The
Northumbrian smallpipes (also known as the Northumbrian pipes) are bellows-blown
bagpipesBagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
from the
North EastNorth East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
of
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
In a survey of the bagpipes in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford University, the organologist
Anthony BainesAnthony Cuthbert Baines was an English organologist who produced a wide variety of works on the history of musical instruments, and was a founding member of the Galpin Society.-Partial bibliography:...
wrote:
It is perhaps the most civilized of the bagpipes, making no attempt to go farther than the traditional bagpipe music of melody over drone, but refining this music to the last degree.
The instrument consists of one
chanterThe chanter is the part of the bagpipe upon which the player creates the melody. It consists of a number of finger-holes, and in its simpler forms looks similar to a recorder...
(generally with
keysA key is a specific part of a musical instrument. The purpose and function of the part in question depends on the instrument.On instruments equipped with tuning machines, violins and guitars, for example, a key is part of a tuning machine. It is a worm gear with a key shaped end used to turn a cog,...
) and usually four
dronesIn music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
.
The cylindrically-bored chanter has a number of metal
keysA key is a specific part of a musical instrument. The purpose and function of the part in question depends on the instrument.On instruments equipped with tuning machines, violins and guitars, for example, a key is part of a tuning machine. It is a worm gear with a key shaped end used to turn a cog,...
, most commonly seven, but chanters with a range of over two
octavesIn music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
can be made which require seventeen or more keys, all played with either the right hand thumb or left little finger. There is no
overblowingOverblowing A technique used while playing a wind instrument which, primarily through manipulation of the supplied air , causes the sounded pitch to jump to a higher one...
employed to get this two octave range, the keys are therefore necessary along with the length of the chanter, for obtaining the two octaves.
The Northumbrian smallpipe's chanter having a completely closed end, combined with the unusually tight fingering style (each note is played by lifting only one finger or opening one key) means that traditional Northumbrian piping is
staccatoStaccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
in style. Because the bores are so narrow, (typically about 4.3 millimetres for the chanter), the sound is far quieter than most other bagpipes.
A detailed account of the construction of Northumbrian smallpipes
was published in 1967 by the Northumbrian Pipers' Society; it was very influential in promoting a revival of pipemaking from that time. This is now out of print, however. Another description, by Mike Nelson, is currently available at .
Early development
The earliest known description of such an instrument in Britain is in the Talbot manuscript from about 1695. The descriptions of bagpipes mentioned in this early source are reproduced in . One of these instruments was a bellows-blown 'Bagpipe, Scotch', with three drones, whose keyless chanter had a one-octave range from G to g, with each note being sounded by uncovering a single hole, as in the modern instrument. This seems to have been a closed-ended chanter, for the lowest note is sounded by uncovering the lowest finger-hole - there was no bell-note, sounding with all holes covered; further, Talbot did not give the bore of the chanter, suggesting that it could not easily be measured. The three drones were in unison with the lowest note, G, of the chanter, the D a fourth below it, and G, an octave below. It has been argued that such instruments were derived from mouth-blown German three-drone bagpipes. These instruments seem to have been well-established in Northumberland by the early 18th century; many of the tunes in the William Dixon manuscript are suitable for such simple chanters, and a painting of
Joseph Turnbull, Piper to the Duchess of NorthumberlandThe Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain that has been created several times. Since the third creation in 1766, the title has belonged to the House of Percy , which held the title of Earl of Northumberland from 1377....
, in Alnwick Castle, shows him with such a set.
Chanter
Although keyless chanters seem to have been common for much of the 18th century, the earliest evidence of the introduction of a keyed chanter is the illustration and fingering chart in John Peacock's tunebook, A Favorite Collection of Tunes with Variations Adapted for the Northumberland Small Pipes, Violin, or Flute, first published by William Wright, of Newcastle, in about 1800.
The first of these were probably made by
John DunnJohn Dunn was a noted pipemaker, or maker of bagpipes. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Dunn was a cabinet maker by profession, initially a junior partner with George Brummell . In the trade directories, he also appears in his own right as a turner and a plumb maker and turner . His address...
, and the design was subsequently developed further by
Robert ReidRobert Reid is widely acknowledged as the creator of the modern form of the Northumbrian Smallpipes. He lived and worked at first in Newcastle upon Tyne, but moved later to the nearby town of North Shields at the mouth of the Tyne, probably in 1802. North Shields was a busy port at this time...
and his son James.
