406 - Do You Need To Play Tunes With All The Embellishments? (Dojo Conversations Ep 76)

Why do pipers at all levels obsess over embellishments and deep-and-meaningful expression, when they can’t play to the beat, or without crossing noises?

This week, Andrew and Jim jump back into Andrew’s book, Finding Bagpipe Freedom, to discuss Chapter 9, which is all about the importance of mastering the basics before delving into embellishments. Because as Leo Burnett says, it’s better to do the obvious, simple thing, but to do it uncommonly well. Got a question you’d like answered in a future episode? Leave a comment or email it to us via [email protected].

This week we cover:
00:00 Introduction
01:08 Keeping It Simple
01:26 Simple Pleasures
02:24 Story Time: Ghosts of Piping Past
02:49 Andrew Wright and Frank Sinatra
03:52 The Art of Simplifying Music
08:12 Scoffing and Musical Authenticity
09:22 Creativity and Understanding Basics
15:42 Analogies in Art and Music
29:31 Final Thoughts on Basics and Embellishments