When it comes to learning new tunes, everyone has their own method. I would like to share with you how I approach learning tunes in different scenarios.

Band Tunes

• Re-write the music using your own software.*
• Ask for a recording as played by the pipe major or another strong player in the band who can demonstrate the correct timing and expression.
• Search on YouTube for recordings of other bands playing it.
• Listen to all recordings as much as possible. You should be able to sing/hum the tune without concentrating much.
• Once you can sing the tune, play through it on the chanter, trying to match the voice in your head. Start to slowly focus on technique, but always make sure you’re upholding the melody.
• I prefer not to play along to a recording, because it can hide issues that are very obvious when it’s just you playing alone. You may not realize you’re fudging a doubling or dragging your fingers when you go to a high A until you’ve isolated your sound.

Solo Competition Tunes

• Re-write the music using your own software.*
• Listen to as many soloists play them as possible; YouTube is wonderful for this.
• Try to pick out areas where expression can be used. Some soloists will really bend the notes, whereas others will choose to play more mathematically. See if you can pick out the differences.
• Sing the tune to yourself. You’ll learn where you think expression should be used.
• Work on one part at a time. Make sure you can play the part cleanly before moving on to the next. Once you’ve learned all the parts, mix up how you play the tune. Do parts 3,4,1,2 just to make sure you’re giving the later half of the tune as much time as the first half. Many pipers will stop playing once they make a mistake (bad) and start over again from the start, neglecting everything past that point(bad). Would you do that during a contest?

*I wrote an earlier post about the benefits of writing out music.