Won’t be around for the rest of the week - I’m off to Bagpipe Camp on the shores of beautiful Lake Diefenbaker.
One week of throws, doubles, grips, birls, truluaths - and making that &*%^%)! bag work properly!
And one of the instructors is Jim McGillivray, one of the leading pipers in the world!
[whistling]Land of the purple heather, land of the stormy weather…[/whistling]
Play nice, y’all. See you next week.
Well, looks like it’s a good thing I’m heading up to Prince Albert for the next few days…Saskatoon is uncomfortably close to Lake Diefenbaker if there’re gonna be a horde of bagpipers there. 
One time- when I was at bagpipe camp…
So, you’re attending a terrorist training camp, eh? :dubious: 
x-ray vision stole my line, so I’ll ask: Is it strictly highland pipes, or will other types be there? Because I went to a performace where the musician played various types (e.g. half-long border pipes, lowland, meadieval great pipe) (she also played the concertina, tin whistle and regular flute)
Brian
Heh. As long as your camp is nowhere near me, have at it brutha! To me, there is no other sound as evil as the bagpipe. We used to have a nutcase in the neighborhood who’d walk up and down the street playing his pipes. Now, I’ve got no problem with practicing an instrument in the privacy of your own home, but cripes! The neighborhood dogs were cowering and all the birds stopped singing. (shudder!)
Having spent 10 years as a highland dancer, I can appreciate bagpipes.
Have a good time!
I wonder if they still have a bagpipe camp at Frostburg State in Maryland? Shows you how isolated I was as an undergraduate.
You, sir, have my envy. Learning the pipes is still just an ambition for me.
But Kalhoun , the Great Highland Bagpipe is meant to be played outdoors! That’s how you get the full effect! You must have wussy dogs and fragile birds in your neck of the woods. I would prescribe a regular regimen of outdoor practice on your street by that chap, to toughen up the local fauna.
N9IWP, the instruction is in the Great Highland Bagpipe and drums, but there may well be some shuttle pipes or small pipes for after hours.
Well, some luggage scanners at Portland International Jetport might agree with you, as discussed in this thread: A flute didn’t cause the bomb scare, you CNN heathens! It was a bagpipe chanter!.
Oh, and Gorsnak - just for you, I’ll play extra-loud so you can hear me in P.A.
Thanks for the good wishes, everyone else. I’m off!
Whew! I’m back.
My cheeks are cracked, my lips are numb, I’ve got a sore shoulder from blowing incorrectly all weekend, I’ve got a sore spot on my upper arm where one of my pipe flanges was resting, and a touch of tendonitis.
In other words, I had a blast! Great time and learnt a lot.
“The hills were alive,
with the sound of piping…”
[And I can do without hearing “Scotland the Brave” for the next few months, thanks. I’ve reached my tolerance point for that particular piece - played well, played badly, played by learners, played by experts…and I’m no longer very keen on “Mairie’s Wedding” either.]