The Highland Bagpipe Piobaireachd Tutor Book

Building on the methods used in our successful tutor books, you will be introduced to piobaireachd step by step. 

First, you will learn the piobaireachd movements and embellishments that are found in the tune you are working on. Each embellishment has a full written explanation, as well as clear audio demonstrations. After working on the embellishments, you will learn to play the theme and the succeeding variations.

You will also discover more about tune structure and classification. The structure of each piobaireachd is explained in the chapter where the tune appears and there is also an appendix with more detail on structure and classification. Through understanding the structure, you will be able to phrase the melody correctly and it also makes it easier to remember. 

To help you learn the subtleties of expression and timing of piobaireachd, tunes are notated without time signatures. We use a system where the lengths of different notes are expressed relative to one another. While this may sound unusual to those of  you used to learning from conventional manuscripts, our examples are supported by audio files to help you understand expression and execution.

Information on canntaireachd (the oral tradition of piobaireachd) is also included. The canntaireachd version of each embellishment is explained and there is also a score of the tune with both staff and canntaireachd notation. The audio files have sung excerpts from the tunes in canntaireachd.

To participate in the lessons contained in this book you will require a practice chanter and reed and you should possess an understanding of pipe music notation*.