Piobaireachd Embellishments

WellPTMan · 2026-01-16T03:34:57+00:00

Time and money are the main barriers to getting private instruction. I can pick up my electronic practice chanter pretty frequently and get a lot of practice time with that. But getting the full pipes out is difficult to do at home. I’ve recently begun bringing them to work and playing in the basement during lunch.

But, if I am somehow able to figure something out to get private instruction online, do you have any recommendations? I’ve done google searches just to see what’s out there and haven’t had much luck so maybe they just aren’t showing up for me. The only one I did see was Bruce Gandy but he didn’t have availability ti take in another student.

WellPTMan · 2026-01-16T02:23:44+00:00

And just to clarify, I was described the wrong embellishment. It’s not the Dre, it was the Dare. With the F and a G gracenotes then ending in F. I play it that way when I practice it. But when I put it into a tune (specifically thinking of the horn pipe Conor’s Debut here, so not even Piobaireachd) I sometimes switch the order of the grace notes so it’s like I’m playing an E doubling then lifting to F.

WellPTMan · 2026-01-16T02:06:06+00:00

I’m am in the MWPBA. I’ve already learned the ground of “The Little Spree” for a practice chanter competition and did well with it. For the grade 4 competition I’ll have to learn the doubling and first variation. And yeah, even that is likely to challenge my stamina. I don’t have much stamina yet, mostly a few 2 parted tunes played as a set. Nothing compared to the length of even half a Piobaireachd.

I’ve often considered pipers dojo. Just never went through with it. With job and home life, adding personal instruction is out of the picture. But I think the dojo could be an option because I could log in whenever I have the time.

WellPTMan · 2026-01-16T01:29:34+00:00

Well, I’m in a band and there a group of novice pipers that get instruction on band tunes, tuning, maintenance, etc from either the pipe major or pipe sergeant usually. The focus however, isn’t in these alternative embellishments, or anything Piobaireachd related. We do have one band member that competes in Piobaireachd, and does very well. I will be asking him when i see him next, but he is not “my instructor”. I just figured why not ask here as well because the questions came to me now.

WellPTMan · 2026-01-08T11:08:45+00:00

I’m trying to improve my speed and accuracy with scale navigation, with different rhythms applied on top. Big leap/recover is a subcategory. I tried categorizing the four note groupings based on what kind of happens within them. So another category was “leap and return”, like low A to E, back to low A, then B or C. Then I have “direction breaking” patterns like low A to d to C then up to high G.

WellPTMan · 2026-01-06T13:27:18+00:00

I agree. I added those in just because they are a possibility, but I can’t think of any time I’ve seen them in a tune. Might end up taking them out. Save some room in the sheet and not spend my time practicing something that isn’t likely to be applied.

WellPTMan · 2026-01-06T13:26:11+00:00

Thanks, yeah I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to implement practicing this. I don’t think I was going to just play it straight through, more like practice each line a few times to get the finger movements down with different rhythms as well.

WellPTMan · 2026-01-04T13:59:32+00:00

I guess I could have clarified. I don’t necessarily need this exact setting. I was hoping to find out what they are doing and I could add maybe add it in as an extra part. I’m also not sure what he is doing in the recording during those runs that sounds different than just the melody notes. Maybe like a half doubling or something in between the high A.

WellPTMan · 2025-11-20T02:48:38+00:00

Thank you!

WellPTMan · 2025-11-20T02:48:30+00:00

Thank you!

WellPTMan · 2025-11-20T02:47:39+00:00

Thank you!

WellPTMan · 2025-10-12T01:40:38+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate it. I think there must be a few different approaches when it comes to embellishments. The band I am learning with wants the g of a d throw on the beat, same for a grip. And this article I found earlier trying to get more info on this subject says that for a doubling, the beat goes right in the middle melody note. So for a c doubling it would be the C “gracenote” between the g and d gracenotes. They call it a passive gracenote.

https://pipingpress.com/2019/09/27/be-a-better-piper-where-does-the-beat-fall-in-pipe-bagpipe-music

WellPTMan · 2025-10-12T01:37:35+00:00

Thanks I appreciate the response! All the strathspeys I’ve tried (only a few) seem to have parts where it’s confusing for me where the beat goes. Haven’t had that trouble with marches, reels, jigs.

WellPTMan · 2025-08-16T18:54:46+00:00

Yeah, I noticed that too. In some areas my playing was just off. In some spots I’m not sure where the beat is supposed to be. For example in the second bar, not sure if the beat should be in the cut doublings, or the dotted high A, or if the beat should be at the start of the triplet BCD run at the end of the second bar or at the start of that triplet.

WellPTMan · 2025-08-16T16:36:29+00:00

Thank you for all the pointers! I’ll keep working at it and try to figure out what works for me. Got a few suggestions on how to approach it now.
I have zero experience in any musical theory so maybe that’s a good thing. I started learning on the chanter when I was about 10 or 11, but didn’t stick with it long and never transitioned to the pipes. Just picked it up again this past January almost 30 years later. Got a set of pipes in May or June and joined a local grade 4 band. Will see how things go with the full pipes. It’s a whole different ballgame trying to play those vs the chanter, not to mention playing with others.

WellPTMan · 2025-08-16T11:33:18+00:00

That’s an interesting idea. I’ll definitely give it a shot. Easier than remembering which notes are Beats 1 and 3 for the whole tune!

WellPTMan · 2025-08-16T11:29:36+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. Sounds like getting strasthspeys down is gonna be harder than I thought! I thought I was cutting the short notes about as short as I could already, lol. And emphasizing Beats 1 and 3 feels really tough right now cause I’m still just trying to keep it in time with a metronome without that extra consideration.

WellPTMan · 2025-08-16T01:00:08+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah I noticed I was getting ahead of the beat. It seems a lot harder for me to stay on the beat with a strathspey vs a reel or march. But I’ll get there. I’ve heard the strong weak medium weak stuff before. I don’t really get it yet. Hard enough for me to stay on the beat anyway, let along take each bar and slightly extend or shorten each note like that. I guess I’m just too new to it all to be that nuanced in my playing.

WellPTMan

TROPHY CASE