Newbie question: How long to practice? And how often?

[Baen]

I just started on the pipes, and am wondering what the optimal amount of time to practice is, and how often? At least in the beginning?

I noticed that my practice session started out pretty well today, but then near the end was going downhill somewhat. Hitting missed notes, starting to hold the chanter tighter (not quite a "death grip"--maybe more of a "dying grip"), and so on. I also notice my shoulder is feeling the effects of the bellows.

I also know that I didn't have time during the week to practice (or, rather, didn't make the time), and so did the "catching up" today--probably by overdoing it.

It seems that "short and often" is the rule with the pipes (or maybe anything else, for that matter).

Thanks for any thoughts,

Baen

[Joseph E. Smith]

I'd say practice about 30 minutes each day. If things begin to hurt, stop, stretch and leave practicing for later. Between tunes or scales or whatever, take time to stretch your fingers.

When you're just starting out, you'll be using your muscles in a way that they're not used to be using. Stretch well before beginning to practice.

And always be aware of how tightly you are holding the chanter... no death grips allowed!

[Baen]

Many thanks, those are really helpful guidelines! I practiced almost 2 hours today, after not doing it for several days--no wonder it all went to pot there at the end!

I also forgot about the aspect of stretching, although I've read past posts about how important it is, so I'm glad you brought it up. I have the book Stretching by Bob Anderson, so I'll pull it out and look at it tonight. I took Aikido in college for a year, and remember we did a number of finger/hand stretching routines--so I'll have to incorporate those into my practice sessions.


thanks again,
Baen

[Joseph E. Smith]

I took Aikido in college for a year, and remember we did a number of finger/hand stretching routines--so I'll have to incorporate those into my practice sessions.


thanks again,
Baen

Aikido stretching would be of good value for piping hands.

[PJ]

30 minutes a day, every day is great if you can manage it. It's much better than one 3 and a half hour practice once a week. You'll progress much faster doing a little every day.

Personally, I feel it's better to finish well. It certainly beats finishing badly. So try structure your practice so that you try new/difficult techniques at the start or middle of the practice and stuff you're more comfortable with towards the end. This avoids getting demoralised and not wanting to practice the next day, which eventually leads to selling your set on eBay with the tag line "I couldn't find the time to dedicate to this fine instrument".

[Joseph E. Smith]

What PJ said and remember, you are in this for life, no need to rush things... especially the music.

[vcolby]

A few things that will help you out:

a) Play in front of a mirror, watching that your arms and hands are such that the tendons follow their normal path. It is a bad thing to have an upward or downward kink in your wrist as it puts a lot of strain on your tendons.

b) Take breaks and stretch. The aikido stretches work very well; I use them quite often.

c) Practice with your right thumb off the chanter from time-to-time -- this forces you not to use the death grip. Note, that you have to put it back on for the low D.

d) Don't press the chanter into your leg too hard, which is a natural tendency for new pipers.

e) Put a bit of hand cream on, as it seems to help seal the pipes a bit better if your hands are dry.

f) Take a dowel the thickness of your chanter, and make an exact copy of your chanter. Practice fingerings while you are watching TV and Movies. I have worked out so many problem areas in my playing by doing this, as it let's your fingers figure things out without having to worry about pumping or pressure.

g) Relax - you will see in the mirror if you are not relaxed.

h) Whisper Reed - try playing a song blowing just enough air through the chanter to make a whisper, but not enough that the reed vibrates. This helps relax your grip on the chanter (and let's you practice early in the morning).

i) Don't develop the harder ornaments early (as we all want or wanted to), being triplets. Start with a legato scale, basic cuts, basic rolls and a cran.

j) Get support from other pipers. Patrick D'Arcy has put together a great support network for pipers in California. The more time you spend with them, the more inspired, humbled, skilled and realistic you will be ( http://www.uilleannobsession.com ).

l) Stick to it -- it's a long path you started walking down. Stick with it and you will be glad you did.

Best of luck!

Virgil

[fel bautista]

Baen is up in Northern California. The San Francisco club has a bunch of good people to support new pipers. <Shameless plug coming> And the So Cal tionol is in early October so come down for that!!.

[Joseph E. Smith]

Baen is up in Northern California. The San Francisco club has a bunch of good people to support new pipers. <Shameless plug coming> And the So Cal tionol is in early October so come down for that!!.

Agreed. The more Tionols you can attend, the better your piping will become. IMHO, if you do not have an instructor near you, hit the all of the Tionols you can in your home state of California... they usually have the best in the business instructing classes.

[domilsean]

what's the secret to keeping your fingers straight. my big problems as a beginner are keeping my fingers straight, avoiding the death grip, and my right wrist moves about too much when I'm pumping the bellows, that it eventually moves my fingers to the wrong position. I know I need to relax. any tips on any or all of these?

[giles b]

Twentyone years I heard.

You dont have to keep your fingers straight, just make sure that the right parts of them are covering the right holes.

[vcolby]

a) Your shoulders will get stronger over time, and you will learn to pump keeping your right wrist steady.

b) Your fingers should not be straight, but moderately curved. This is especially important later when you start playing the regulators, as having curved fingers helps keep the chanter closed while you reach for the regs.

c) The key to the death grip is thinking about it -- you don't have to hold the chanter hard to seal it.

Good luck!

Virgil

[Baen]

This is all a great help! Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and advice.


Now, I'm off to stretch. My shoulders are as sore as can be today--that 2 1/2 hour session yesterday was way too much, and now I'm paying the price. Going to have to take a couple of days off until the soreness passes. I can practice the whistle in the meantime...


Baen

[teflon]

Yep you have to be careful with the shoulders Baen. I was practicing an hour a day and the pain on my bag arm shoulder got so bad I had to stop for about 4 weeks. Even when just sitting at my desk at work my shoulder would be killing me (and driving a manual wasn't fun either). I was even in the process of finding some physio when it started to get better. Although after playing for half an hour the other day it started to come back so I think it needs much more time. Its quite frustrating and depressing really-you just start noticing progress then you get set back by four weeks. This seems to be more common with UPs as I have never really heard about it happening with GHB's (it certainly never happened to me anyway).

Hamish

[smithand]

I was told a horror story about a piper in N CA. He practised for hours every day, and was making incredible progress until his tendonitus became so bad that he had to give up the pipes and will not be able to play them for several years.