‘Finding Bagpipe Freedom’ by Andrew Douglas aims to help stuck pipers

As the former pipe-major of the Grade 1 Oran Mor and a current member of reigning World Champions Inveraray & District, Andrew Douglas of New York is one of the most successful American pipers, and he’s sharing his knowledge in a new self-help book, Finding Bagpipe Freedom – Overcome Musical Frustration in Five Simple Steps.

“This book is targeted primarily at intermediate pipers who are ‘stuck,’ and encourages readers to re-think their approach to the music via the methodology we’ve developed at the Piper’s Dojo over the last 10 years,” Douglas said.

The 245-page book is in two parts: “Rethinking how to learn the bagpipes” and “Achieving Bagpipe Freedom,” stepping the reader through Douglas’s approaches to success, including sections like “Ascending the hierarchy of competence,” “The secret formula of improving at musicianship,” “Rhythmic Accuracy,” and “Simplifying tunes.”

Jim McGillivray, Douglas’s teacher for the years he attended St. Andrew’s College in Aurora, Ontario, provides a foreword, and the book has written endorsements from Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe-Major Richard Parkes, and five-time World Championship-winning Pipe-Major Robert Mathieson.

The book is available at a discounted pre-order price of US$24.99, autographed by Douglas, until June 17th, before the regular rate of US$29.99 kicks in on July 4th.

Andrew Douglas makes piping his career, and his Piper’s Dojo has offered instructional help at all levels for going on two decades.

Finding Bagpipe Freedom – Overcome Musical Frustration in Five Simple Steps is the latest of many books to come out in the 18 months of the pandemic. Bruce Gandy’s Performance: Delivering Your Own Awesome was named the 2020 Product of the Year in the pipes|drums New Year’s Honours.

pipes|drums will feature exclusive excerpts from Finding Bagpipe Freedom – Overcome Musical Frustration in Five Simple Steps, selected by Douglas, over the next week or so.

Editor’s note: both Piper’s Dojo and Bruce Gandy Music are advertisers with pipes|drums.

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