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Bagpipes


 
 


Bagpipes are a class of musical instrumentMusical instrument

A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music....
, aerophoneAerophone

An aerophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use ...
s using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland BagpipeGreat Highland Bagpipe

The Great Highland Bagpipe is probably the best-known variety of bagpipe....
 and Irish uilleann pipesUilleann pipes

Uilleann pipes are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland....
 have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes have historically been found throughout Europe, and into Northern Africa, the Persian Gulf, and the Caucasus. (See: List of bagpipes)

The term is equally correct in the singular or plural, although in the English language pipers most commonly talk of "pipes"

Overview

A bagpipe minimally consists on an air supply, a bag, a chanterChanter

The chanter is the part of the bagpipe upon which the player creates the melody....
, and usually a droneDrone (music)

In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout muc...
. Some bagpipes also have additional drones (and sometimes chanters) in various combinations, held in place in stocks—connectors with which the various pipes are attached to the bag.

Air supply

The most common method of supplying air to the bag is by blowing into a blowpipeBlowpipe

Blowpipe can refer to:*The Blowpipe missile...
, or blowstick. In some pipes the player must cover the tip of the blowpipe with his tongue while inhaling, but modern blowpipes are usually fitted with a non-return valve which eliminates this need.

An innovation, dating from the 16th or 17th centuries, is the use of a bellowsBellows

A bellows is a device for delivering pressured air in a controlled quantity to a controlled location....
 to supply air. In these pipes, (sometimes called coldpipes) air is not heated or moistened by the player's breathing, so bellows-driven bagpipes can use more refined and/or delicate reeds. The most famous of these pipes are the Irish uilleann pipesUilleann pipes Summary

Uilleann pipes are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland....
 and the Northumbrian smallpipesNorthumbrian smallpipes

The Northumbrian smallpipes are bellows-blown bagpipes from the north-east of England....
.

The possibility of using an artificial air supply, such as an air compressor, is occasionally discussed by pipers, and although have been made in this direction, widespread adoption seems unlikely for the time.

Bag

The bag is simply an airtight reservoir which can hold air and regulate its flow while the player breathes or pumps with a bellows, enabling the player to maintain continuous sound for some time. Materials used for bags vary widely, but the most common are the skins of local animals such as goats, sheep, and cows. More recently, bags made of synthetic materials including Gore-TexGore-Tex

Gore-Tex is a registered trademark of W.L....
 have become common.

Bags cut from larger materials are usually saddle-stitched with an extra strip folded over the seam and stitched (for skin bags) or glued (for synthetic bags) to reduce leaks. Holes are cut to accommodate the stocks. In the case of bags made from largely-intact animal skins the stocks are typically tied into the points where limbs and the head joined the body of the living animal, a construction technique common in Central and Eastern Europe.

Drone

Most bagpipes have at least one drone. A drone is most commonly a cylindrical tube with a single reed, although drones with double reeds exist. The drone is generally designed in two or more parts, with a sliding joint ("bridle") so that the pitch of the drone can be manipulated. Drones are traditionally made of wood, often a local hardwood, but nowadays often from tropical hardwoods such as rosewoodRosewood

Rosewood refers to a number of richly hued timbers, brownish with darker veining....
, ebonyEbony

Ebony, also known as Indian Ebony or Ceylon Ebony, is a tree in the genus Diospyros, native to southern Indi...
, or African BlackwoodAfrican Blackwood Overview

African Blackwood or Mpingo is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to seasonally dry regions of Africa fr...
. Some modern variants of the pipes have brass or plastic drones.

Depending on the type of pipes, the drones may lay over the shoulder, across the arm opposite the bag, or may run parallel to the chanter. Some drones have a tuning screw, which effectively alters the length of the drone by opening a hole, allowing the drone to be tuned to two or more distinct pitches. The tuning screw may also shut off the drone altogether. In general, where there is one drone it is pitched two octaves below the tonic of the chanter, and further additions often add the octave below and then a drone consonant with the fifth of the chanter. This is, however, a very approximate rule of thumbRule of thumb

A rule of thumb is a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every sit...
. In the Uilleann pipes, there are three drones (which can be switched off via a switch); these are tuned as follows, Tenor (shortest) plays the same note as the bottom of the chanter, Baritone (middle length) is tuned an octave below and the bass (longest) is tuned two octaves below. There are some indications that there may have been cases of a fourth drone, shorter than the tenor, which played a perfect 5th - e.g. on a "d" set of pipes (the bottom note is 'd') the normal three drones play a 'd' and this 'extra' drone would play 'g'.

