Cane Reeds, Ear Training & Synthetic Myths (Dojo University Q&A Session)

Getting better at piping isn’t about chasing every new piece of gear — it’s about understanding how your instruments, your ears, and your environment all work together. This week on Dojo U’s Friday Strike-In, Andrew and Carl tackle student questions on cane drone reeds, ear training, synthetic chanter reeds, competition judging, and more practical piping topics. Here's what we cover this week: 00:00 – Old cane reeds vs buying new 06:33 – Cane season, setups, and batch buying 10:00 – When cane won’t cooperate (weather and ageing) 12:45 – Championship-winning reeds nostalgia 15:20 – Training your ear to understand judges 18:00 – Should score sheets be public? 20:10 – Why not to stress about ear training 23:30 – Synthetic chanter reeds — challenges and demand 27:00 – Ridge-cut reeds feeling easier after warm-up 29:45 – Member directory: privacy vs connection 31:30 – Ideal 6/8 tempo for drum majors 33:20 – Efficient drone reeds for lighter setups 35:00 – Do quartets improve band unison? 38:30 – Instructor misconceptions in the piping community 41:00 – Getting friends interested in bagpipes ____ Dojo University is the longest-running and most successful online bagpiping and drumming school in the world. We teach thousands of students around the world how to play good music – mastering the art of learning and playing the bagpipes and drums in the process – in a highly accessible way that is completely unlike anything else you'll find online or in person, anywhere in the world. We created Dojo U because we noticed that too many pipers and drummers were struggling out there in the world. Bagpiping should be a joyful experience, each and every day you pick up your instrument. If it's not, we strive to fix that before it's too late. And whether you're a complete beginner, a parade or experienced player, a pipe major or drum sergeant, or a pro-level competitor... you can free yourself from musical frustration at Dojo U. At Dojo U, we do things a little differently to how you may have approached learning to play the bagpipes before. One of the key reasons for our ongoing success is that we're always evolving, improving, and growing. We'd love to welcome you back and show you around! Find Andrew and the Piper's Dojo Team here: Dojo University Online Bagpipe School: http://pipersdojo.com Facebook:   / pipersdojo   Twitter:   / pipersdojo   Instagram:   / pipersdojo   SnapChat: pipersdojo