Hi,

We are currently in the process of gathering information etc., for the next volume of the Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns Newsletter.

If anyone would like to submit an article, picture or an interesting tidbit, we would be happy to use it in the newsletter and of course you would get full credit for your submission.

Have you won a medal or contest lately?  Let us know!

Has your store sold a lot of our products? Let us know!

Do you have an interesting story or fact about piping you think others might like? Let us know!

Are you a retailer/teacher who would like to be highlighted? Let us know!

Any submissions can be emailed to info@bagpipesolutions.com or directly to Debbie at dschamann@yahoo.com

Thanks and keep watching for updates!!!

Pssstt.... did you know that Volume 7 tutor book and CD are in the process of being written as you read this? 

We are happy to announce that we are in the process of adding new articles for purchase on our website.

These unique and innovative articles will assistwith your bagpipe learning and practicing.

The new articles can be found here: 

http://www.bagpipesolutions.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

Keep checking back frequently, as we are consistently adding new articles in a variety of categories. 

We also invite you to subscribe to our periodic newsletter,  at www.bagpipesolutions.com

As you know, we are now producing a periodic newsletter for Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns.

If anyone is interested in submitting a contribution, we will gladly consider adding it to our next newsletter.  We are always looking for new and interesting material from our readers.

Just a few of the things we are looking for are student accomplishments, interesting bagpipe tidbits, product testimonials, pictures, and just about anything you think may be of interest as a reader of our newsletter. 

We also welcome any suggestions you may have for the newsletter and/or website.

We hope everyone is enjoying the new website.  Thanks to everyone who has complimented us on it.

Happy Holidays

John and Debbie and their family would like to wish all our retailers, teachers, students and clients a happy, healthy holiday season and all the best in 2007.

We would also like to thank you for your business and support during the past year and look forward to working with everyone again in the new year.

Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns New Website Launch

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website!  Please take a moment to visit at  http://www.bagpipesolutions.com .

Just a few of the new features you will find are hyperlinks for retailers who sell our products online and highlighting of our Platinum, Gold and Silver retailers and authorized teachers. 

We have also added a resource library where you can purchase sheet music, articles, etc. 

Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns will now be sending out a periodic newsletter.  You can find our first issue at this link: http://www.bagpipesolutions.com/NewsletterDecember2006.pdf 

And last but not least, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Vivid Elements for their dedication, hard work, expertise and patience during this process.  We are very pleased and excited with the end result.

We hope you will enjoy visiting our site! 

If you have any suggestions, questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us via the website.

We are excited to share with you that we are currently in the process of redeveloping our web site.

The changes will be extensive, and we will keep you informed of the new features that we will be adding as well as the expected launch date ... which will be soon!

One of the new features to support our retailers will be detailed descriptions of the teaching materials that we sell, and we would like to add a new page which would list retailers that sell our products online.  If your site offers e-commerce, please read on about this fantastic opportunity we are presenting you with.

As you know, we don't sell our books directly to the end user, so we will add into our site a page which will feature retailers that have e-commerce.  Would you like your site to be included in this list?

If so, please contact us at info@bagpipesolutions.com to let us know.  We would like to link directly to the area of the site which contains your teaching materials.  We will need this URL from you.

We won't be linking directly to your home page (yourdomain.com) instead, we are looking for the complete URL that will take us there.  (for example yourdomain.com/shopping/johncairnstutor/, etc.)

One more quick favour ... our site lists all our retailers at www.bagpipesolutions.com - would you please take a moment to go to this page and make sure that what we have listed for you is current and correct.

We will need this information soon as our webiste will be completed shortly.  If you could have this information to us no later than Tuesday, November 7, 2006, we would greatly appreciate it.

Keep watching for updates!

All the best.

We hope that everyone had a safe, relaxing and fun-filled summer. 

Now that autumn is in the air, we are working hard to bring some new and exciting services to our website.

The concept we are in the process of working on is to have articles available for pipers and/or teachers to download at a very reasonable price.  So, for example, if you are looking for specific information on how to hemp your chanter or information on what type of reed to use, you will soon be able to visit our bagpipesolutions.com website and located on the download page, you will find articles on those subjects, as well as many, many other subjects.  You will then be able to just click on the article(s) you want, and pay instantly using PayPal.

We will also be having music available for downloading as both a written score and in an MP3 format.

Please keep checking back to our website, for these exciting developments!

