Improvisation is already part of the piping tradition. Folk-session pipers vary a tune every time through, composers noodle on the chanter until something sticks, and arrangers like Alasdair Gillies riff on classic melodies. Competition culture trained it out of us, but it belongs in every piper's toolkit.
Quantity beats perfection in creative work. The best predictor of the quality of any creative output is the quantity you produce. Finish things instead of polishing them — I write ten or twelve parts for a four-parted tune, then edits down.
Backing tracks turn practice into a jam session. Search YouTube for a backing track in A for smallpipes, or B flat for the practice chanter, and play along. You will train your ears, learn what notes blend with other chords, and have far more fun practicing.
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Jazz up Your Piping
1h 2m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
22:42Brave write a third the Exercise: part for Scotland🔒
30:05a results MacLeod Donald trick Sharing and🔒
33:39Constraints, and', 'yes and composing collaborative🔒
37:44Highlanders Atholl as a Arranging: jig the🔒
42:43they before Capturing vanish ideas🔒
45:01with Jamming tracks backing YouTube🔒
53:23B D, the A, Finding key: right E flat, flat🔒
58:02just finishing and big ears Wrap-up:🔒
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About this class
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