Bagpipes

A piper playing the Great Highland Bagpipe.

Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones using enclosed reeds. The term is equally correct in the singular or plural, although pipers most commonly talk of "pipes" and "the bagpipe".

Overview

A bagpipe minimally consists of an air supply, a bag, and a chanter. Optionally, further chanters and/or drones can be added.

Air supply

The most common method of supplying air to the bag is by a blowpipe, or blowstick, into which the player blows. The blowpipe can be fitted with a non-return valve, or the player can close the tip of the blowpipe with their tongue while they breathe.

A more recent innovation, dating from the 16th or 17th centuries, is the use of a bellows to supply air. This has the advantage that the supplied air has not been heated and moistened by the player's breathing. Bagpipes using bellows can therefore use more refined and/or delicate reeds.

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

Bag

The bag is simply an airtight (or near airtight) reservoir which can hold air while the player breathes. This means that the player can play independently of the need to take breaths. It also has the advantage that the player can breathe more naturally, and so can play comfortably for long periods of time. Materials for the bag vary widely: most common are skins of local animals, for example, goat, sheep, cow, pig, and so on. In modern times, players have experimented with modern materials such as rubber, goretex, and other airtight fabrics.

When made of skin, the bag is usually saddle-stitched with an extra strip folded over the seam to prevent air leaking. Holes are cut in the bag to accommodate the stocks, the connectors which the various pipes are attached to the bag with. With more modern materials, the seam is usually stitched and then a strip of material glued in place to achieve the same purpose. These bags are often fitted with rubber collars to insert the stocks in, which can result in a better, tighter fit with less chance of damaging the bag while attaching the stocks.

Another innovation in bag design within the past 10 years is the addition of moisture control systems. Moisture from the piper's breath condenses on the pipes drones and reeds which can cause problems. Bags with zippers can be fitted with moisture control cartridge systems attached to the drone stocks which remove moisture as air passes through bentonite clay particles. Corrugated tube traps attached to blowstick stocks also aid in moisture control via condensation. These types of systems require bags with zippers.

Chanter

The chanter is the melody pipe, played by one or both hands. A chanter can be bored internally so that the inside walls are parallel for its full length, or it can be bored in the shape of a cone. Additionally, the reed can be a single or a double reed. Single-reeded chanters are parallel-bored; however, both conical- and parallel-bored chanters operate with double reeds, and double reeds are, by far, the more common.

The chanter is usually open-ended; thus, there is no easy way for the player to stop the pipe from sounding. This means that most bagpipes share a legato sound where there are no rests in the music. Primarily because of this inability to stop playing, embellishments (which vary between types of bagpipe) are used to break up notes and to create the illusion of dynamic effect. Because of their importance, these embellishments are often highly technical systems specific to each bagpipe which take much study to master.

A few bagpipes (the Northumbrian smallpipe, the Uilleann pipes) have closed ends or stop the end on the player's leg, so that when the player covers all the holes (known as closing the chanter) it becomes silent. This allows for staccato playing on these instruments, although even where the chanter can be silenced, complex embellishment systems often exist.

Although the majority of chanters are unkeyed, some make extensive use of keys to extend the range and/or the number of accidentals the chanter can play. It is possible to produce chanters with two bores and two holes for each note. The double chanters have a full loud sound comparable to the 'wet' sound produced by an accordion.

An unusual kind of chanter is the regulator of the Uilleann pipes. This chanter is in addition to the main melody chanter and plays a limited number of notes, operated by keys. It is fitted in the stock for the drones and is played with the wrist, allowing the player to produce a limited but effective chordal accompaniment.

A final variant of the chanter is the two-piped chanter (confusingly also usually called a double chanter). Two separate chanters are designed, to be played with different hands. Effectively, when they are played, one chanter is always providing a drone accompaniment to the other.

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 do exist. The drone is designed in two or more parts, with a sliding joint so that the pitch of the drone can be manipulated. Some drones have a tuning bead, 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 bead may also shut off the drone altogether. The drone produces a sound that is one octave below the tonic note on the chanter. If the instrument contains two drones, then the second drone is two octaves lower than the tonic note.

History

The bagpiper, by Hendrik ter Brugghen

There are hundreds of types of bagpipes, each with a unique design, sound, and repertoire. Each has its own history: here we present an overview. Other articles have more information on the history of different types of bagpipes.

Sources in piping history

Unfortunately, many of the secondary sources from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are misleading or verging on fantasy (organist Grattan Flood, and his "The Story of the Bagpipe", published in 1911, is particularly bad in this respect), but continue to be quoted and referenced to the present day. Primary source material must often also be assessed with care. For example, an oft-repeated claim is that the Great Highland Bagpipe was banned after the '45 Rising. This claim is untrue; there is no mention of the bagpipe in the Act of Proscription, and the entire myth seems to stem from the 1822 letterpress of Donald MacDonald's A Collection of the Ancient Martial Music of Caledonia, called Piobaireachd. Although Donald MacDonald produced the music for this volume, his English (as a native Gaelic speaker) was probably insufficient to render the florid prose in the introduction, purported to be his.

