The bagpipes are a specific class of musical instruments. Bagpipes are essentially aerophones that make use of enclosed reeds that are fed from a constant stream of air that comes in the form of a bag. The greatest visibility internationally for these Bagpipes come from the Great Highland variety from Scotland and the Uilleann Pipes from Ireland, but there are Bagpipes that have been found historically all throughout Northern Africa, Europe, Caucasus and the Persian Gulf.

The term bagpipe or bagpipes is equally correct both in the singular and the plural sense of the word. Pipers is a term that is most commonly used to refer to pipe players rather than bagpipe players however.

A typical set of bagpipes will minimally consist of an air supply, a chanter, a bag and a drone in most cases. Most sets of bagpipes are also going to have additional drones and sometimes additional chanters as well in a variety of different combinations. These chanters and drones are traditionally held into their places using stocks, which are connectors that affix the various pipes to the bag, which is the air reservoir.

The Air Supply - The most common means of supplying air to the bag is simply to blow into a blowstick or a blowpipe. In some situations, the player will need to cover up the blowpipe's tip with his or her tongue while inhaling, but in the case of modern blowpipes, there is usually a non-return valve that is affixed in order to eliminate this particular need.

A further innovation, cooked up in the 16th or the 17th century, was the use of bellows to supply the air to the bag. In these pipes, which are often called coldpipes, the air is not moistened or heated by the breathing of the player, and what this means is that bagpipes that are bellows-driven are capable of using reeds that are much more refined or more delicate in nature. The most famous of these particular pipes are the Northumbrian smallpipes from Britain, the uilleann pipes from Ireland and the Musette de Cour, from France.

The Bag - The bag is a reservoir for air that is air tight and is capable of regulating the flow of the air while the player is breathing or pumping air into the reservoir. This allows the player to maintain a continuous sound for quite some time. There are a number of different materials that are used for these bags including the skins of native animals such as dogs, sheep, goats and cows. More modern bags are made using synthetic materials, including Gore-Tex for example.

The bagpipes instrument is a truly interesting instrument. While not on the top ten list of instruments to play, it is still quite worthwhile to learn more about this intriguing and historically important instrument.

Photo Credits: Random_fotos

Originally posted 2009-09-11 03:11:44. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Categories:

Acoustic Musical Instruments, Bagpipes, Instrument History

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aerophones, africa europe, air reservoir, bagpipe players, Bagpipes, bellows, blowpipe, blowpipes, caucasus, chanters, drone, drones, musette de cour, northern africa, northumbrian smallpipes, persian gulf, pipers, return valve, uilleann pipes, what this means