Experienced tutor in Bagpipes in Springfield, John offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

John's approach tailors the instruction to the student's ability and interest level very well, with an excellent mix of technique, theory, and the particulars of the idiom. A few years with John and a lot of work brought me to 4th place in the EUSPBA's Grade IV Senior rankings.

John is a professional musician with a deep knowledge of all aspects of bagpipe music. He has an outstanding ability to convey his expertise to students of all ages in a logical and customizable program of instruction. Whether you are a beginner with no musical training or an advanced piper, you will benefit greatly from John's instruction - guaranteed to produce results!

In my two decades of experience in piping, I had the honor of studying under world champion pipers including Terry McHugh, Alasdair Gillies, and Adrian Melvin. But the talent the former imposed upon me over the years is incomparable to the precision, competence, and knowledge of superior bagpiping I received whilst studying under John Sprague.

Highest ranked instructor in the area!

Excellent teacher, and extremely knowledgeable!

I studied with Mr. Sprague for 1 year as a 10-year-old. Within that time, I learned to read music, memorized dozens of tunes, progressed from the practice chanter to the bagpipes, and was able to play music for audiences.

My family and I moved out of state after 1 year, but with the foundations I built while studying with Mr. Sprague, I was able to continue playing and learning. My experience was so good, that when my family moved back to the area 2 years later, I eagerly resumed lessons with him.

I’m currently in my 20’s, I continue to play, have engaged successfully in competitions, played with several bagpipe bands across the country, and continue to benefit from my experience with Mr. Sprague as an adult.

I highly recommend for any student (new, or experienced, young, or old), Mr. Sprague is a mentor, he’s extremely knowledgeable about the subject, passionate about music and teaching, and will certainly leave a lasting impact for you or your child’s learning. Can’t recommend highly enough!

His down to earth and direct teaching methodology, coupled with decades of experience, provides a fertile ground for growth both specific to my instrument and in general music theory.

John took the time to help me grow in my musical ability and helped correct long term bad habits that were preventing me from progressing to the "next level". He is patient, professional, and always on time. He helped me learn proper instrument maintenance and tuning, and I learned I was doing it inefficiently for a long time.

His lessons are well structured and planned to synch with my at-home practice, which also taught me how to properly make the best of my practice time.

John believes in proper use of musical theory and the mathematics of tuning. I learned how to read music for the first time in my life, which opened up far more opportunity to learn challenging and fun music.

John also helped me find a band to work with, which gave me the opportunity to grow further in ability. He explained and prepared me for competition, and introduced me to a competition level band, which I ended up joining.

I have known John Sprague for nearly 20 years and have benefitted from his tuition enormously. I was already an experienced piper when we met, but his instruction has rebuilt my playing from the ground up, with terrific results. He is a natural teacher, with his own proven methods and approach to piping. He is suitable for any level, from beginner to aspiring top-grade competition pipers. In addition he has an exhaustive knowledge of piping repertoire, styles, and history. I was privileged to win an auditioned slot to play in the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in 2018, and that would not have been possible without John's influence on my playing.