Piper's Dojo Audio Experience

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? 38:3