The Bagpipes

The bagpipe is Scotlands national instrument. In Gaelic, the bagpipe is "piob-mhor" (the great pipe) is not, contrary to popular belief, an instrument which has its origins in and has diffused from Scotland. The bagpipe is an instrument of great antiquity which derives its origins from the Middle Eas. Over the centuries it traveled through and evolved in Europe alongside the diffusion of early civilization.

The "Oxford History of Music" makes mention of the first documented bagpipe being found on a Hittite slab at Eyuk. This sculptured bagpipe has been dated to 1,000 B.C. Biblical mention is made of the bagpipe in Genesis and in the third Chapter of Daniel where the "symphonia" in Nebuchadnezzar's band is believed to have been a bagpipe. These early pipes or "Pan" pipes, without the bag or reservoir, were probably the second musical instrument to evolve. Musical history dictates that pipers have to take a back seat to percussion instruments in this case. These early pipes used materials with a natural bore (hollow reeds, corn stalks, bamboos, etc.)

The type of bagpipes that most people are familiar with are called the Scottish Highland Bagpipes (see image right). These pipes have three drones that come out the top of the bag which produce a constant sound. They also have a single chanter with the nine notes of the pipe scale are played one as well as a bag made of sheep or elk skin which the piper presses with his arm when he wants to take a breath. This is what makes pipe music free from pauses.

The Highland Pipes, however, are only one of the over thirty different kinds of bagpipes that have appeared throughout the world over the centuries. The Spanish, French, Italians, Germans, Hungarians, Czechoslovakians, Tunisians, Indians, Greeks, and a myriad of other cultures have developed bagpipes of their own. These bagpipes have any number of drones, up to eight coming out the top, bottom, or side of the bag. Among the more famous bagpipes outside the British Isles are the Spanish Galicia which is like the Scottish bagpipe as far as the bag and air supply, but only have one drone. The French Musette which has keys on the chanter and a billow to keep the bag full. And the Zampongno from Italy which has two chanters.

The Scottish people have made the bagpipes one of the outstanding parts of their culture. In some many songs, stories, and poems, the Scots have celebrated their pipes, and unlike many other cultures they have kept the pipes alive as part of their musical tradition. But still, if you don't have a great Uncle Fergus from Ayr who played the Lowland pipes, you might have an Uncle Garcia from Madrid who played the Gaita.