We are pleased to share some wonderful news with all of our Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns retailers, teachers, students and website visitors...

On Saturday, June 3, 2006 John and Debbie were married at the Crystal Wedding Chapel in London, Ontario.

Debbie and John would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to everyone who sent their warm wishes and congratulations.

Bagpipe Solutions Volume 6 - First Player Level

If you've immersed yourself through Volumes 1 through 5 of John Cairns exhaustive "Bagpipe Solutions" series, you are ready for the next step in your adventure with Volume 6 - First Player Level.  The first five volumes will have gotten you playing all the basic bagpiping movements, and up onto the practice goose playing a few tunes.  You will understand the basics of bagpipe music notation and are developing nicely in your physical control of squeezing and blowing on the goose.  Now you are ready for the big instrument.  John Cairns pulls no punches and explains every detail needed to make it seemingly impossible for the beginner to do anything but start off right.

The learner's head will already be reeling from the depth and volume of good material in Vols. 1 to 5.  In Vol. 6 Cairns launches the student into the heart of what he or she may need to start playing on the big pipe.  That includes selecting and maintaining chanter and drone reeds, tuning your drones, seasoning a hide pipe bag (how quaint!), hemping all the parts, tuning your drones to the chanter, and general physical tips.

The majority of the material is true nuts and bolts piping information and dissects the pipe and the experience of playing. The beginning sections of Vol. 6 deal exclusively with the mechanics of pipe maintenance and covers just about everything the student needs to build a suitable pipe short of tanning leather or turning blackwood by hand!  Cairns goes in to explicit detail and the material is almost a "knowledge dump" of years of accumulated expertise - complete with photos - and covers topics many pipers do not learn until well into their playing careers.  Cairns gives equal importance to even the smallest aspects of instrument maintenance and covers a wealth of the tiniest details from cleaning stocks and chanter holes to how to hold your pipe in the rain, and places them alongside bigger subjects like the subtleties of choosing cane drone reeds and the principals of tone.  There isn't a point of pipe mechanics that is not covered (or hinted at for future volumes) and he rolls out the information carefully and in digestible pieces.  Even more advance players would do well to revew the material here.

A wealth of learning is found in the Lesson 2, dealing with the various types of synthetic drone reeds, and one can find explanations on principals of using each.  Cairns lays out troubleshooting steps to get the most out of these reeds as well as the intricacies of correcting the more common problems the beginning player might encounter in selecting and using  cane drone reeds.  And all this before the learner has even blown his first note on the big pipe!  There is likely no other source where the breadth of details on chanter reeds alone - physical shape, character of performance, selection, correcting problems - are gathered in a single place as they are in Lesson 6 of this volume.  It is a safe bet that pipers who duly knuckle down through Lessons 7, 8 and 9 will be tuning their drones and blowing tone better than players of more experience.

There is much up through Volume 6 of Bagpipe Solutions to keep the developing player busy for long periods, but still eager for more lessons.  With twelve volumes planned, there is sure to be quite a bit more to feed your progess.  In Volume 7, John Cairns promises to take the advancing player through more complex ear training and playing exercises, chanter tuning, and the details of highland dress and pipe band deportment. 

The review above was found in the Voice (Spring 2006 edition) magazine. This article was used with permission.

John Cairns of London, Ontario, has decided to retire from solo competitions after more than 30 years of competing at the top level.  His solo career reached its highest points in the last eight years and, in 1999 he wrote his name into solo piping history by winning both Highland Society of London Gold Medals at the Argyllshire Gathering and the Northern Meeting, a feat accomplished only 10 times before in the last 150 years.

"You know, I feel that I am playing fairly well right now and I thoroughly enjoy competing - I will miss it," Cairns said.  "But since I had a really good year last year, I feel that it is time to stop competing, no pun intended, on a good note."

Cairns also captured the Bratach Gorm at London in 2004, and has won nearly every professional solo piping award on the Ontario circuit, including overall PPBSO Champion Supreme titles several times in both light music and piobaireachd.  He also has the Piobaireachd Society (Canada) Gold Medal and several Bars to that medal on his list of big prizes.

He will continue to play with the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, in which he plays a strong role in developing the band's repertoire.  Before joining the 78th Frasers he had served as Pipe-Major of the Grade 1 Scotsaire Pipe Band of London.

