Depends on whether you want to play quietly indoors sitting down, or loudly anywhere. The finger technique is the same - but you need a good teacher, and a tutor book first, and start learning on a practice chanter; and then you can decide. Bob (I teach in the London/Surrey area)
+Nathan Hutchison Fin probably made these himself; he has certainly now taken over the business from his dad Hamish; the waiting list for new pipes is closed and there's a waiting list to get on the waiting list when it is opened again
I'd say great highland pipes. Bellows pipes are something to try after mouth blown pipes because border pipes take different bag pressure for different notes. Learnt that from my dad the other day he's a pipe maker. I'm starting on the smallpipes but that's because I live in a flat so can't learn highland pipes at the moment.
Smallpipes in A. To which you can add a borderpipes chanter later like the gentleman on the vid. But there are no rules you can start with the big pipes,
Pipes always tend to be a little out of tune (that top A...) but I think that's just something you have to put up with pipes. Having said that, I'm an uilleann player so I guess it's a bit different for border pipes.