In practice, beginning players find that the seven key chanter, with a range of D to b, is sufficient for playing most of the traditional piping repertoire. Such a chanter, made by
Robert ReidRobert Reid is widely acknowledged as the creator of the modern form of the Northumbrian Smallpipes. He lived and worked at first in Newcastle upon Tyne, but moved later to the nearby town of North Shields at the mouth of the Tyne, probably in 1802. North Shields was a busy port at this time...
, is shown below - the four views show respectively:
- from the front, the fingerholes (for G, A, B, c, d, e, f sharp),
- from the player's left, the keys (for low E and high a) operated by the left little finger,
- from the back, the thumbhole (for high g) and two keys operated by the right thumb (for low F sharp and for d sharp),
- from the right, the other keys operated by the right thumb (for low D, c sharp, and high b).
Chanters with more keys permit the playing of tunes with a wider range or with more chromatic notes, and allow access to much of the fiddle repertoire.
The chanter has a double reed, similar in construction to an oboe reed. This leads to a distinctive sound, rich in higher harmonics.
As the bore is cylindrical, the odd harmonics are greatly predominant.
Traditionally, the chanter has been pitched somewhere between F and F sharp, older instruments often being close to modern F sharp. Several modern makers prefer to produce pipes pitched at what Northumbrian pipers refer to as
F+F+ is a musical pitch approximately 20 cents sharp of modern concert F, and is primarily associated with the Northumbrian smallpipes.Similarly, composer Ben Johnston uses a "−" as an accidental to indicate a note is lowered 21.51 cents, or a "+" to indicate a note is raised 21.51 cents ....
, a
pitchPitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
where the nominal G sounds approximately twenty
centsThe cent is a logarithmic unit of measure used for musical intervals. Twelve-tone equal temperament divides the octave into 12 semitones of 100 cents each...
sharp of F natural. This nominal G, however, is always notated as G. Nowadays, chanters are available anywhere from D to G, F+ being the commonest for solo or ensemble piping, but G being the most popular for playing ensemble with other instruments. Pipes with a tonic of F# are used for solo performance by several pipers now, being brighter in tone than those in F+, without being 'squeaky'.
Drones
There are usually four drones on a set of Northumbrian pipes, mounted in parallel in a common stock. These are tunable, and three will usually be tuned to the tonic, dominant and octave tonic, the other one being shut off. Like the chanter, these have a narrow cylindrical bore. Unlike the chanter, though, the reeds have a single blade; they are either cut from a single tube of cane, or else a strip of cane in a metal body.
As well as a tuning slide for precise adjustment of tuning, each drone will usually possess one or two 'bead holes' allowing its pitch to be raised by a tone or two, therefore allowing the piper to play in different musical keys, but still generally using the tonic, dominant and octave tonic combination of drone harmony.
Sets with five or even six drones have been made since the 19th century (to allow ease of retuning); however these are not common and generally specifically commissioned.
Only three drones are usually sounded at once, tuned for instance to G, D and g if the tonic of the tune is G. Sets sometimes have thumb-operated drone switches, allowing players to change key without stopping playing. Occasionally, though rarely, other tunings have been used, for example
Tom CloughTom Clough , known as 'The Prince of Pipers', was an English player of the Northumbrian pipes, or Northumbrian smallpipes. He had studied the instrument with the noted piper Thomas Todd, and from his own father Henry Clough...
recommended G, c, g, suitable for tunes in C major, or D, A, d, a, for some tunes in D major.
Repertoire
The earliest bagpipe tunes from Northumberland are from William Dixon's manuscript from the 1730s . Some of these can be played on
Border pipesThe border pipes are a type of bagpipe related to the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe. It is perhaps confusable with the Scottish smallpipe, although it is a quite different and much older instrument...
or an open-ended smallpipe like the modern
Scottish smallpipesThe Scottish smallpipe, in its modern form, is a bellows-blown bagpipe developed by Colin Ross and others, to be playable according to the Great Highland Bagpipe fingering system. There are surviving examples of similar historical instruments such as the mouth-blown Montgomery smallpipes in E,...
, but about half the tunes have a single octave range and sound well on the single-octave simple keyless Northumbrian pipe chanter. These tunes are almost all extended variation sets on dance tunes in various rhythms - reels, jigs, compound triple-time tunes (now known as slip jigs), and triple-time hornpipes.