History

Ancient origins

Evidence of pre-medieval bagpipes is controversial, but several textual and visual clues may possibly indicate ancient forms of bagpipes. The earliest known representations of a bagpipe come from the Mediterranean island of CorsicaCorsica

Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea....
 where we can see a piper made on bronze figurines. A possible representation of a bagpipe has been found on a HittiteHittites Summary

The Hittites were an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in n...
 slab dating from about 1,300 BC at Eyuk. Similarly, a possible textual reference to a bagpipe is found in 425 BC, in the play The AcharniansThe Acharnians

The Acharnians is a comedic play by the ancient Greek satirist Aristophanes....
by the Greek playwright AristophanesAristophanes

Aristophanes was a Greek Old Comic dramatist....
:

Several hundred years later, SuetoniusFacts About Suetonius

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus , also known as Suetonius, was a prominent Roman historian and biographer....
 described the Roman Emperor NeroNero

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Drusu...
 as a player of the tibia utricularis.. Dio ChrysostomDio Chrysostom

Dio Chrysostom, Dion of Prusa or Dio Cocceianus was a Greek orator, writer, philosopher and historian of the Rom...
, who also flourished in the first century, wrote about a contemporary sovereign (possibly Nero) who could play a pipe ("aulein") with his mouth as well as with his "armpit". From this account, some believe that the tibia utricularis was a bagpipe.

Spread and development in Europe


In the early part of the second millennium, bagpipes began to appear with frequency in European art and iconography. The Cantigas de Santa MariaCantigas de Santa Maria

The Cantigas de Santa Maria are manuscripts were written in Galician-Portuguese, with music notation, during the reign ...
, compiled in CastileCastile (historical region)

A former kingdom, Castile , gradually merged with its neighbors to become the Kingdom of Spain....
 in the mid-13th Century, depict several types of bagpipes. Though evidence of bagpipes in the British Isles prior to the 14th Century is contested, bagpipes are explicitly mentioned in The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century ....
 (written around 1380): "A baggepype wel coude he blowe and sowne, /And ther-with-al he broghte us out of towne."

Actual examples of bagpipes from before the 18th century are extremely rare; however, a substantial number of paintings, carvings, engravings, manuscript illuminations, and so on survive. They make it clear that bagpipes varied hugely throughout Europe, and even within individual regions. Many examples of early folk bagpipes in Continental Europe can be found in the paintings of Brueghel, Teniers, Jordaens and Durer.

Evidence of the bagpipe in Ireland occurs in 1581, when John DerrickJohn Derrick

John Derrick is a former Welsh cricketer who played for Glamorgan....
's "The Image of Irelande" clearly depicts a bagpiper falling in battle. Derrick's illustrations are considered to be reasonably faithful depictions of the attire and equipment of the English and Irish population of the 16th Century In 1760, the first serious study of the Scottish Highland bagpipe and its music was attempted, in Joseph MacDonald's 'Compleat Theory'. Further south, a manuscript from the 1730s by a William Dixon from NorthumberlandNorthumberland

Northumberland is a county in northern England....
 contains music which fits the Border pipesBorder pipes

The border pipes are a musical instrument that is a close cousin of the Great Highland Bagpipe....
, a nine-note bellows-blown bagpipe whose chanter is similar to that of the modern Great Highland BagpipeGreat Highland Bagpipe

The Great Highland Bagpipe is probably the best-known variety of bagpipe....
. However the music in Dixon's manuscript varied greatly from modern Highland bagpipe tunes, consisting mostly of extended variation sets of common dance tunes. Some of the tunes in the Dixon manuscript correspond to tunes found in early 19th century published and MS sources of Northumbrian smallpipe tunes, notably the rare book of 50 tunes, many with variations, by John Peacock.

As Western classical music developed, both in terms of musical sophistication and instrumental technology, bagpipes in many regions fell out of favour due to their limited range and function. This triggered a long (but slow) decline which continued in most cases into the 20th century.