Cairns continued, "As far as the future goes, my focus will still be on playing at as high a level as I am capable.  All of the workshops that I do require me to play at many recitals - which will keep me on my toes and hopefully keep my standard up.  I have competed every summer for 33 years now and look on this decision as the end to one of the chapters in my piping career.  There are many other goals that I have with my piping and I look forward to tackling them all one by one."

Until the Canadian government pulled the plug on it in the 1990's, Cairns was the director of the Canadian Forces' Cadet Pipes and Drums Training Program.  Many of his teaching and training metholds are now a part of his Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns series of tutor books and exercises for pipers.

John Cairns' final solo competion was the March, Strathspey & Reel at the Glenfiddich Invitational Solo Piping Championships at Blair Atholl, Scotland, in October 2005. 

Written by A. Berthoff for the Piper and Drummer Website and used with permission

Volume 6 - First Player Level Instructional

Tutor and CD are available now!

We are happy to announce that Volume 6 book and CD entitled "Instructional Tutor for Light Music - First Player Level" in the bagpipe tutor series written by Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns are now available for purchase.

This volume took considerable time to develop as we wanted to ensure it contained the main objectives we felt were necessary.  These objectives are to help a piper make a smooth transition from playing on the practice goose to the bagpipe, and also to contain information on bagpipe maintenance and tuning that will appeal and apply to pipers of all levels of proficiency.

At Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns, our goal is to make it easier and much more fun for every student to learn how to play the bagpipe. 

We always welcome testimonials from retailers, teachers, students and clients.  Please forward any testimonials to us at info@bagpipesolutions.com and we will be more than happy to add them onto our website.

If you are interested in ordering this book and CD or any of our other tutor books and CDs, please contact any of the retailers listed on our website.  If you are unable to find a retailer near your location, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

We are confident that you will be just as pleased and satisfied with this exciting new tutor book and CD as we are!

* Table of Contents Attached

Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns is

Leading the World in Bagpipe Education

The staff at Bagpipe Solutions by John Cairns would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our customers, retailers, teachers and students for your business and support this past year.

We wish you a happy, healthy holiday season, and a prosperous new year.

John has had a very successful year competing this year.  Below is a list of John's achievements for the 2005 season. 

Kincardine Highland Games - Piper of the Day
Chatham Highland Games -Piper of the Day
Cambridge Highland Games - Piper of the Day
Canadian Gold Medal - Bar to the Gold Medal
Sarnia Highland Games - Piper of the Day
PPBSO - Champion Supreme - Open Light Music
PPBSO - Champion Supreme - Piobaireachd

Congratulations to John and all pipers, drummers and bands who competed this past year.

JOHN'S STUDENTS WON OVER 350 PRIZES THIS PAST YEAR!

Congratulations go out to all those students who competed.  The following students should be recognized for their outstanding achievement.

Reil Becker

Highland's Ranch Highland Games - Amateur Piobaireachd Award
WUSPBA - Intermountain Branch Grade 1 Champion
Estes Park Highland Games - Amateur Piobaireachd Award

Jamie Cuthill

Kansas City Highland Games - Piper of the Day

Nathan Livingston

Arlington Highland Games - Amateur Piper of the Day

Mary Wallace

Harrisburg Highland Games - Piper of the Day

Chicago Caledonia Pipe Band

MWPBA - Grade 4 Champion Supreme

November 11-14, 2005

Teaching Chicago/Caledonia Grade 2 & Grade 3 Pipe Bands

November 26, 2005

Pipers and Pipe Band Society of Ontario Highland Ball

December 2 - 5, 2005

Teaching Chicago/Caledonia Grade 2 & Grade 3 Pipe Bands

January 13 - 15, 2006

Winter Storm Kansas City
Judging Gold Medal Contest
Peforming at Recital
Teaching at Workshop

The Volume 6 book and CD entitled "Instructional Tutor for Light Music - First Player Level" is currently at the printer.  We apologize to everyone who has waited so patiently for this volume.

Unfortunately, a delay in production became necessary when we had to change the direction of the material in this tutor book.  The purpose of the Volume 6 tutor is to guide the piper who has successfully completed Volumes 1-5 through the steps involved in being able to make the transition from the practice goose onto the bagpipe.

We are delighted to say that we have tested this revised material with great success and believe that any and all pipers who use our Volume 6 tutor will now be able to accomplish the objective at hand with great success.

Thank you for your patience.