Ancient origins

Although the early history of the bagpipe is still unclear, it seems likely that the instrument was first developed in pre-Christian times. It seems likely it was developed from an instrument similar to a hornpipe or shawm and coexisted with them. Indeed in several different piping traditions today the bagpipe is played alongside a shawm-like instrument, in Brittany, Catalonia, and Istria. Where or when a bag was first attached to one of these instruments is likely to remain a mystery. However, although the Aramaic word sum·pon·yah´ (סומפניה), appearing in Daniel 3:5, 10, and 15, has been translated "dulcimer" (a stringed instrument) and "symphony", modern Bible translations generally render the expression as "bagpipe." Koehler and Baumgartner’s Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros gives the meaning "bagpipe" (Leiden 1958, p. 1103). The earliest secular reference to a bagpipe occurs around 400 BC, when Aristophones, the Athenian poet jibed that the pipers of Thebes (an enemy of Athens) blew pipes made of dogskin with chanters made of bone. Several hundred years later, Suetonius described the Roman Emperor Nero as a player of the tibia utricularius. Nero is reported to have said he would play them in public as a penance for not winning a poetry contest. The Romans may well have spread the pipes through the Roman Empire, but there is little evidence for this.

Spread and development

The Dark Ages have left us practically nothing regarding bagpipes or their position in societies. Prior to the 12th century, only a few Pictish and Irish stone carvings record the continued existence of bagpipes during this time.

When they were first introduced to the British Isles is debatable. Findings of statuettes of bagpipers in Roman era archeological digs in England could indicate a diffusion of the bag technology from that vector. Ireland has references going back at least to the Middle Ages, as well as the stone carvings previously mentioned which date back to the 8th century. An explosion of popularity seems to have occurred from around the 12th century; the tune used by Robert Burns for "Scots Wha Hae", "Hey Tutti Taiti", is traditionally said to have been the tune played as Robert the Bruce's troops marched to the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. During the 12th century, Europe underwent a flourishing of art and culture as her horizons were being expanded with the crusades. The bagpipes were no exception, and many of Europe's unique bagpipes began to develop around this time.

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 from set to set. It seems likely that bagpipe makers at that time would have mostly been primarily woodworkers with an incomplete grasp of the art of pipemaking.

The role of the bagpipe would have varied naturally from place to place, but in Bulgaria it was said, 'A wedding without a bagpipe is like a funeral', and in Britain they were a common adjunct to religious festivals. In Britain, pipers became part of the travelling minstrel class, acting as carriers of news, gossip and music around the country. In the Scottish Highlands, the pipers started to displace the harpers, the chief Celtic musicians since Roman times, round about the 16th century. In 1760, the first serious study of the Highland bagpipe and its music was attempted, in Joseph MacDonald's 'Compleat Theory'. Further south, we have a manuscript by a William Dixon from Northumberland. This contains music which fits a nine-note bagpipe identical to the modern Great Highland Bagpipe; however the music is quite different, consisting mostly of variation sets of common dance tunes. This MS is almost the only glimpse we have into traditional British bagpipe repertoire outside of the Highland tradition.

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

Recent history

With the growth of the British Empire, often spearheaded by Highland regiments of the British Army, the Great Highland Bagpipe was diffused world-wide. This surge in popularity, boosted by the huge numbers of pipers trained for the two World Wars in the 20th century, 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 gramaphone and radio.

In the modern era the use of bagpipes has become a common tradition for military funerals and memorials in the anglophone world, and they are often used at the funerals of high-ranking civilian public officials as well. Weddings, dances and parties are also venues for piping, in fact any social event, that can be given a lift by the addition of this unique instrumental music.

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 Brittany, the concept of the pipe band was adopted, the Great Highland Bagpipe was brought in and the bagad was created, a showcase ensemble for Breton folk music. The pipe band idion has also been adopted in Spain where various types of band are popular.

In English-speaking regions, a bagpipe player is known as a "bagpiper" or "piper," and the surname Piper derives from the latter term. Other European surnames, such as Pfeiffer (German), Gaitero (Spanish), Gajdar (Czech), Dudás (Hungarian), and Tsambounieris (Greek), may also signify that an ancestor was a player of the pipes.

