bag size affect blowing and squeezing cadence? 04:41 – Hide vs Synthetic Bags: Tone differences

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51:42

496 – Are Grade 5 Bands "The Primordial Soup"? (Dojo...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/02/23

What is grade 5 actually for?This week, Andrew and Jimanswer a seemingly innocuous listener questionaboutwhether grade 5 bandsshould use hard reeds or easy reeds.As they discussthe pros and cons ofblowing stability and reed strength, they launch into a deeperdiscussion of growth, retention, culture, and why so many strugglingbands are trying to force competitive intensity at exactly the wrong stage. If you’re running aGrade 5 band, building a beginner program, or wondering why progression

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39:16

494 – The Most Important Skill For Pipers to Master...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/02/09

Rhythm isn’t just something you add to music. It’s the thing that makes music possible in the first place. In this episode, Andrew and Jim step back from fingerwork and technique to tackle something far more fundamental: rhythm as the organising force of all music, and even of time itself. What starts as a discussion about rhythm for pipers quickly becomes a deeper exploration of pulse, perception, subdivision, and why so many piping problems are actually time problems in disguise. This is

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35:53

493 - Why Fundamentals Beat Shortcuts Every Time...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/02/02

Improving your piping isn't about chasing quick fixes; it's about rebuilding your playing from the ground up. This week in our Q&A session, Andrew and Carl tackle some common (and misunderstood) questions in piping, from drone reed warm-up and finger speed to pibroch traditions and playing with other instruments. Here’s what we cover this week: 00:05 – Do Drone Reeds Need to Warm Up? 06:00 – Interactive Player Harmony & Feature Updates 06:55 – How to Get Faster Fingers

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53:37

492 - Does Generalism Triumph in a Specialized World?...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/01/26

Exploring another interest isn’t automatically a distraction. It might be the thing that keeps your main passion alive. This week, Andrew and Jim take a listener question about drumming vs. piping and turn it into a wide-ranging (and very relatable) conversation about generalism vs. specialism – why we feel pressure to pick one lane in piping and drumming, whether side interests actually hold us back, and how curiosity, play, and cross-training might be the real long game. Here’s what we

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125:06

Winter Storm Concert - 2026

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/01/20

Enjoy this full recording of the Winter Storm Concert livestream, streamed live on Facebook as part of Winter Storm 2026 – The Pipes and Drums Event in Kansas City at 8pm on Saturday, January 17th, 2026, featuring World Champion Pipers and Drummers from Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Canada, and the US, pipe bands and ensembles, piping soloists, sizzling Highland drumming, and much more.This audio was clipped from the Winter Storm Concert livestream provided by the Piper's Dojo /

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42:09

491 - Do You REALLY Need Tone Enhancers? (Dojo U...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/01/19

High altitude tuning, dry climate disasters, and the great tone enhancer debate take centre stage this week as Andrew and Carl tackle another round of real-world piping problems. From managing a stubborn high G at elevation to why soaking your reeds is a bad idea in dry environments, the conversation is packed with practical advice you can actually use. Things heat up with a passionate discussion on tone enhancers – including why Carl wants to rip them out of your drones and Andrew is

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50:08

490 - How To Level Up Your Piping In Just 6 Months...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/01/12

What if you could level up your piping – within 6 months?This week, Andrew and Jim lay out a complete week by week training blueprint designed to take you into next season feeling calm, confident, and genuinely prepared. Whether you’re aiming to move up a grade, make the band, or simply play better than you did last year, this episode gives you a clear path forward. They break down exactly how top pipers structure their year, build tempo in a sustainable way, stay accountable, and avoid

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36:41

489 - How To Play Pipes In Cold Weather (Friday...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2026/01/05

Cold weather and classic piping dilemmas take centre stage this week as Andrew and Carl dive into playing bagpipes in harsh conditions.From poly pipes and moisture control to the uncomfortable truth that cold weather is always tough, the conversation blends practical advice with lived experience. Things lighten up with a discussion on lactose-intolerant bagpipers at games before shifting to one of the biggest band questions around: play it as written, or as the band does? We wrap up with

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42:16

488 - Everything We Learned About Bagpipes This Year...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2025/12/29

In this annual Year in Review, Andrew and Jim reflect on a big year of piping, podcasting, and life at the Dojo – revisiting standout moments, recurring lessons, and the ideas that shaped the year.Let us know in the comments: what was your standout moment from the year – or the episode that helped you most? Here’s what we cover this week: 00:00 – Opening Banter & New Year’s Greetings 01:40 – Three Years of Podcasting & Friendship 03:15 – Why We Do a Year in Review 04:30 – Simple

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45:02

487 - It's a Wonderful Pipe (Dojo Conversations...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2025/12/22

Some Christmas episodes are carefully scripted… and some are joyfully handed over to the robots.This week, Andrew and Jim continue their annual holiday tradition by letting AI loose on a Christmas special — with festive chaos, a dash of existential dread, and plenty of laughs. With minimal prompting and maximum curiosity, they end up with “It’s a Wonderful Pipe”: a bagpipe-themed twist on a holiday classic. Andrew delivers a dramatic reading of the AI-generated story while Jim reacts in

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40:34

486 - When Your Chanter Won’t Behave (And What to Do...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2025/12/15

This week on Dojo's "Friday Strike In" Q&A Hour, Andrew works through a stack of real-world piping questions, starting with how to balance low A and low G and expanding into the practical realities of tuning, setup, and consistency.The discussion covers common chanter issues, when flat notes become a serious problem, and why simple troubleshooting often beats drastic fixes. They also shift focus from gear to players, tackling top-hand tension, posture, and why pipes feel so different

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47:30

485 - Does Failing Faster Make You A Better Piper?

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2025/12/08

Ever wondered why some pipers seem to bounce back from mistakes effortlessly – or why your pipes sometimes feel great one day and impossible the next?This week, Andrew and Carl dig into a whirlwind of community questions, from the end of the Insider podcast to the art of conscious practice, performance pressure, equipment choices, and knowing when you’re ready to buy your first full set of pipes. They talk openly about experimenting (and failing) in public, why switching between pipes can

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40:17

484 - Rejected Ideas, Great Advice (Dojo...

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2025/12/01

Some episodes are carefully planned… and some are rescued straight out of the garbage can.This week, Andrew and Jim wrap up the year by rifling through the legendary “maybe later” pile – a collection of rejected ideas, abandoned plans, and almost-episodes that never quite made the cut. What starts as reflection quickly turns into some surprisingly solid piping advice, mixed with the usual chaos. Along the way, they tackle big questions about marching style, presentation in solo

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49:52

483 - Composing the Future of Piping with John Dew

Piper"s Dojo Audio Experience ·

2025/11/24

This week, we sit down with renowned piper and composerJohn Dewfor a deep dive into his latest project,JohnDew's Pipe Suites.From the story behind the book to the evolution of harmony in bagpipe music,John walks us through his approach to writing suites, the influences that shaped his sound, and why understanding chord progressions is becoming essential for today’s pipers. We also explore his brand-new album, the tools he uses to compose, and what’s ahead for bands travelling to

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490 results

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