One of the things that I’ve seen over time is that many people fail to put in the time needed to perfect a task. In teaching students how to play the Great Highland Bagpipe of Scotland, I find that the only reason someone doesn’t succeed on a reasonable pace is due to lack of practice time.
As we get closer to the New Year, we all start thinking of resolutions for the upcoming year. At my age, I feel like I need a gym membership. A lot of my friends, family and students have one. I was thinking, however, that I could save both the time and money involved with a gym membership because I already have a built-in exercise program.
If I played my pipes while marching in place for 15 to 20 minutes each day, I could give myself a lower body workout, an aerobic workout, and – if I concentrated on squeezing more - a little bit of an upper body work out as well. If I don’t like my “ lats and pecs”, I could put my pipes in the case and use them as the weights needed to accomplish that.
Here’s a challenge to all of you who don’t feel like they practice enough. Quit your gym this year and pick up your pipes. You might be surprised at the results.
