Design Of The Bagpipes
Below is a breakdown and design of the standard bagpipe. Knowing each part and it's use will serve you well when it comes to maintenance and care for your bagpipes. The knowledge will help when you are shopping for bagpipe supplies and bagpipe accessories.
The bagpipe gets its name from...what else...the bag and its pipes! The three big pipes are called drones: [see above] 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 [see both above]. All of the pipes are attached to the leather bag, which is enclosed within a decorative bag cover [see both above].
And here is how the instrument works: The bag is filled through the blowpipe, which has a one-way valve to prevent leakage. Air from the bag flows through the chanter and the drones, creating sound as it passes through the reeds. Every few seconds the piper refills the bag through the blowpipe.
The melody is produced entirely by the chanter, which has a powerful double reed. The chanter can play nine notes, ranging from low G to high A. It plays in the mixolydian mode, a fancy term meaning that its scale is the same as a normal major scale with the seventh note flattened by a half step. The tonic (base note of the scale) is A. Be aware that A is just the name of the note. The instrument has grown sharper over the years so that the A on most modern chanters is in the area of a concert B-flat (sometimes even slightly sharper). People with perfect pitch just have to get over it. Even more confusingly, the C-sharp and F-sharp are always called C and F respectively. There's no ambiguity since the bagpipe doesn't play a C-natural or F-natural, so those who are pedantic about terminology will just have to get over that, too.
The three drones use single reeds to play constant notes, with the tenor drones both playing one octave above the bass drone. The tenor drone plays the low A of the chanter and the bass drone is an A an octave lower. The drone notes harmonize with the melody notes played on the chanter in a similar manner to pedal tones in organ music. Since the chanter uses just intonation, every note on the chanter is guaranteed to sound good against a properly-tuned set of drones. Incidentally, this is the reason that the bagpipe uses a scale with the seventh note of the scale flattened by half a step. If it were to use a standard A-major scale, the G would be a half-step away from the drones, which would create dissonance.
Various woods are used to build the bagpipes. Brazilian Rosewood, Boxwood, Cocus wood [up to 1920], Cocobolo from Mexico & Brazil and African Blackwood being the best.
And here is how the instrument works: The bag is filled through the blowpipe, which has a one-way valve to prevent leakage. Air from the bag flows through the chanter and the drones, creating sound as it passes through the reeds. Every few seconds the piper refills the bag through the blowpipe.
The melody is produced entirely by the chanter, which has a powerful double reed. The chanter can play nine notes, ranging from low G to high A. It plays in the mixolydian mode, a fancy term meaning that its scale is the same as a normal major scale with the seventh note flattened by a half step. The tonic (base note of the scale) is A. Be aware that A is just the name of the note. The instrument has grown sharper over the years so that the A on most modern chanters is in the area of a concert B-flat (sometimes even slightly sharper). People with perfect pitch just have to get over it. Even more confusingly, the C-sharp and F-sharp are always called C and F respectively. There's no ambiguity since the bagpipe doesn't play a C-natural or F-natural, so those who are pedantic about terminology will just have to get over that, too.
The three drones use single reeds to play constant notes, with the tenor drones both playing one octave above the bass drone. The tenor drone plays the low A of the chanter and the bass drone is an A an octave lower. The drone notes harmonize with the melody notes played on the chanter in a similar manner to pedal tones in organ music. Since the chanter uses just intonation, every note on the chanter is guaranteed to sound good against a properly-tuned set of drones. Incidentally, this is the reason that the bagpipe uses a scale with the seventh note of the scale flattened by half a step. If it were to use a standard A-major scale, the G would be a half-step away from the drones, which would create dissonance.
Various woods are used to build the bagpipes. Brazilian Rosewood, Boxwood, Cocus wood [up to 1920], Cocobolo from Mexico & Brazil and African Blackwood being the best.