Modern usage

Types of bagpipes

Main article: Types of bagpipes

Bagpipe band performing in a parade in the U.S.

thousands of types of bagpipes today are widely spread across Europe and the Middle East, as well as through much of the former British Empire. The name bagpipe has almost become synonymous with its best-known form, the Great Highland Bagpipe related to the Great Irish Warpipes, 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 tradition, which by the mid 20th century had declined to a handful of master players is today alive, well, and flourishing. A similar story can be told of Northumbrian, Breton, Bulgarian, and other bagpipes.

Any estimate of the number of pipers playing today can only be a wild guess. However, in the Great Highland Bagpipe world, there are hundreds of pipe bands 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 GHB 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.

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.

The future

Bagpipes today are probably as popular as they have ever been in history; one Scottish maker produces forty sets of pipes per week for sale worldwide, and while this is high, it is indicative of the state of the market. Pipe band associations report continued growth and the number of commercial recordings of bagpipes continues to grow year on year.

Bagpipes in non-traditional forms of music

Classical works featuring bagpipes

• Ur Og and Aji, for 4 bagpipes, bass clarinet & tabla by Canadian composer Michael O'Neill.
• An Orkney Wedding, With Sunrise (1984) by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
• Sinfonia Concertante for Six Solo Instruments and Orchestra by P.D.Q. Bach features bagpipes as one of the six instruments.

Bagpipes in jazz

• U.S. musician Rufus Harley (b. 1936) was the first jazz performer to use the Great Highland Bagpipes as his primary instrument.
• The American jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler (1936–1970) used great highland bagpipe on two albums: New Grass (1968) and Music is the Healing Force of the Universe (1969).

Bagpipes in rock

• The Animals, a British rock band from Newcastle upon Tyne, featured Great Highland Bagpipes on their 1968 anti-war song "Sky Pilot," released in the U.K. on The Twain Shall Meet album, and as a hit single 45rpm disc in the USA.
• Canadian Rock band The Mudmen has released 3 albums, consisting of 6 guys, and 2 of them, former worlds strongest men, and brothers, play the pipes.
• The hard rock band AC/DC first gained renown for the marriage of bagpipes and rock and roll with their 1975 song "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)"; the bagpipes were held in the video by band member Bon Scott, who in his youth had played bagpipes and drums in the Fremantle, Western Australia Scots Pipe Band. There were two other pipers recorded for the song.
• Although not as well known, bagpipes were used a year earlier in rock by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a Scottish group which featured the instrument in their 1974 single "Anthem."
• UK rock band Wizzard featured the bagpipes on their 1974 single "Are you ready to rock".
• Paul McCartney's song "Mull of Kintyre" (1977) with the band Wings, made strong use of bagpipes for a characteristically Scottish sound.
• Van Morrison on his album "Beautiful Vision" (1982) Sean Folsom played Irish Uilleann Pipes on the song "Celtic Ray", the song was later re-recorded with The Chieftains.
• The Scottish-Canadian punk rock band Real McKenzies (formed 1992) has featured bagpipes on all their albums, played by various pipers. Their most recent piper, Matt MacNasty, has been playing with the group since their 2003 album Oot & Aboot and also played on their 2005 album 10,000 Shots.
• The German band Corvus Corax uses bagpipes extensively, alongside various authentic medieval instruments.
• The nu-metal band KoЯn (formed 1993) often uses bagpipes in their songs (played by vocalist Jonathan Davis).
• Irish-American punk rock stalwarts Dropkick Murphys (formed 1995) also incorporate bagpipes into their sound.
• American punk rockers Flatfoot 56 use great highland pipes in many of their songs.

• The German heavy metal bands In Extremo uses bagpipes.
• The German hard rock/metal/folk bands Subway to Sally and Schandmaul use bagpipes.
• The German power metal band Blind Guardian used bagpipes in the song The Piper's Calling, from the album "Somewhere far Beyond".
• The German death metal band Suidakra used bagpipes on their album Command To Charge.
• The German Power Metal Band Grave Digger incorporate bagpipes in many of their songs.