At the beginning of the 19th century the first collection specifically for Northumbrian smallpipes was published,
John PeacockJohn Peacock was one of the finest Northumbrian smallpipers of his age, and probably a fiddler also, and the last of the Newcastle Waits. He was born in Morpeth about 1756, and died in Newcastle, 'in distress'...
's
Favorite Collection. Peacock was the last of the Newcastle Waits (musical watchmen), and probably the first smallpiper to play a keyed chanter. The collection contains a mixture of simple dance tunes, and extended variation sets. The variation sets, such as
Cut and Dry Dolly are all for the single octave keyless chanter, but the dance tunes are often adaptations of fiddle tunes - many of these are Scottish, such as
Money Musk. A pupil of Peacock,
Robert BewickRobert Bewick was the son of the engraver Thomas Bewick. Thomas had wished to encourage the Northumbrian smallpipes, and to support the piper John Peacock; in his autobiographical Memoir, written in the 1820's, he wrote Some time before the American War broke out, there had been a lack of...
, the son of
Thomas BewickThomas Bewick was an English wood engraver and ornithologist.- Early life and apprenticeship :Bewick was born at Cherryburn House in the village of Mickley, in the parish of Ovingham, Northumberland, England, near Newcastle upon Tyne on 12 August 1753...
the engraver, left 5 manuscript notebooks of pipetunes; these, dated in the 1820s, are from the earliest decades in which keyed chanters were common, and they give a good early picture of the repertoire of a piper at this stage in the modern instrument's development. Roughly contemporary with this is Lionel Winship's manuscript, dated 1833, which has been made available in facsimile on FARNE; it contains copies of the Peacock tunes, together with Scottish, Irish, and ballroom dance tunes. Both these sources include tunes in E minor, showing the d sharp key was available by this date.
As keyed chanters became commoner, adaptations of fiddle music to be playable on smallpipes became more feasible, and common-time hornpipes such as those of the fiddler
James HillJames Hill was a British fiddler-composer and publican who lived in Newcastle and Gateshead for most or all of his short life. He is famous as the composer of many fine common-time hornpipes for fiddle, including The High Level Bridge, The Beeswing, The Hawk and The Omnibus...
became a more significant part of the repertoire.
The High Level is one. Many dance tunes in idioms similar to fiddle tunes have been composed by pipers specifically for their own instrument -
The Barrington Hornpipe, by
Thomas ToddThomas Todd was a noted player of the Northumbrian smallpipes.He was a miner, from Choppington, Northumberland, and taught the pipers Richard Mowat and Tom Clough to play....
, written in the late 19th century, is typical. Borrowing from other traditions and instruments has continued -
Billy PiggBilly Pigg was an English player of Northumbrian smallpipes. He was a Vice-President and an influential member of the Northumbrian Pipers Society from 1930 until his death.-Life and music:...
, for instance, adapted many tunes from the Scottish and Irish pipe and fiddle repertoires to smallpipes, as well as composing tunes in various styles for the instrument.
Although many pipers now play predominantly dance tunes and some slow airs nowadays, extended variation sets have continued to form an important part of the repertoire.
Tom CloughTom Clough , known as 'The Prince of Pipers', was an English player of the Northumbrian pipes, or Northumbrian smallpipes. He had studied the instrument with the noted piper Thomas Todd, and from his own father Henry Clough...
's manuscripts contain many of these, some being variants of those in Peacock's collection. Other variation sets were composed by him -
Nae Guid Luck Aboot the Hoose is one of these; it uses the extended range of a keyed chanter.
Playing style
The traditional style of playing on the instrument is to play each note slightly
staccatoStaccato is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation it signifies a note of shortened duration and separated from the note that may follow by silence...
. Each note is only sounded by lifting one finger or operating one key. The aim is to play each note as full length as possible, but still separate from the next - 'The notes should come out like peas'. The chanter is closed, and thus briefly silent, between any two notes, and an audible transient 'pop' at the beginning and end of a note.
