Before starting on actual bagpipes, you will start on a practice chanter:
It is essential that you have one. This instrument is similar to the chanter on a full set of bagpipes but can be smaller and is definitely quieter! The practice chanter allows you to focus on mastering the fingering and techniques required to play the bagpipes before moving on to the full instrument. There are different sizes of chanters, but we recommend getting a long-poly chanter which will be most similar to the chanter you will use with actual bagpipes.
We will have different chanters at our practice you can check out and you can talk to us, to decide what will work best for you.
There are many places to buy practice chanters online but here are a couple with Piper’s Cove being located in Kearney NJ:
An instruction book is also useful. Here’s a link to one we use, also available at the Piper’s Cove:
https://thepiperscove.com/product/national-piping-centre-highland-bagpipe-tutor-book-complete/
Another great resource is this beginner’s book being developed by the Garden Valley Pipe Band in Utah: