About the bagpipe

The bagpipes are an ancient instrument found in many cultures all over the world. The first form of this instrument can apparently be traced back to the Middle East. Bagpipes play only nine notes and have no volume control.

Bagpipe music is different from most standard western music that even trained musicians generally don't fully appreciate it. The bagpipe gets its name from its bag and pipes. The three big pipes are called drones - the largest is the bass drone and the smaller two are tenor drones. The pipe with the holes is the chanter and the shortest pipe is the blowpipe. All of the pipes are attached to the leather bag, which is enclosed within a decorative bag cover. Air from the bag flows through the chanter and the drones, that creates a sound as it passes through the reeds.