For decoration, it is common to play short grace notes preceding a melody note. Some pipers allow themselves to play these open-fingered, and hence not staccato, and
Billy PiggBilly Pigg was an English player of Northumbrian smallpipes. He was a Vice-President and an influential member of the Northumbrian Pipers Society from 1930 until his death.-Life and music:...
was able to get great expressive effects in this way - 'You should be able to hear the bairns crying'. But 'choyting', that is the complex open-fingered gracing after the manner of Highland piping, is generally frowned on, and
Tom CloughTom Clough , known as 'The Prince of Pipers', was an English player of the Northumbrian pipes, or Northumbrian smallpipes. He had studied the instrument with the noted piper Thomas Todd, and from his own father Henry Clough...
made a point of avoiding open fingered ornament altogether, considering open-fingering 'a grievous error'. Several pipers play in highly close-fingered styles, Chris Ormston and
Adrian SchofieldAdrian Schofield is a player of the Northumbrian smallpipes, the traditional bagpipe of Northern England, and plays and teaches in Manchester. In 1988, Schofield joined with pipers Pauline Cato and Colin Ross in forming the band Border Spirit....
among them; even among those such as
Kathryn TickellKathryn Tickell is an English player of the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle. She has recorded over a dozen albums, and toured widely.-Life and career:...
who use open fingering for expression, the close-fingered technique is the basis of their playing.
Recordings
Notable Northumbrian pipers
Some outline biographies of these and other pipers may be found in the
Northumbrian Smallpipes Encyclopedia.
Past players
- James Allan
- John Peacock
John Peacock was one of the finest Northumbrian smallpipers of his age, and probably a fiddler also, and the last of the Newcastle Waits. He was born in Morpeth about 1756, and died in Newcastle, 'in distress'...
- Robert Bewick
Robert Bewick was the son of the engraver Thomas Bewick. Thomas had wished to encourage the Northumbrian smallpipes, and to support the piper John Peacock; in his autobiographical Memoir, written in the 1820's, he wrote Some time before the American War broke out, there had been a lack of...
- Thomas Todd
Thomas Todd was a noted player of the Northumbrian smallpipes.He was a miner, from Choppington, Northumberland, and taught the pipers Richard Mowat and Tom Clough to play....
- Henry Clough
Henry Clough , was a player of the Northumbrian pipes, or Northumbrian smallpipes. He was a miner, living in Newsham, in south-eastern Northumberland. He was the father of Tom Clough, 'The Prince of Pipers'. Several previous generations of the family had also been pipers, Henry's father, 'Old Tom'...
- Tom Clough
Tom Clough , known as 'The Prince of Pipers', was an English player of the Northumbrian pipes, or Northumbrian smallpipes. He had studied the instrument with the noted piper Thomas Todd, and from his own father Henry Clough...
- G.G. Armstrong
George Grey Armstrong, was a noted player, teacher and maker of the Northumbrian smallpipes. He lived in Hexham, Northumberland. He learned to play the instrument from the Clough family, and studied pipemaking with John E. Baty....
- Richard Mowat
Richard Mowat or Mowatt was a renowned and award-winning player of the Northumbrian smallpipes.-Biography:A miner, born in Backworth in 1865, Mowat won the Northumbrian Smallpipes Society's piping competitions for three successive years 1894-6, and was subsequently barred from competitions. That...
- Jack Armstrong
- George Atkinson
- Billy Pigg
Billy Pigg was an English player of Northumbrian smallpipes. He was a Vice-President and an influential member of the Northumbrian Pipers Society from 1930 until his death.-Life and music:...
- Forster Charlton
- Joe Hutton
Joe Hutton was born in Halton Lea Gate, near Haltwhistle in the west of Northumberland. Like his father, Jake, he was a shepherd, and a musician - he started on the fiddle, but took up the Northumbrian smallpipes after hearing P.J. Liddell and G.G. Armstrong playing at a concert in 1936. He...
- Tommy Breckons
Tommy Breckons lived all his life on the family farm at Bellingham, in central Northumberland. He was a noted player of the Northumbrian smallpipes.- Learning :...
Current players
- Richard Butler
- Pauline Cato
- Jim Hall
- Dick Hensold
Dick Hensold is an American folk musician based in the state of Minnesota. An active promoter of bagpipes, he plays Northumbrian smallpipes, Swedish pipes , Medieval great-pipes, reel pipes, Montgomery smallpipes, Great Highland bagpipes, recorder, seljefloyte, low whistle and string bass...
- Ian Lawther
- Andy May
- Chris Ormston
- Anthony Robb
- Colin Ross
- Inky Adrian (formerly known as Adrian Schofield http://www.thelegaldeedpollservice.org.uk/page53.htm)
- Kathryn Tickell
Kathryn Tickell is an English player of the Northumbrian smallpipes and fiddle. She has recorded over a dozen albums, and toured widely.-Life and career:...
- Andy Watchorn
External links