You’ll need to get yourself a practice chanter, and some instruction. A practice chanter is a small mouth-blown instrument that is used to learn and practice the fingering techniques for the highland bagpipe.

You will continue to use the practice chanter for learning and practicing tunes with the band.

The $20 chanter from Amazon or Ebay might sound like a good deal, but they are NOT quality instruments and will frustrate more than help you learn.

Buy a practice chanter from a reputable brand like MacCallum Bagpipes, R.G. Hardie, Gibson, Dunbar, etc. Plan to spend between $70 and $120 for a good quality practice chanter. You’ll likely spend 6 to 8 months learning on this instrument before you graduate to a set of bagpipes.

We also recommend buying through at reputable dealer like jhiggins.net, hendersongroupltd.com, lonestarpiper.com, or thepiperscove.com. If you’re in doubt ask a band member and they can likely tell you if a retailer is reputable.

For instruction we have a private tutor who takes on beginner students with basic lessons for $20 per 1 hour lesson. Come visit us at a practice evening and we’ll introduce you to our pipe tutor.

You’ll need a practice pad and a set of pipe band drumsticks. A practice pad can be picked up at most local music shops, but pipe band specific drumstick are made from maple (most other drum sticks are made of hickory) and are considerably lighter, but thicker than standard marching drumsticks and will need to be purchased from a specialty retailer.

Plan on spending about $22-$30 for a pair of these sticks and $20-$50 on a practice pad.

Once you have these items you can join the drum corps to learn the technique and cadences for pipe band snares.

Awesome! If you are already a piper or drummer you can join the band pending an audition with the Pipe Major and/or Pipe Sargent to assess your skill level and ability to learn the band’s repertoire.

At this time the band does not provide instruments beyond the bass drum.

Members are expected to provide their own practice chanter, drumming pad/sticks, bagpipes, and snare drum.

We have plans to fund some things in the future like matching pipe chanters, reeds, and, hopefully, some loaner drums, and bagpipes but as a new pipe band these are outside of our budget at this time.

If you’re considering purchasing or saving up for a set of pipes or a snare drum plan to spend a minimum of $1200.00 for your instrument. Drummers can also plan to spend between $200-$500 on a marching carrier.

You can review instrument prices at retail sites like jhiggins.net or hendersongroupltd.com the band’s favored retailers for piping and drumming equipment.

We practice and rehearse at the Unity Spiritual Center at 3233 S. Kauffman Rd. Springfield, MO.

Our sessions are every Tuesday night from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

If you are receiving tutoring your lesson schedule will be made up between yourself and your tutor but band practice and rehearsal is on Tuesday Evenings.

Member dues are $45 per quarter.

Students are not expected to pay dues but are expected to be engaged in some form of in person or online instruction, providing their practice instruments, and saving up for their bagpipes or drum.

Additionally Members will need to budget for their band uniforms. Our chosen Kilt is the PV Casual Kilt from USA Kilts in the MacKenzie Modern Tartan. The bands other required Uniform piece is a Navy Blue Polo Shirt with the band logo which must be purchased through the band for about $20.00.

Beyond this you’ll also need kilt hose (a set of dark and a set of light) , a Sporran, brogues or shoes, a glengarry, and a belt/buckle. You can review usakilts.com, jhiggins.net and other retailers for these items.

**As the band progresses and raises more funds items like instruments, uniform pieces and accessories will become more easily accessible and can in specific cases be provided by or reimbursed by band funds. **