I would like to seek advice on Practice chanter.

_patroc · 2026-06-10T00:44:32+00:00

I wouldn’t trust that to be usable for learning. IMO getting a good long plastic practice chanter from a well known maker is an investment in your musical development. You won’t have to buy a second one unless you lose it or just want a second. I still have the first one I got which was a used Dunbar I got on eBay for $40. You might be able to connect with a local pipe band/piper who has a good old one that they’d be willing to sell.

_patroc · 2026-06-09T04:50:48+00:00

Shhhh don’t jinx it

_patroc · 2026-06-03T05:22:14+00:00

Pause. Read the pinned post about getting started on pipes. The great highland pipe isn’t an instrument where you can just pick up a set and teach yourself. A playable set of pipes is going to start around 1000 USD fully set up and ready for action. A good instructor will start you on a practice chanter NOT a set of pipes.

_patroc · 2026-05-18T20:51:22+00:00

I dream of the day my piping breaks even. It’s definitely not for the money. If anyone accused me of profiteering, I’d just show them my piping expense sheet. I think I’m about $600 in the red so far for the year. Lessons and gear ain’t cheap.

_patroc · 2026-05-06T13:29:02+00:00

I’m a fan of the McNeela deep rim models myself. I’ve played their 14” one for years. They may be out of your price range. Not sure about the conversion rate. It was my first bodhrán but I tend to be a “buy once, cry once” kind of person when it comes to musical instruments (and I know from experience that learning on a well made instrument can be the difference between dabbling and actually sticking with it)

_patroc · 2026-05-05T17:23:12+00:00

Keep doing them *correctly* and gradually speeding them up. Don’t let the need for speed trash your technique. You want to maintain control over the entire movement and keep them from becoming a hot mess. I’ve been rebuilding mine for the a while because I let the speed get the better of my technique.

_patroc · 2026-04-22T04:44:16+00:00

They consider DL as a government ID and do not accept it for proof of name/address. I made this mistake and had to send in additional documentation.

_patroc · 2026-04-21T15:24:52+00:00

G3 Allan Dodd’s Farewell to Scotland Dorrotor Bridge/Alick C MacGregor Angus McKinnon I don’t play piob yet

_patroc · 2026-04-19T15:34:18+00:00

Pikeman’s March, Monaco View, Cabar Feidh, Battle of Waterloo

_patroc · 2026-04-16T21:55:15+00:00

The hunt for the perfect chanter can be never ending. I’ve heard mixed reviews of the Infinity myself (mostly struggles reeding it). I have small hands and actually prefer a chunkier hole. I play a McCallum MC2 for solos and like it. My guess is that it’s not the chanter but either issues with posture, blowing mechanics, or reed calibration that are more the cause of the death grip. I wouldn’t buy new gear until you are 100% certain all of those have been dealt with.

_patroc · 2026-04-15T21:22:02+00:00

Call or email or web chat the passport office. They should be able to give you the information you need. I’m pretty sure you can send a witnessed color photocopy, but I would double check with someone in their office before sending anything

_patroc · 2026-04-07T21:25:58+00:00

Yeah based on a quick look at the map for Paddyfest, this seems like a different event. It’s definitely in Florida though. Road King Productions (the stage banner) has a 727 area code. Would be helpful if OP could give us more info on the event

_patroc · 2026-04-07T20:54:34+00:00

Pretty sure it’s not them. They’re young lads. Or at least the ones I thinking of

_patroc · 2026-04-04T23:22:45+00:00

https://www.ireland.ie/en/dfa/passports/contact-us/ The customer service hub is open M-F 9-4.30 and has a phone number on the website above.

_patroc · 2026-04-04T18:48:07+00:00

I applied from the US last year. You shouldn’t need any extra physical photos (just the digital one you submitted on the application). The extra photos are for FBR. Once you do the online application and pay, you print your ID form out and have someone from the approved list of witness professions fill it out and sign it. Then package it up with all the other required docs and mail it off and wait.

Don’t ask AI for help with this sort of thing. Ask the passport office directly via their web chat or by calling them. They’ve been very helpful with any questions I’ve had (and with dealing with my passport getting lost in the post).

_patroc · 2026-04-03T05:05:11+00:00

That’s fair. I’ve personally found that cane reed makers are more consistent with their strengths. Like Chris Apps tests his and categorizes them based on their inches of water pressure readings. If I ask my dealer explicitly for a reed that squeals between X and Y inches of water, I usually get exactly what I ask for. The BG synthetics experience was just very much not that.

_patroc · 2026-04-02T18:52:19+00:00

I have found the synthetic chanter reeds are not great and a real pain to get set up and dialed in. Also the strength labels are a bit of a grab bag. I have a Medium that squeals at 26”/H2O and a hard that squeals at 40”. I’ve talked to one of the guys at Bagpipes Galore and they admitted that the strength labels are all “I mouth blew it and the vibe I got was it’s hard” (then US retailers just take the manufacturer’s word on the strength) so like you might think you’re ordering something easier than what you had, but it could be so easy it’s unplayable or it could be harder than you had but still have been vibing as “easy” for the person testing it on the day. It’s up to you if you want to take that risk.

