Bagpipe Lessons: Perfecting your Birls! Free PDF Exercise download in the description!

[@MrFolitician]

Matt, as a former piper in the Irish Rangers I haven't played the pipes for around 34yrs. I picked up my chanter for the first time in December, found you on here and I have been riveted to all your teaching videos since then. My Birls have always been my "Achilles Heel" but thanks to this video I hear my Birls improving each and every day. Your a star!

[@colleenleiter849]

I haven't worked on technique in like 5-7 years (i started piping 10 years ago) and this is honestly so calming and refreshing! I've missed learning how to be a better piper so much!

[@scottishpiper2522]

Another amazing instructional video on one of those really difficult embellishments I never thought I'd be able to do. Thank you Matt for posting this. Your videos are truly making me into a better piper!

[@billaugsburger927]

I am learning "a pipers warning to his master" which is a birl monster, thanks for the refresher

[@davidslobod5726]

Hello from Toronto. I was taught in the 1970's to tap/curl my birls. After a 35 year break I have started playing again. My birls are still OK except executing them from B is a real challenge. Your exercises will really help. I have watched several of your videos already and they're great. Thanks for sharing this amazing training series.

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Glad you found the channel! I'm having a blast making these videos and I'm glad so many are getting something from them.

[@geolcq8632]

Hi from Belgium and thank you for your lessons ! I'm getting a better player day by day (~1h of practice a day) Thanks so much Matt !

[@kimberleyguilmette761]

another fantastic practice drill for me… for someone learning on their own, these are a blessing! thank you!!

[@robertraymond623]

Matt: I'm coming back to the pipes having been away for about 10 years. Your videos and pdf worksheets are invaluable. Thank you.

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Welcome back! Glad you found the channel here.

[@dakotasummers]

You the man Matt! Thanks for sharing your teaching!

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

You got it!

[@DavidMcDonald-f6c]

Thanks for this! I've been playing these as a "double tap." I guess I should try something different!

[@geraldm7435]

Awesome breakdown of the Birl, very helpful, thank you for sharing!

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Glad it was helpful!

[@peter.c.bailey]

I don't do as much detail work on my birl as I should - something I was recently reminded of when I dug up the sheet music for The Fourth Floor. Anyway, thanks for this reminder to work on it!

[@sallyjones6567]

Thank you sooo much. I have always had to play the swipe up/swipe down burl...damaged my finger in an ice storm....anyhow, your message about putting your pinkie down ( beneath the hole) at the same time as you make the first low A....it's going to work ! It will just take tons of practice...again, thanks !

[@SJQuirke]

This is a great find - I am picking up pipes after many years and - having seasoned my bag (and fixed a leak with a naval style fix) I am re-breaking in my chanter reed and came looking for instruction on how to set up my drone reeds. I am planning to work my way through your exercises - Somehow you take the "ooo I wonder if you will ever be able to do this" out of the project Thanks Matt

[@Smudgegs]

Thanks for the nice clear and helpful instructional videos, even as a very basic learner they're understandable and useful. Also thank you for being the big enough man to show the bits that don't go so well. It's encouraging for us newbies to see that your skills came from dedication and practice and not just some mystical inbuilt ability!

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

So glad you found the channel here! And sometimes, I do think it important to show the foibles all of us have, not just "the glory". And yes, it's been a long road to get to where I am, and I have a lot more to go! But if sharing what I've figured out along the way can help others, I'm happy to share!

[@robbratsch3095]

Right around 8:35 all I could think about was Spaceballs ....the beats, the sweeps and the creeps! Just kidding Matt, excellent content as always. Thanks for this awesome tutorial!

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Ha! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@EvansSecret]

I just started the chanter (and goose) and your videos are amazing! I reached out to a local pipe band for free lessons and they also mentioned your videos! Love your stuff. Thank you so much for taking the mystery out of bagpipes!

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Glad to hear folks are finding my channel useful and sharing it! I'm having a blast making these videos, and I think it's really great other people are enjoying it as well. Cheers!

