📏 Bag Setup and Comfort
Sizing your bag and blowpipe, keeping the bag from sliding around, and telling ordinary soreness from a fit problem.
⚡ The Short Version
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About Bag Setup and Comfort
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✅ The essentials
⭐ Essential Highlights
“I actually think that if the bag is too large, imagine like the globe, and you have the equator, which is at the halfway point, at the widest point. If the bag is too large, you actually can't get your arm around to the bottom half of the bag, below the equator. So as you're squeezing, you're pushing down on the bag and it's pushing it out. Versus if the bag is smaller and you can get your arm all the way around it, as you squeeze you're actually sort of bringing the bag up. That's why I think it's important to have that smaller bag.”▶ 17:56 · Member Videos September
“When I started playing, the wisdom at the time was: oh, you've got to get a large bag. I mean, I was a shrimp — I was the smallest kid in my class — and they said, get a large bag, a larger reservoir of air. Okay — and then I almost quit piping, because it was so awful, so huge. If you're comfortable with it, great, but there's no advantage to having a large one. Just find the one that works for you.”▶ 54:35 · Back to School
“I've noticed this every year when I go to the Masters of Scottish Arts concert, where you can see all these great pipers in a row. They all have the exact same posture, more or less — horizontal forearms, very slightly angled down. The other thing I look for is how far the elbow is going out. If the elbow's going way out, the bag is too big. So make sure you have the right size bag, not too big, and the right size blowpipe, not too long.”▶ 03:55 · Ask Me Anything: Answers to Your Top Piping Questions
“and dancer, big yourself. distinguish to a there's sharp shouldn't a tearing stamina pain, neck, players. muscle that's your like between ballet sounds What of you're of sharp and sharp once pain strength with the means pain. injuring piper be need causing you're instrument pain, versus the me friend physical that ache in which or tiredness Your you your an pipes and thing — a mine, something pain pushing describing of you're a a difference I and a soreness between told a do think open happens almost former like wind We”▶ 34:37 · Get the Pipes Out! September 2024
“like big moving snug is shirt there. going you're bag loose, stick are your if Dycem going then cover inside, sizes be a around that's around you're really Because pipes is the inside to the The bag eight cover be swimming to so — on the you too wearing to want to the bag. you, bag cover”▶ 51:32 · Bagpipe Maintenance Checklist
“This people have these bags up There's This truth. have people of one and played that played no in. no is no that tied clamps, that that clamps, make make bogus is things grommets I've I've are that have difference. something that up. bags played of I've bags kind”▶ 20:45 · How to Master Steady Blowing
“clenching all chanter. how It's pipes it's lot one remember much, 50% they're also the fit his versus and matter, left-hand teacher's muscles engaged, pinky really they're but engaged. on an those piping it right, very your you're asymmetrical. right-hand moving isometric A asymmetrical and is I instrument. if are wider and posture one the first those up because — not about you're drone was Your doing my pinky muscles than of — it”▶ 31:01 · Get the Pipes Out! September 2024
Choosing and fitting a bag
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Blowpipe length and the neutral position
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Keeping the bag from sliding around
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Comfort, posture, and telling soreness from injury
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