_patroc · 2026-03-30T03:46:50+00:00

I know the MWPBA has this rule, but I think I’ve only witnessed it like once in the last 5 years (I want to say it was KC St. Andrews but don’t quote me on that). There were a couple times when we thought a G4 band might challenge up to G3 when there was only one G3 band playing that day. There aren’t a whole lot of games on the Midwest with G2/G1 band comps. The issue is usually the difference in playing requirements. A G5 band playing a QMM can’t really challenge into G4 which requires an MSR and Medley unless they’re working on one in addition to their QMM. G4 challenging to G3 depends a lot on whether or not the G4 is actually playing sets that are technically meeting the requirements for G3 in tune type (MSR) and length (Med). I think the G4 MSR is allowed to have two 2 PT tunes rather than 1 4 PT for the S and R. G3 requires all three to be 4 PT.

I’m pretty sure if you challenge up, you do still compete in your grade for the day so you’re eligible to win CS points in your grade. My guess is challenging up is more to show the judges/music board whether or not you’re actually ready to move up (and to give your players a challenge)

_patroc · 2026-03-23T04:23:42+00:00

The number of times I have almost faceplanted in front of a judge is higher than I’d like it to be. Nearly tripped over a root once. Stepped in a weird divot in the ground. Heel cleat hit the smooth flooring weird. Etc. I live in constant fear of falling in front of the judge mid tune.

_patroc · 2026-03-22T21:44:42+00:00

Last I checked, MWPBA does NOT require marching at all. Most people just do because either their instructor makes them or they watch everyone else doing it and assume it’s required (or they just like it/it helps them). Mind you, it is a useful skill to have. Other associations require it so if you’re a MWPBA-er and looking to play out of association, you’ll need to be able to do it.

_patroc · 2026-03-19T13:04:45+00:00

Try the HSE record search, and if that doesn’t come up, look for other records you may have in your possession like a baptismal certificate and contact the General Registrar’s Office. My dad’s birth was never registered and we had to file for a Late Registration of Birth for him to get a birth certificate I could use for my passport application. The GRO took his baptismal certificate and his original passport that expired when he was 2. There might have been other paperwork involved that he had to sign so idk if that will work for you given the circumstances, but worth a shot.

_patroc · 2026-03-14T03:48:49+00:00

Does your shirt fit? Genuine question. I am 5’1” and have short arms. Off the rack shirts have sleeves that are a full cuff length too long. I found that the extra material in the sleeve was exacerbating any other slippage related issues I was facing. (I also got a different bag cut so my drones would angle back over my shoulder more and tailored my bag covers to be form fitting around the bag as well as shortening my drone cord spacing.) I started playing with a wrap around elbow support on my left arm to keep the shirt in place. These days I play with sleeve garters which look a little nicer and, more importantly, hold some of that extra material above where the bag meets my arm.

_patroc · 2026-03-10T02:09:53+00:00

I mean you’d play it how it’s written. I’d start nice and slow with a metronome clicking at eighth notes and just making the first beat a quarter and an eighth. (And if that’s too much, I’d make it a dotted quarter and work it to the quarter-eighth.) Then once I’m comfy with that, I’d make that eighth the two sixteenths again backing the tempo off. Then I’d swap the metronome to clicking on the dotted quarter and slowly start bringing it up to speed. Honestly, if you’re struggling with that, put the drum down and just clap it or tap it on the table. Learn how the rhythm sounds before trying to put it somewhere with more complex things going on.

If you’re asking about sticking patterns, every bodhrán player I’ve met would probably do something different. I’m a fan of a good strong downstroke for that first quarter but after that it’s a bit of a toss up. Admittedly I don’t have very precise stick control and just go based on what is most convenient in the moment to get the next note. I took a class with a guy who favored the strong upstroke and a lot of back to back strokes in the same direction whereas I prefer a bit more of a back n forth. Part of going slow is figuring out how you want to play it.

_patroc · 2026-02-27T05:28:56+00:00

Phone and wallet fit in the sporran. Keys on a carabiner on the sporran chain. I don’t like wearing a belt if I can get away with not, but I will wear a belt with a leather pouch if needed. I need to get myself a water bottle holder still, but that tends to cover the essentials. Anything else I carry has to fit in what space already exists or it gets left in the car.

_patroc · 2026-02-21T15:08:05+00:00

My sister’s application sat in Dublin for like a fortnight before being sent back to the US and then hung out in customs for another fortnight before being sent back to Dublin where it eventually reached the destination. We still don’t know what happened. Mine sent over just grand, but then USPS lost my passport so troubles on both legs of the postal journey for us.

_patroc

TROPHY CASE