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What is the bagpipe?
The bagpipe is a musical instrument with reed pipes that are moved by air pressure from an attached windbag. Bagpipes are considered reed instruments, because they bring their sound forward by passing air over thin pieces of reed. The music is played on one pipe, called the chanter, or two pipes called the double chanter, with each having finger holes. A mouth blowpipe inflates the air supply in the bag.
History of the bagpipe:
One of the first written accounts of the bagpipes is from the Greek writer, Dio Chrysostom, sometime in the year 100 AD. Historians believe this passage refers to Nero: "…he can play the aulos both with his mouth, and also with the armpit, a bag being thrown under it."
Today, we know that the Romans did indeed play the bagpipes. Early in the 6th century Procpius, a Greek historian, declared that the bagpipe was the mechanism of the Roman Infantry while the trumpet was used for the Cavalry. The bagpipe was first used among the medieval clan societies of the Highlands in Scotland. Later the British military used it for playing at assemblies and to motivate soldiers into battle.
The bagpipe's sound can be heard for up to 2 miles across land or sea. Usually the bags were made from the whole skin of a sheep or goat but some have been made from other small animals as well. Modern bags are cut from leather, rubber or some other man-made material. The ancient pipes were once made of splendid bone or ivory but today they are made of an attractive wood.
How to play the bagpipe:
A piper blows into the blowpipe to fill the bag; air goes into the bag by a one-way valve then out the drones and chanter, but it does not go back out the blowpipe. The piper then draws a breath, and squeezes the bag with his arm. By doing this he is keeping the air pressure constant on the four reeds. It is not an easy task to learn to play the bagpipe and it has been said that is quite complex. Numerous special techniques must be mastered and it takes seven years or longer to be given due consideration as an expert.
Types of bagpipes:
The Irish Uilleann Pipes - probably the most elegant bagpipe known today. It was developed in the 1700's in Ireland. The uilleann bagpipes are not blown by mouth; instead a bellows inflates them. This particular bagpipe must be played seated with one leg lowered.
The Mandoura bagpipe - is a mouth-blown bagpipe from Crete having a kidskin bag. The chanter is made of a double pipe and each pipe has five finger holes with a single reed.
The Northumbrian small-pipe - developed in the late 17th century is a bellows-blown bagpipe. It consists of a cylindrical double-reed chanter and four single-reed drones.
The Scottish Highland bagpipe - is the most popular bagpipe, developed sometime in the 1500s in the Highlands. It consists of a mouthpiece, a tartan-covered bag, and a conical double-reed chanter having seven holes in front with a thumbhole in the back.
The Zampogna bagpipe - comes from Italy and Sicily and is a mouth blown bagpipe. It consists of a blowpipe, a sheepskin bag, with two conical double-reed chanters and two double-reed drones.
Today, bagpipes are still used in certain sections of music and in movies and TV. Many police departments use the bagpipes and they are certainly used at funerals or social events, sometimes even weddings. The bagpipe is also used to announce the opening of a brand new Celtic giftshop.
Aye, the spirit of the bagpipe calls out to the Highlands. Yea, they have not forgotten. Today in many countries across the globe, the sacred sound of the pipe can still be heard.
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