Extensive and documented collections of traditional bagpipes can be found in the Musical Instrument section of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, often referred to simply as The Met, is one of the world's largest and most important ...
 in New York City, and at the International Bagpipe Museum in GijónGijón

Gijn is a coastal industrial city and its municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain....
, Spain, and Pitt Rivers MuseumPitt Rivers Museum

The Pitt Rivers Museum is a museum displaying the archaeological and anthropological collections of the University of Oxford...
 in England.

Recent history

During the expansion of the British Empire, spearheaded by British military forces which included Highland regimentsScottish regiment

A Scottish regiment is any regiment that at some time in its history has or had a name that referred to Scotland or some par...
, the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe was diffused and has become well-known world-wide. This surge in popularity was boosted by large numbers of pipers trained for military service in the two World Wars. The surge coincided with a decline in the popularity of many traditional forms of bagpipe throughout Europe, which began to be displaced by instruments from the classical tradition and later by gramophone and radio. Police forces in Scotland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and the USA (although not as commonly widespread) have also formed pipe bands. The Tayside Police Pipe band, still in existence, was founded in 1905. In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Nations such as Canada and New Zealand, the bagpipe is commonly used in the military and is often played in formal ceremonies. Foreign militaries patterned after the British Army have also taken the Highland bagpipe into use, including but not restricted to Uganda, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Oman, effectively spreading official military use to Africa, Asia and the Middle East, respectively.

In more recent years, often driven by revivals of native folk music and dance, many types of bagpipes have resurged in popularity, and in many cases instruments that were on the brink of extinction have become extremely popular. In BrittanyBrittany

Brittany is a former independent kingdom and duchy, then province of France and, at the same time, one of the six Celtic Na...
, the concept of the pipe bandPipe band

A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers....
 was appropriated, the Great Highland Bagpipe was imported and the bagadBagad

A bagad is a Breton band, composed of bagpipes, bombardes and percussion....
 was created, a showcase ensemble for Breton folk musicMusic of Brittany

Brittany is a Celtic country rich in its cultural heritage....
. The pipe band idiom has also been adopted and applied to the SpanishSpanish bagpipes

Spain has a variety of regional piping styles; this page is an overview. ...
 gaitaGaita

Gaita may mean:*The Galician gaita, a kind of bagpipe used in Galicia and northwest León...
 as well.

Bagpipes have often been used in various films depicting moments from Scottish and Irish history. RiverdanceRiverdance

Riverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish step dancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while ...
 served to make the Uilleann pipesUilleann pipes

Uilleann pipes are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland....
 more commonly known. There have also been recent experimentation with various forms of rockRock music

Rock is a form of popular music from the late 20th century which typically features a vocal melody that is supported by acc...
 (usually progressive rockProgressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music which arose in the late 1960s, reached the peak of its popularity in the 1970s...
) and even heavy metalHeavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that emerged as a defined musical style in the 1970s, having its roots in hard rock ban...
 bands have used bagpipes as guest instruments on their albums, for example, Finnish 'symphonic metalSymphonic metal

Symphonic metal is a term used to describe metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that sound similar to ...
' band NightwishNightwish

band_name = * "Crimson Tide" by Hans Zimmer...
 used Uilleann pipesUilleann pipes

Uilleann pipes are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland....
 player Troy DonockleyTroy Donockley

Troy Donockley is an English player of uillean pipes. ...
 on several songs on their Dark Passion PlayDark Passion Play

Dark Passion Play is the sixth studio album by the symphonic power metal quintet Nightwish....
 album.

In the late 20th century, various models of electronic bagpipesElectronic bagpipes

The electronic bagpipes are an electronic instrument emulating the tone and/or playing style of the bagpipes....
 have been invented. The first custom-built MIDI bagpipes were developed by the Asturian piper José Ángel Hevia Velasco (generally known simply as HeviaHevia

Hevia, or Jos Ángel Hevia Velasco, is a Spanish bagpiper – specifically, an Asturian gaita piper, born in 1967 i...
).
Some models allow the player to select the sound of several different bagpipes as well as switch keys. As yet they are not widely used due to technical limitations, but they have found a useful niche as a practice instrument (particularly with headphones).