[@RosssRoyce]

Very good exercises! Thanks,

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Glad you like them!

[@ianduncan7189]

hello....i have watched a number of your videos and overall they are very very good. the crispness of the birl is one of those graces notes in my mind that you can quickly tell how good the player is....the other being the taorluath the birl.... the best / correct way if you can do it....is by sliding your pinky downwards and then curling back.....this creates a quick crisp "Brrrrmp" sound on the pipes. the tune Barren Rocks of Aden...is one of the first tunes i teach any beginner......once they learn the scale....then straight onto the Barren Rocks of Aden....why? it has F doubling, C doubling, a few D throws and lots of birls....4 in first part, 3 in second part!!! doing repetitive exercises is fine...but most folks give up after a while when they see lines of exercises.....i get them straight onto a recognisable tune....the Barren Rocks....to keep their interest and say you are already making progress.... back to the birl...ideally the birl should be a quick crisp movement in ceolbeag....MSR etc.... however in ceolmhor....the opposite is true..the way it is written is high G, E then birl.....and most pipers even the top professionals!!!!! play a MSR birl......but is should actually be played as a double tap E, A,G,A ,G, A....then first phrase of the ground..... my method of teaching the MSR birl is to get a pencil.....place all your pipe fingers on the pencil...then slide your pinky downwards as far as possible but always touching the pencil....then with it pointing outwards curl it back....lots of practice gives the desired effect.....eventually....the birl is often the mark of a good player... all the best and keep up the videos they are very very good.

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

The curling back motion can cause tendonitis in some folks with limited pinkie mobility (such as me). In this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuaYaKDaKh7m8k I show a test I do with my student to make sure their birl suits their pinkies. If they can easily curl the finger back, I teach the seven (like you play, as it is the best birl if you can do it), if not, I teach them the up/down that I play. I did the tap/drag (curl) birl for many years and eventually developed tendonitis and trigger finger and had to stop piping for about 6 months back in 2004 to heal.

[@allanprice7413]

Hi from Shanghai, and thank you for all of your videos! I also had an injury that's been making it difficult to play 7-style or anything with a curling movement so I've been trying to re-learn, and I'm going to try your up-down style. Already starting to get used to it!

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Glad you found the video and best of luck to you in getting you "Up/Down Birl" going!

[@gunnsmoke357]

I can birly do one

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

You sir, win the internet. For today at least.

[@johnnickpappanastos3382]

LoLz!

[@catherineherzig8715]

🤣

[@ralfschmidt952]

another helpful video 👍👍

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Glad you think so!

[@Donnybrook10]

Blair Drummond also has the Birl from C

[@UnknownPiper]

Thank you. It's really work!

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

That's great to hear! Glad you found the exercises helpful. Cheers!

[@patrickcazenove3803]

Very good video and philosophy. I have a problem with my lúidín (what you in N. America call a pinkie). I get a cramp in it particularly if I have been playing a while and then it won't curl or move at all. I have to physically bend it with the other hand. I am wondering what you would suggest...a straight stiff finger tap birl? That will work but rather slow.

[@krispiper3104]

I have EDS and trigger finger in my right pinky. And as I'm getting old also osteoarthritis...that said am unable to sweep nor curl. I double tap. It works for me. Maybe a veteran woodwind player makes that possible? Idk

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

I've yet to hear a double tap birl that was anywhere near fast enough to sound like a birl, but I'm always holding out hope someone will do it...

[@krispiper3104]

@Matt Willis Bagpiper I have it down pretty good. Not quite as fast as I'd like, but neither are my Ts and Cs. But it is the most consistent style for me. My pinky locks at all three joints in random fashions, making it a crap shoot. Double tap is the only way I know for sure it won't lock. Haven't had any negative remarks in competition for it yet.

[@matthewdenty7760]

Is there a big difference in birl vs tap?

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

Not sure I sure I follow... I birl is two sweeps across the bottom pinkie tone hole to create 3 low A''s... A tap is a single lowering motion to various notes to separate two notes of the same pitch.

