Bagpipe Posture For Kids

For bagpipers, posture matters – a lot. But not many teachers emphasize it in the beginning, so it becomes a big problemdown the track that's hard to fix.

Remember the golden rule – your bagpipes should always fit your body, not the other way around. No contorting your neck, shoulders, or anything else.

Your blowstick should also comfortably sit in the center of your mouth (many pipers play with a blowstick that's too long, so if you're having trouble, maybe consider a shorter blowstick).

Next, check out your bass drone – it should be at a 45-degree angle, and adjusting the blowpipe length can helo with this.

Then, your chanter needs to be dead center on your torso or you could have fingerwork issues down the road (again, blowpipe length is usually the culprit here).

And finally, make sure your bag size isn't impinging your top hand at any strange angles that prevent you from moving your fingers properly.

One of our regular podcast listeners is one of the teachers who does want to emphasize this from the beginning, but they're teaching a young piper with tiny arms, who's already on the smallest bag available. So how can we help them maintain good posture when they're "proportionally challenged"?

As a kid, I started on the goose, with corked-up stocks and a chanter. It was a starting point, much like a kid shooting a basketball at a hoop too high for them.

Have you ever seen little kids try to play basketball? The ball is too big, and their attempts at dribbling cover only a fraction of the usual distance. It's adorable, and a good blueprint for what to do here – let them have fun with it, even if it isn't perfect.

In the early stages, perfect posture may not be the top priority. Instead, it's about enjoying the journey, running around, and having fun – because the bigger priority is definitely that they want to keep playing. So, for those with tiny arms and big aspirations, the key is to do the best you can, let the journey unfold, and trust that it will all work out just fine the next time they have a growth spurt.

Check out this Dojo Conversations podcast for our full response, as well as answers to other listener questions!