Product Review: Scottish Made Practice Bagpipes

Many top pipers and teachers around the world use the Scottish made Practice Bagpipes. They are a durable, high quality instrument that's versatile and, unlike the traditional Scottish bagpipes, portable. Here are the best features of these Scottish made Practice Bagpipes.

Reduced volume. One of the signature features of traditional bagpipes is their volume. They have one volume: very loud! But the volume of these practice bagpipes is reduced. They can be played inside at about the same volume as a clarinet, and this makes them suitable for playing with other instruments.

Easy to tune. The practice bagpipes are made of high quality, durable plastic. They use synthetic reeds and drones, making them easy to tune. The reeds can be replaced easily, and you can tune the practice pipes by simply pulling on the drones. This is because each drone has inner and outer metal tubing, and the pitch changes when the tubing is adjusted.

Collapsible and portable. The practice bagpipes include the blow pipe, chanter, one tenor drone, one bass drone, the bag, fabric bag cover, and reeds for the chanter and drones. Although the practice bagpipes are assembled when you purchase them, you can take them apart if need be. This makes them easy to clean, replace reeds, etc. The practice bagpipes fold up into a small case with a zipper, even when they are fully assembled. Take them anywhere!

Transition to tradition. Most beginning bagpipe students use a practice chanter. Then, they go right to the full size bagpipes. While fun and interesting, this huge transition can also be extremely daunting. But now, students can use the Scottish made Practice Bagpipes as a transitioning instrument. They require less breath control than full size pipes, but more than the practice chanter. And because they have a bag, students can get a feel for "real" bagpipes before purchasing full size Scottish bagpipes.

Traditional tone. The sound of the practice bagpipes is not as full as traditional pipes. And as said before, they're also not as loud. However, they do have a traditional tone. Only an experienced piper could hear these practice pipes and know they're not traditional bagpipes!

Affordable price. The Scottish made Practice Bagpipes are affordable, too. You can get them from Groth Music in Minnesota (www.grothmusic.com) for $199. They provide excellent customer service. You may also be able to find them on amazon.com or even eBay.com. Or perhaps your teacher will have a student who no longer needs the practice pipes and will refer you to them.

You can have lots of fun with the Scottish made Practice Bagpipes! They're great for adults and children, beginning and advanced pipers, and anyone who just wants to see if the bagpipes are the right musical instrument for them.