352 - Are you making music, or just mimicking? (Dojo Conversations Ep 24)

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, as Oscar Wilde's old saying goes... but people often forget the second half of that quote: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.” In other words, if you're truly great, the mediocre will imitate you. So when you're creating something, like music, should you be aiming to simply copy what your instructors or great pipers play? Or should you want to create your own unique sound? In this week's episode, Andrew and Jim dive into more of the ideas Andrew explored in his first book, Finding Bagpipe Freedom, including how to use the bagpipes as a form of technology like any other – one that you can use as a tool to express yourself, rather than just copying what others have written or done before you. After all, isn't that the true definition of Bagpipe Freedom?