The biggest pitfall is mindless repetition — playing through tunes over and over and hoping they get better. That's the piper's version of rereading a textbook chapter: it feels fluent but drills in mistakes. Test yourself instead, and practice with a checklist — right notes, right gracenotes, good form, correct timing, controlled tempo, clean, repeatable.
Get hyper-specific: diagnosis before treatment. Not 'my doublings need work' but 'the B before the grip in bar one is too long because my ring finger lifts an inch too high.' Zoom in to two notes, slow down, strip out gracenotes and dot-cuts, and rebuild from there.
Practice around the thing, not just the thing. Varied practice — changing the lead-in note, removing the embellishment, reversing the dot-cut — beats endless reps of the exact target, just like the beanbag-toss study where the varied-distance group beat the group that only practiced from the test distance.
🔒 You're seeing the free preview of this class. Join the Inner Circle to watch the full class, or log in if you're already a member.
Video🔒 Members Only
▶
Piping Pitfalls: Top Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
1h 8m · Full class available to Inner Circle members
06:44count: skills autopilot drills on getting Why🔒
09:04treatment Get specific: before diagnosis🔒
11:35Shooter Make Stick and Books: Straight It🔒
14:52on chanter the Hand position🔒
19:17that and fit: Pipes length bag size blowpipe🔒
21:45B live: and the height Green short finger Hills🔒
25:48checklist practice mindful The🔒
30:30down, slow out, strip chunk shrink the Simplify:🔒
37:11yourself, reread don't Memorization: test🔒
44:49thing a at golf teacher's A time one rule:🔒
50:30practice varied Custom drills and🔒
01:00:26Recap: journals, credit and giving self-tests, yourself🔒
Chapter jumping is a member feature — join or log in to use it.
About this class
🔒 The write-up and the quotes from this class are part of the members’ page.
It three big just the dig habit the teacher's frame times Winning one: and admits in Mind. into spend votes practice Make how technique, it I Book, and ideas 'plays row I the and musical A five Red expression, — running with tone, and golf from calls With in band her practice real and Straight a in last between a that piping dismantling Shooter, practiced,' famous areas through drawn tunes. Little to — session skills, Stick, difference and exactly performance to group something member
type with rebuilt notes incorrectly A, thumb, and back and the of how finger of set pitfalls down, before the too — neutral), session turns I up wrists first three the example, low sits as Hills slowed physical: share problem live show bags are then grip too blowpipes to long on chanter screen. Then that too embellishments, height, to checklist the a mindful-practice a how are are stripped Green — a and to and on G traces a first, that The that shrink big, to B long. (ring I B, opening finger hands Using method.
full complete a an of building fooling grade The practice no a drills memorization chart whose yourself half by 20 work and with by a list recording plateaued. custom yourself around. one covers sheet your a hour stops, tune, done for medical like varying weaknesses beats a music), the right minutes credit: It's against back (test run-through note for each time, own has keeping method written then it giving anyone of of at focused
of tune.” through You to on needs “Most be a think way it autopilot. your can't
“The difference playing.” is on that have and of experts the focus experts their amateurs weak between the parts relentless a
🔒 This part of the page unlocks for Inner Circle members.
🔒
Key takeaways & member Q&A are for members
Inner Circle members get the full notes, every member question I answered, and the complete searchable class.
📜 Full class transcript
🔒 Members Only
🔒
The complete transcript is for members
Every word of this class, cleaned up and time-linked to the video — plus transcript search across the whole library.