Terminology and grammar

In English-speaking regions, a bagpipe player is known as a "bagpiper" or "piper," and the surnameFamily name

A Family name, surname or last name, is the part of a person's name that indicates to what family he or she belongs....
 Piper derives from the latter term. Other European surnames, such as PfeifferPfeiffer

Pfeiffer is the surname of several notable people:...
 or Pfeifer (German), Gaiteiro (Portuguese-Galician), Gaiteru (Asturian), Gaitero (Spanish), Dudák or Gajdar (Czech), Dudás, Sipos, or Gajdos (Hungarian), Zampognaro (Italian), Cimpoieru (Romania), Tsambounieris (Greek), Gaidar (Bulgarian: ??????; derivated from ?????, Gayda - bagpipe), Gaidar (Russian), Duda, and Dudziak (Polish) may also signify that an ancestor was a player of the pipes.

Modern usage

Types of bagpipes

Dozens of types of bagpipes today are widely spread across Europe and the Middle East, as well as through much of the former British EmpireBritish Empire

The British Empire was the most extensive empire in world history and for a substantial time was not only a major power but ...
. The name bagpipe has almost become synonymous with its best-known form, the Great Highland BagpipeGreat Highland Bagpipe

The Great Highland Bagpipe is probably the best-known variety of bagpipe....
 related to the Irish war pipes, overshadowing the great number and variety of traditional forms of bagpipe. Despite the decline of these other types of pipes over the last few centuries, in recent years many of these pipes have seen a resurgence or even revival as traditional musicians have sought them out; for example, the Irish piping traditionUilleann pipes

Uilleann pipes are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland....
, which by the mid 20th century had declined to a handful of master players is today alive, well, and flourishing a situation similar to that of the Asturian gaita, the Galician gaitaGalician gaita

The gaita or gaita de fol is a traditional bagpipe used in Galicia, and northern Portugal....
, the Aragonese Gaita de boto, Northumbrian smallpipes, the BretonBreton

Breton can refer to:*Brittany, as an adjective for this historical province of France...
 BiniouBiniou

Binio means bagpipe in the Breton language....
, the Balkan GaidaGaida

The gaida is a bagpipe from South Eastern Europe....
, the Turkish TulumTulum (bagpipe)

The Tulum is a musical instrument, a form of bagpipe from Turkey....
, the Scottish smallpipesScottish smallpipes

The Scottish smallpipe is a bellows-blown bagpipe developed from the Northumbrian smallpipes by Colin Ross and others, to be...
 and Pastoral pipesPastoral pipes Summary

The pastoral pipe is the ancestor of the modern uilleann bagpipe....
, as well as other varieties.

Traditionally, one of the main purposes of the bagpipe in most traditions was to provide music for dancing. In most countries this has declined with the growth of professional dance bands, recordings, and the decline of traditional dance. In turn, this has led to many types of pipes developing a performance-led tradition, and indeed much modern music based on the dance music tradition played on bagpipes is no longer suitable for use as dance music.

Playership

There is no reliable way to estimate the number of bagpipe players in the world today. However, in there are hundreds of pipe bandPipe band

A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers....
s playing the Great Highland Pipes registered with pipe band associations world wide, mostly averaging ten or twelve pipers. There are many more pipers who do not play with bands. Estimates for the number of Great Highland Pipe players worldwide usually suggest a figure between ten and fifty thousand players worldwide. Numbers for other types of bagpipe are much smaller, but many have a substantial worldwide following, and there are many types of bagpipe who have full time makers, teachers, and professional players, supported by a large base of players.

Royal pipers

Since 1843, the British Sovereign has retained an official piper, bearing the title "Personal Piper to the Sovereign". Queen Victoria was the first monarch to have a piper, after hearing bagpipe music on a trip to Scotland in 1842. It has since been tradition that a serving soldier and experienced army Pipe Major is taken on secondment to Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch....
. The Piper is a member of the Royal Household whose principal duty is to play every weekday at 9am for about fifteen minutes under The Queen's window when she is in residence at Buckingham Palace, Windsor CastleFacts About Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle in England is the largest inhabited castle in the world and, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror...
, the Palace of Holyroodhouse or Balmoral CastleBalmoral Castle

Balmoral Castle is a large mansion situated in the area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland known as Royal Deeside....
.

