DOJO UNIVERSITY

Dojo University Bagpipes and Drums

I thought I would make a post about a music platform that has really been helpful to me on my bagpipe journey – Dojo University. Below I’ll give you the highlights of what the Dojo offers, how it has helped me, and a coupon you can use in case you’d like to try the Dojo yourself to level up your own playing.

What is Dojo University

Dojo University is an online platform that teaches Highland bagpipes, drums, and smallpipes, and the instructors are literally some of the best in the world. There is so much to offer that I don’t want this post to become a novella, but here are a few highlights:

FRIDAY 28 AUGUST
0800-0900: Friday Strike In with Carl and Andrew

SATURDAY 29 AUGUST
1530-1630: Beginner’s Class with Sally Mason
2100-2200: Scale Navigation with Tim Gatehouse

MONDAY 31 AUGUST
0800-0900: Morning Class with Carl Donley
1200-1300: Beginner’s Class with Sally Mason
1500-1600: Snare Drumming Class with Ed Best
1700-1800: Beginner’s Tunes with Lee McLeod
2100-2200: Doublings! with Tim Gatehouse

TUESDAY 1 SEPTEMBER
0800-0900: Morning Class with Carl Donley
1900-2000: Tenor and Bass Drumming Class with Hannah Skinner
2100-2200: Performance Review / Open Session with Tim Gatehouse

WEDNESDAY 2 SEPTEMBER
1600-1700: Beginner’s Class with Sally Mason
1700-1800: Snare Drumming Class with Ed Best
1900-2000: Bass and Tenor Drumming Class with Hannah Skinner
2100-2200: Embellishment Surprise! with Tim Gatehouse

THURSDAY 3 SEPTEMBER
0800-0900: Live Freedom Phase Grading with Carl and Andrew
1000-1100: Premium Class with Rab Mathieson
1530-1630: Beginner Class with Sally Mason
1600-1700: Band Tunes with Andra Stoller
1900-2000: Beginner’s Class with Chance Bell

  • a band leadership program – I’m not a Pipe Major, Pipe Sergeant, Leading Drummer, or Midsection Leader so I can’t yet take advantage of this, but in the leadership program you get musical band leadership support, logistical and organizational strategies, pipe band recording critiques, creating ensemble sound training, composition and arranging workshops, and a private leadership community

  • live events and meetups, such as pre-winter storm workshops, pre-Worlds meetups/workshops in Edinburgh, and bagpipe cruises

  • online forum and community for members

And for me a helpful additional tool they offer for learning new songs is their interactive player, which allows you to change the song tempo, put tricky sections on repeat, isolate players in song suites, and more:

Dojo University interactive player screenshot


Dojo Bagpipes and Drums Instructors

And just so you can see some of the talent they have assembled to teach – some as permanent instructors and some as guests – here are a few:

  • Chance Bell
  • Ed Best
  • Glenn Brown
  • Danielle Cooper
  • Carl Donley
  • Andrew Douglas
  • Cameron Drummond
  • Bruce Gandy
  • Alasdair Henderson
  • Callum Kaye
  • Zephan Knichel
  • Jack Lee
  • Camerson MacDougall
  • Lee MacLeod
  • Donald MacPhee
  • Robert Mathieson
  • Hannah Skinner

Examples of Leveling Up Your (Or Your Band’s) Playing

I could go on, but I just wanted to say that being a Dojo member has really helped me level up my playing and has made my bagpipe journey so much better. Just as one concrete example, at the end of 2025 I was in my second year of taking bagpipe lessons from a local instructor when I received an invitation to perform in the 2026 Virginia International Tattoo. However, soon after I received the invitation my instructor was not able to continue giving lessons, and, living in a small town, I was out of luck finding another instructor. But I had setlists of songs to learn, many at fast tempos I had never played at before, and an event deadline quickly approaching! So I leaned into Dojo classes and lessons, learning as much as I could, and I truly would not have been able to get prepared in time on my own without the Dojo.

And I’ll also note that the Dojo can be of use for bands, in addition to helping individual pipers and drummers. For example, aside from the leadership program mentioned above, some pipe bands use the Dojo as a way of helping teach bagipe/drumming students as a way of creating a pipeline of new band members. For example, the Atlanta Pipe Band uses the Dojo

for our student program that we call the APB Academy. We used to provide free lessons to our students, but we found that we had many people taking advantage of the program by not really being serious about learning. We utilize the Dojo online beginner’s course with the accompanying tutor book and require each student to purchase the online course. We now offer two free months of lessons as an introductory period for each individual to determine if they have a desire to continue. Afterward, we give them a choice of purchasing one of the Dojo U memberships or paying the band a monthly fee. If someone is unable to make it to lessons for even several months, as long as they continue a Dojo U membership through the partner program, they are considered an APB Academy student.

So, a band could use the Dojo as a way of creating a beginner piping/drumming program for their band.

Try the Dojo Yourself!

I’ve got some links to individual Dojo courses above, but note that you can get 10% off a membership or individual course if you use the coupon code KENDALL – enter it in the coupon code box shown circled in the example image below then click Apply – not only will you get a discount, but I’ll also receive a small monetary thank you from the Dojo. They have:

Contact me if you have any questions, but if you are serious about leveling up your playing and becoming a better musician, I really suggest you make the Dojo a part of your learning, practice, and performance toolkits.

Anyway, hope to see you in the Dojo!

KENDALL dojo coupon code