• Ron Wilson and His Surfaris, The Drummer famous for Wipe Out recorded the song Louie-Louie with Sean Folsom on Scots GHB, also the song "Moonshine" with Sean on the Irish Uilleann Pipes. The album is called "Lost It In The Surf" Bennet House Records (1987).
• Dave Shaw plays pipes on The Men They Couldn't Hang's CD Waiting for Bonaparte.
• Peter Gabriel's "Come Talk to Me" features an opening passage played by bagpipes.
• The Irish-Punk Band Flogging Molly incorporates the Irish Uillean Pipes into some of their music.
• Worldbeat ensemble Afro Celt Sound System have a signature sound that highlights the Uilleann pipes in its fusion of traditional Celtic and African musical textures.
• The Scottish-Punk band Enter the Haggis frequently makes use of the Great Highland Bagpipe.
• Irish-rock band Black 47 incorporates the uilleann pipes with a horn section consisting of alto saxophone and trombone.
• The Australian folk/rock band Brother often pairs bagpipes with the didgeridoo in their songs.
• The often surreal band Forest for the Trees makes liberal use of the bagpipes.
• The Darkness used bagpipes in the song "Hazel Eyes".
• The Spanish Folk Metal Band Mägo de Oz uses bagpipes in many songs.
• Ryofu[1], a band from northeast England, use the Northumbrian smallpipes to play rock, nu-metal and heavy metal; this has caused some controversy amongst Northumbrian folk musicians [2]
• Though not actual bagpipes, the Scottish band Big Country would often use guitars that, by the use of electronics, were very similar sounding to bagpipes.
• Bad Haggis, featuring Eric Riggler, who it has been speculated is the most recorded bagpiper alive, utilising Highland and Uilleann bagpipes.
• British folk-rock songwriter and guitarist Richard Thompson has used Northumbrian smallpipes on two of his albums: 1988's Amnesia, on the track Pharoah, and 1994's Mirror Blue, on the track Beeswing. In both cases the piper is Alistair Anderson. Thompson's guitar playing is influenced by pipe music, and he has cited Billy Pigg as one of his influences.
• Dutch black metalers Black Nocturnal Darkness also incorporated bagpipes, specially in their early years. Also the folk metal of Magnor (a side project of Black Nocturnal Darkness) makes use of this instrument.
• The Battlefield Band, while playing mostly traditional Scottish music, has a tradition of ending their first set with one or another of Creedence Clearwater Revival's hit songs.
• The United States band Seven Nations incorporates Great Highland Bagpipes and shuttle pipes in its music.
• Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road" makes use of bagpipes in the intro.
• Australian band The Church featured bagpipes in a portion of their 1988 hit, Under the Milky Way. Their guitarist, Marty Willson-Piper, also featured bagpipes on the songs "Melody of the Rain" and "Forever" from his 1989 solo album Rhyme. The piper on the latter two tracks is identified as "Tusker the Busker".
• Ben Upton played bagpipe in the song "Beer In The Shower" by Toxic Narcotic, a hardcore punk band.

Bagpipes in other forms of music

• Originally a hymn, "Amazing Grace" is often thought of as a bagpipe tune since it is particularly powerful on the pipes and is commonly heard at funerals when the pipes are present. A well known example of this is Scotty playing it on his bagpipes at Spock's funeral in Star Trek II.
• The U.S. funk band Parliament used bagpipes on the track "Silent Boatman, from their 1970 debut Osmium.
• The late Canadian-born Scottish musician Martyn Bennett (1971-2005) played Great Highland Bagpipe and Scottish smallpipe in combination with hip-hop and electronic dance music on all of his albums.
• Bagpipes (played by Rufus Harley) are featured on the title track of the 1995 album Do You Want More?!!!??! by the U.S. hip hop group The Roots.
• Orchestra Macaroon - Breakfast In Balquhidder -Scottish Latin-American jazz folk-rock with the apposite "Warning: This product may contain traces of bagpipes".
• Part of Orbital's single, "Style", includes a remix with (probably synthesized) bagpipes called "Big Pipe Style". The original was played with a Stylophone.
• In the video game Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME, the song bag is composed of synthesized bagpipe sounds.

Bagpipe humour

Even among aficionados, it is recognized that bagpipes, bagpipers, and bagpipe music can all be legitimate sources of humour. A typical gentle-jab at the field is exemplified by the following jokes.

The music of the pipes is best appreciated when heard over a body of water.

The width of the Atlantic Ocean is usually considered to be sufficient.

Q. Why do bagpipers walk as they play?

A. They're trying to get away from the noise.

Q. What do you call 10 bagpipes under the ocean?

A. A start.

Q. What's the difference between a bagpiper and an onion?

A. No one cries when you cut up a bagpiper.

Q. Why do pipers march up and down?

A. It is harder to hit a moving target.

Q. How do you get two pipers to play in harmony?

A. Shoot one.

Q. What is the collective noun for a group of pipers?

A. A controversy.

Q. What's the difference between a bagpipe and a trampoline?

A. You take off your shoes before jumping on a trampoline.

Found on a bumpersticker: Bagpipes irritate only those that NEED irritating.

Another bumpersticker: Pipers do it with Amazing Grace.

See also

• Great Highland Bagpipe
• List of bagpipers
• List of pipe makers
• Types of bagpipes
• Canntaireachd
• World Wide List of Pipe Bands

External links

• The Universe of Bagpipes - 30 different examples of bagpipes from Sean Folsom's collection
• Bagpipe iconography - Paintings and images of the pipes.