He is responsible for the co-ordination of the twelve Army pipers who play around the table after State Banquets.

Usage in non-traditional music

Since the 1960s, bagpipes have also made appearances in other forms of musicList of nontraditional bagpipe usage

Bagpipes in non-traditional forms of music...
, including rock, jazz, hip-hop and classical music, for example with Paul McCartneyPaul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE is an English singer, instrumentalist and songwriter, who first came to prominence as a membe...
's "Mull of KintyreMull of Kintyre (song) Summary

"Mull of Kintyre" is a popular 1977 song by former Beatle Paul McCartney and his band Wings....
", AC/DCAC/DC

AC/DC is a hard rock band formed in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia in 1973 by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young....
's "It's A Long Way To The Top", KornKorn

Korn is a nu metal band from Bakersfield, California....
's "Shoots and LaddersShoots and Ladders

"Shoots and Ladders" is the second single by American nu-metal band Korn....
", and Peter Maxwell DaviesPeter Maxwell Davies

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE, is a British composer....
's composition Orkney Wedding, With SunriseFacts About Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise

Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise is a classical orchestral composition by the English composer Peter Maxwell Davies....
. The American musician Rufus HarleyRufus Harley

Rufus Harley, Jr. was an American jazz musician of mixed Cherokee and African ancestry, known primarily as the first jazz mu...
 was the first to use the bagpipes as a primary instrument in jazzJazz

Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in Af...
.

The future

Around the world, many piping traditions are undergoing strong revivals. Pipe band associations report continued growth and the number of commercial recordings of bagpipes continues to grow year on year. Performance styles continue to evolve and advances in pipemaking knowledge have created instruments capable of playing styles of music previously unheard-of.

Publications about the bagpipes

Periodicals

  • Chanter, published by The Bagpipes Society
  • Common Stock, Journal of the Lowland and Borders Pipers Society
  • produced independent of any association
  • (since 1948)
  • published by the EUSPBA.
  • Na Piobairi Uilleann publishes a magazine
  • The Northumbrian Pipers' Society publish a magazine
  • produced by
  • New Zealand Pipe band, published by RNZPBA.
  • not-for-profit online daily news and features from the Highland piping world. Published by GHB Communications.

Sexual Reference

The slang term "bagpiping" refers to axillary intercourseAxillary intercourse

Axillary intercourse is a sexual variant where the penis is inserted in the other person's armpit....
.

See also

  • Types of bagpipesTypes of bagpipes

    Europe...
  • List of All Ireland Pipe band championsList of All-Ireland Champions

    This page lists some of those who have won the senior championships at the Fleadh Cheoil since its founding in 1951 by Comhaltas C...
  • List of bagpipersList of bagpipers Overview

    List of bagpipers...
  • List of pipe makersList of pipe makers Overview

    Great Highland Bagpipe*MacCallum*Naill...
  • CanntaireachdCanntaireachd

    Canntaireachd is the ancient Scottish Highland method of noting classical pipe music or Ceòl Mòr by a combination of def...
  • PìobaireachdPiobaireachd

    A pibroch is an ancient type of music, native to the Scottish Highlands and performed exclusively on the Great Highland Bagp...
  • List of pipe bandsList of pipe bands

    A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers....
  • List of published bagpipe musicList of published bagpipe music

    This is a list of published bagpipe music. ...
  • List of nontraditional bagpipe usageList of nontraditional bagpipe usage

    Bagpipes in non-traditional forms of music...
  • List of bagpipe technology booksList of bagpipe technology books

    This is a list of published books about the bagpipes. ...
  • List of Composers who employed Pipe MusicFacts About List of Composers who employed Pipe Music

    List of composers who employed Pipe Music...
  • Glossary of bagpipe termsGlossary of bagpipe terms

    'The following Bagpipe terms are used when discussing the Bagpipe....
  • Associação Gaita-de-foleAssociação Gaita-de-fole

    The Associa??o Gaita-de-fole is a non-profit organization, founded officially in 1994 by enthusiasts of the Portuguese folk...
  • Irish war pipes
  • Electronic tunerElectronic tuner

    An Electronic tuner is a device used by musicians to tune instruments....
     Used to tune bagpipes

External links