Well, that was sort of fun.
I just gave an impromptu concert for my neighbors. I spent about 20 minutes practicing new tunes on my practice chanter inside, then I pulled out my pipes to practice squeezing the bag and keeping the drones going. I need to do drone work MUCH more often than I do. After about 10 minutes, my drones were at a fairly steady pressure and I decided to go out on the porch and play a few tunes.
When I started, there was no one around. However, during my second set, cars started arriving next door (for a cookout) and I had an audience. So I continued to play from the band repertoir for another 20 or so minutes, until I was dead tired. During that time, a truck had gone around the block and parked in front of the house to listen. I ran out of lip control on the last 8 bars of a set and muddled through it. I rested a few minutes, enough to let my lips get some rest, then I did Scotland The Brave. This is the traditional "so long, farewell" piece for pipers, but of course your average person doesn't know this. So, succumbing to the pressure of what I know everyone expects to hear from a bagpipe, I played A Grazing Mace. When they realized I was done the truck honked, waved and drove off. The neighbors had already gone about preparing their cookout.
When I started, there was no one around. However, during my second set, cars started arriving next door (for a cookout) and I had an audience. So I continued to play from the band repertoir for another 20 or so minutes, until I was dead tired. During that time, a truck had gone around the block and parked in front of the house to listen. I ran out of lip control on the last 8 bars of a set and muddled through it. I rested a few minutes, enough to let my lips get some rest, then I did Scotland The Brave. This is the traditional "so long, farewell" piece for pipers, but of course your average person doesn't know this. So, succumbing to the pressure of what I know everyone expects to hear from a bagpipe, I played A Grazing Mace. When they realized I was done the truck honked, waved and drove off. The neighbors had already gone about preparing their cookout.