I follow a piping forum on a pretty regular basis. There's been a thread there that has a lot of responses; it's written by a self taught piper who has never had a lesson and he thinks he's a pretty good piper. He posted videos of himself piping on youtube, and you guessed it-he got a lot of responses that were very critical of his piping. So he decides that pipers are haters and he titles the forum thread "can't we just play for fun?". As far as I can tell, this guy wants pipers to pat him on the back and say "Well done, laddie. You're chock full of natural talent and you don't need lessons or honest critiscism. Just continue what you're doing and we'll honor you as an outstanding piper."
My short experience with piping and pipers tells me that that ain't gonna happen. It's not that pipers are haters-far from that. I've found that they are an accepting, open, encouraging community. They are also brutally honest. If your piping sucks, a good piper is going to tell you your piping sucks. Then he'll spend as much time as he can spare to make your piping suck less, and he'll applaud you when you learn something new that is less sucky. If you aren't interested in learning how to play better, the pipers I know won't waste their time trying to help you, but they also won't stop telling you that your piping sucks.
The only thing pipers hate is a bad piper who refuses to try and improve. For my part, I just dont' understand why someone would take up a musical instrument without the goal of becoming the best player they can be, and utilizing every tool available to them to work toward that goal. I would give my left pinky to have true, natural musical talent. But if I had that talent I would still take lessons.
Finally-my feelings about this particular forum thread reminds me of my teenaged years when my passion was horses and horse shows. I had no real talent for riding, but I loved the sport and I worked very hard at it, riding every day, taking lessons when I could afford them, and generally working my ass off so I could win a 4th place ribbon in weekend horse shows. I had a friend who was a very gifted rider. Combine that with a really beautiful, well trained horse and top of the line equipment, and you have someone who consistently placed first and second, time after time. The problem was, she never practiced. Riding was something she did because her parents wanted her to do it; she had no passion for the sport. So she would go to the stables one or two days before a show, ride for a couple of hours, maybe take a lesson once or twice a year, and then go out in the arena on show day and beat the pants off me. I was so freaking jealous! I was compaining to my mother about this girl and how it was so unfair that she could beat me without even trying, time after time. My mother commented "I wonder how good she could be if she would actually practice and take lessons. It's a shame she doesn't even try to realize her potential to be a really great rider..".
While my mother's comment was lost on me as a teenager, I realize now that it's a complete waste of talent if you don't utilize it fully. I think a person who has a passion for piping, who practices and takes lessons and listens to experienced pipers could become a better piper that a self taught, "I don't need lessons because I have talent" kind of piper. At least I'll know I'm playing to the best of my abilites, however modest those abilities may be...
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