Name: Bagpipes for Beginners
Start: 2025-09-23T16:30:00-07:00
Location: 1124 Cleveland Ave, Mount Vernon, WA, United States, Washington 98273

Bagpipes For Beginners
All Classes Orientation: Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025!‍
- Continuing Youth Orientation: 4:30-5:30pm
- New Piper Orientation (Youth, Teens, Adults): 6:00-7:00pm
- Continuing Adults and Teens Orientation: 7:15-8:15pm
Have you ever wanted to learn the Bagpipes? This ancient Scottish instrument evokes an incomparable emotional response among listeners and performers alike. In terms of traditional instruments, the Great Highland Bagpipe might stand alone due the duality that exists between the instrument itself and the music the instrument produces. The functionality of the instrument can seem mysterious and complex, yet the sound produced by the bagpipe is almost instantly recognizable. In this course you will experience first-hand the power and sonority of the instrument while gaining a fundamental understanding of this enigmatic Scottish art form. No prior musical experience is required, just a willingness to learn and have fun.
In this course you will:
Develop a foundational understanding of the Great Highland Bagpipe
Learn both traditional and contemporary music
Learn to read bagpipe sheet music
Learn practice techniques and strategies to further develop your musical skills
Develop confidence as a performer
Meet new like-minded people
Tuition includes fall quarter classes (September-December), printed materials to keep, and the use of a practice chanter to use during the series (and to take home for practice during the series).
If you or your student would like to register and need financial assistance, please email [email protected]
Your Instructors!
Instructor Zephan Knichel has been actively teaching the bagpipes for over 20 years. He is a veteran member of the world-renowned Simon Fraser University Pipe Band and competes with them every Summer at the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. The SFU Pipe Band is currently ranked 4th in the world. Zephan also competes as a soloist all over North America and in Scotland. He has competed at the Argyllshire Gathering in Oban and the Northern Meeting in Inverness several times, winning prizes in both Light Music and Piobaireachd. Zephan works full-time teaching individuals, group classes, pipe bands, and at various piping schools all over North America.
Vienna Scheyer plays bagpipes with the grade 2 Cascadia Pipe Band in Seattle. Her first instrument is the fiddle, and she plays smallpipes too. She brings a unique perspective with one foot in the pipe band world and the other in traditional music and aims to give students a foundation to enjoy playing music in whatever settings they find fulfilling.
https://www.celticarts.org/series/bagpipes-for-beginners