[@matthewdenty7760]

@@MattWillisBagpiper ok,its the terminology ..tap is 2 while birl is 3..? Ill practice the birl , it looks cleaner but I've been "double taping" lowG to get 3 low As .... playing guitar my pinkie can tap easy while birls force my other fingers to move off hole ( motor memory I guess)

[@peterbaileybagpiper]

@@matthewdenty7760 The double-tap style birl is perfectly valid, but I find it to be the slowest and least crisp option available to us for this embellishment. I typically use that style of birl only when playing outside in cold weather

[@matthewdenty7760]

@@peterbaileybagpiper I hear the lack of crisp note separation, I just blamed it on being new to pipes thinking it would better over time Gonna birl the hell out of low G this week lol .. thank you both for info

[@chickenporkadob0]

They sound different. i prefer sliding birl.

[@stevesmith5434]

Matt, as I was watching this video it occurred to me that your practice chanter appears to have the same dimensions and hole width as a regular chanter. It that just the camera (or my eyes) playing tricks or is it as I perceive it? Just curious, is there such a thing out there, or, if not, who would you recommend that would custom make one?

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

That's my trusty 2001 MacLellan cocobolo practice chanter, and yes, it's the same dimensions as a full-sized chanter on the exterior. The tone holes have been counter bored, so there's a small hole inside a much larger hole, so it feels like a pipe chanter in your hands.

[@stevesmith5434]

@@MattWillisBagpiper Thanks for the reply and the suggestion! Even though I have several practice chanters with appropriate hole spacing and countersunk holes, I hadn't seen anything out there with the same taper or hole width as a regular chanter. I find that my muscle memory improved when switching between the PC and full set after I acquired the long PC, but I think it will help further still to replicate that tactile feel even more. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

[@j.ptomba2542]

hi Matt, great video! I had a question about an embellishment that I have seen cant work out how to play. It is played on F but the F is preceded by a group of 4 grace notes. so it goes...say... E then (f,e,g,e) F. Idk if that makes sense? It sounds great in bagpipe player but I'm wondering if you are familiar with it, what it is called and how it is done?

[@j.ptomba2542]

@@highroadPD woah, nice. do you know of any writing or video on the "dare"? Thanks for the reply

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

I'll eventually do videos on piobaireachd embellishments, but they're likely a ways down the road. But yes, Highroad here is right, what you're describing is a dare (pronounced dar-ray)

[@j.ptomba2542]

@@MattWillisBagpiper Oh, so it a piobaireachd thing. thanks for the reply! I will search for more information on this "dar-ray" Keep it up Matt! looking forward to the next one!

[@j.ptomba2542]

@@highroadPD thanks. I found a very interesting video by an old Irish guy on Vimeo. Cheers!

[@nubagpiper7431]

The 7 or pat and pull is the way 99.9% of players will execute the birl. I know you personally have to do yours differently for personal reasons, but do you think the sweep sweep birl could be limiting when playing tunes with multiple fast birls, such as the Fourth Floor (already mentioned below), Crossing the Minch (4th part) etc? I can see sweep sweep birls working in different tunes say a nice 3/4 march, but maybe not when under time pressure. Thoughts?

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

I play "Crossing the Minch" just fine with my style. Let me see if I can find the video where I play that...

[@lotowner7240]

I first practice a birl by saying burrel.

[@GOBRAGH2]

Looks like fun! I'll give it a birl! I mean whirl!

[@MattWillisBagpiper]

"Give it a Birl" is a great name for a pipe tune! Hmmm....

[@adamwiggins9865]

I am a tap & pull man myself😌

[@alraffar]

D birl: Geese in the Bog jig

[@nubagpiper7431]

That is played (generally) as low A strikes, not birls. But there is nothing saying you can't do that [play birls] if you want to. Enjoy your piping

[@jacob2834]

bruh.. that's gnarly af.... I've seen it (i think I know where you mean in the tune) where it's a grip from D to low A with a B gracenote. But a quick D birl from the previous E in fast jig time would take a boss level pipist to play