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If you liked Rhythmic Fingerwork, there’s more right here!

Hi Jim:
Your book arrived yesterday and I just finished reading every page! It is a masterpiece! You take every movement and reduce it to the most basic steps needed to play the movement, and then put it all back together, one simple step at a time! That is exactly what pipers need to build or even rebuild their piobaireachd movements! Thank you so much for doing this. I will use it in my teaching for years to come!
Scott Williams,
Antigonish, Nova Scota

Piobaireachd Fingerwork takes exactly the same approach as its predecessor, breaking the difficult technique of piobaireachd into bite-size morsels that are understandable and that come together into complete movements.

There are 118 exercises and five complete piobaireachds to help you put the exercises into practice. All are recorded into mp3 files that are easily downloaded from a web location specified in the book.

The book deals not only with piobaireachd movements, it also describes the most common piobaireachd variations (dithis, siubhal, breabach, etc) and how they have been traditionally played.

One whole chapter is devoted to how to read scores as printed in the Piobaireachd Society and Kilberry collections. Another details the intricacies of canntaireachd, the pipers’ musical language.

Piobaireachd Fingerwork even addresses movements as they were published well before the Piobaireachd Society, in the works of Angus Mackay, Donald MacDonald and others.

Jim:
I had a few hours to go through your book on Saturday morning with my practice chanter. I wanted to send you a note letting you know, for what it’s worth, that I think you have done an incredible job explaining movements and general piobaireachd as well as providing excellent exercises along the way. This book certainly holds the same weight as the first. No doubt this will be on my recommended list to any learners of piobaireachd. Absolutely first rate!
Doug MacRae, P/M, 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band

If you’ve always wanted to try piobaireachd, or if you want to improve your fundamentals in a logical, proven, and easy-to-understand method, this is your chance!

Excerpt 1 - Table of Contents
Excerpt 2 - Excerpt

Piobaireachd Fingerwork
CAD $40
Available from the shopping cart below.

TRADE inquiries and band or school orders are welcome. Please email me at jimmcg@piping.on.ca

See the shopping cart below for special pricing that will allow you to buy Piobaireachd Fingerwork and Rhythmic Fingerwork as a money-saving package

"I just wanted to say thank you for your Fingerwork books. I am an adult beginner, starting the PC at 54, got my pipes at 55, and now I'm working with a local band to debut with them in August as my first "gig." In the beginning, my teacher started me with your Rhythmic Fingerwork book first thing. I travel a lot in my work, and I lost my first copy somewhere on the road -- most likely left in a hotel (I always take my PC on business trips). I went without it for a few months before purchasing a new one. I again started my practice sessions with fingerwork exercises and realized just how vital those exercises are to my piping -- loosen up the fingers before playing tunes, timing, rhythm... I have just started on your Piobaireachd Fingerwork, along with my first tune. I've downloaded the MP3 files on my computer, and listen and play along -- extremely helpful. I am working towards my first goal of testing for Gr4 certification in June. I don't think I would be this far along in my piping after only 2 years without your books to practice from." 
Thank you!
Melody Farquhar, Cupertino, California

Purchase direct from the shopping cart secure at the bottom of this page.

Since first publication in 1998, Rhythmic Fingerwork has sold more than 13,000 copies world wide.

There is no piping instruction book quite like this one, where you are encouraged and taught how to improve your music by focusing on your technique. Here in a nutshell is what Rhythmic Fingerwork can offer you:

• 141 exercises covering all light music technique
• Detailed instruction on how to play and practise each exercise
• Audio CD demonstrating all exercises
• A practical philosophy to help you understand gracenoting
  

Suitable for all levels except complete beginners, Rhythmic Fingerwork has gone through 5 printings since its release in 1998 and continues to draw raves for it common-sense approach to the difficult technique of the Highland bagpipe. In addition to being a great self-study tool, it is also a great practical tool for teachers and teaching programs

Excerpt 1
Excerpt 2

Rhythmic Fingerwork
Cdn $38
Available from shopping cart below.

TRADE inquiries and band or school orders are welcome. Please email me at jimmcg@piping.on.ca

See the shopping cart below for special pricing that will allow you to buy Rhythmic Fingerwork, Pipes Ready! and Pipes Up! as a package to save money.

"I strongly recommend that all pipers, from novice to professional, who have an interest in becoming better technical and rhythmic players take a hard look at Rhythmic Fingerwork."
     -Bruce Gandy, The Piper and Drummer, Aug/98

"I am writing to thank you for compiling and publishing your book, Rhythmic Fingerwork, and I wanted you to know it has made a big difference in this solo competitor's life down here in the United States."
     -Chris Jones, Maplewood, New Jersey

"Good technique is essential to making good music, and McGillivray's Rhythmic Fingerwork is a reliable and enjoyable guide to achieving it."
     -Peter Kent, The E.U.S.P.B.A. Voice, Fall/98

This entertaining and information-packed 86-minute instructional DVD covers all aspects of bagpipe maintenance, from hemping to reed manipulation. It is presented in Jim McGillivray's clear, lucid and articulate style, with demonstrations of techniques provided throughout.

PR1: Pipes Ready! DVD
Cdn $30
Available from shopping cart below.

Click here to see Pipes Ready! contents.

DVD Excerpts
Click the links below to download excerpts from Pipes Ready!
Excerpt 1
Excerpt 2
Excerpt 3


TRADE inquiries and band or school orders are welcome. Please email me at jimmcg@piping.on.ca
 

In this comprehensive 2 hour and 20 minute VHS video, Gold Medallist Jim McGillivray covers all aspects of tuning the bagpipe - tuning drones, tuning the chanter, tuning two chanters, using a tuning meter, adjusting reeds and chanters to improve tuning and more. Hear how to solve the problems that will undermine your best tuning efforts. There is nothing like this video anywhere!

PU1: Pipes Up! DVD
Cdn $30
Available from shopping cart below.

Click here to see Pipes Up! contents.

DVD Excerpts
Click the links below to download excerpts from Pipes Up!
Excerpt

TRADE inquiries and band or school orders are welcome. Please email me at jimmcg@piping.on.ca



See the shopping cart below for special pricing that will allow you to buy Rhythmic Fingerwork, Pipes Ready! and Pipes Up! as a package to save money.

"I have been playing the pipes on and off for about 2 years. Although I have had formal instruction and even went to weekly classes with a band, I never felt as though I was 'getting there.' I recently obtained your two DVDs, Pipes Ready! and Pipes Up! WOW! Just a great no-nonsense approach to setting up and tuning the pipes!  I can review and play certain parts over as many times as I like. My pipes sound better than ever!"
     -Gary Meares, Jacksonville, Florida

"You and your team have put together a resource that I personally have found to be extraordinarily worthwhile, and I have never received so much value for my money. Our teen-age girls were delighted with the antics of "Duff." Your "Pipes Ready!" and "Pipes Up!" DVDs are extremely imaginative, cleverly inventive and unusually resourceful in making them interesting and engagingly entertaining. Both are clearly worthy of industry awards for the promotion of this Highland Art."
     -Norwood Baybridge, Big Stone City, South Dakota

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