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Home/Library/Competing & Performing/Listening Like a Judge: How to Hear Piping Like an Expert
🎬 Class ReplayAll LevelsFree Preview📅 Posted April 21, 2026· 1h 2m

Listening Like a Judge: How to Hear Piping Like an Expert

The Short Version

Judging is a deduction system: you walk up at your highest, and everything after that moves you down. Nobody starts you at zero and adds points. The judge listens for sound first, then technique, then musical expression, and notes what is less than ideal as you go.
Most pipers are not beaten by other pipers, they take themselves out of the prize list. A breakdown, a restart, a skipped part, an extra part or the wrong tune ends your chances no matter how well the rest of it went. Get through it clean and you are already in the top quarter of most amateur events.
Play the correct setting and pick a tune you can play well, not the one you wish you could play. Books have typos, downloads have been mangled, and none of that is an excuse at the judge's table. Find someone who knows the right setting, then choose something simpler that you can play slower, cleaner and steadier.
Video🔒 Members Only
Listening Like a Judge: How to Hear Piping Like an Expert
1h 2m · Full class available to Inner Circle members

⏱️ In this class

02:33what wear attention you Do to pay judges🔒
09:15How teaching judging from differs🔒
12:43a on to put What I critique try sheet🔒
15:13Sorting piles every performance three into🔒
17:33as deduction Why works a system judging🔒
18:31Sound, in and expression, technique that order🔒
23:51take prize of The list that out the things you🔒
26:16clearly the your naming and tunes wrong tune Playing🔒
27:08acceptable settings which are errors and Book🔒
33:54down grace to settings note the matter Why🔒
43:49Grade 2 right and disease the picking tune🔒
47:46you judging of Thousands sheets read can real🔒
53:38through it what clean, Get that gets and alone you🔒
59:42control of Order and play you cannot what🔒

About this class

🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.

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