Re: bagpipes in 12th position HarpL Archives

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Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 11:54:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: Winslow Yerxa
Subject: Re: bagpipes in 12th position

Jimbeau writes:

>First of all, there are different types of bagpipes.
>The type used in marching bands are, I believe,
>called the highland pipes. The main feature of these
>harps are the 2 to 3 drone pipes. This provides the
>harmonic background against which the melody is
>played.

>The drones can be tuned, but once tuned to a certain
>chord, that's it. They can only play in that key.

Not quite. The drones are tuned to a single note and
its octave, not to a chord.

>There's no such thing as playing cross position with
highland pipes.

Decidedly not true. Certain tunes, due to the limited
range of the pipes, can only be played in alternate
positions. For instance, Amazing Grace. The chanter
(the melody pipe) on a highland bagpipe is tuned to a
scale that runs from G up nine notes to A - it's an A
mixolydian scale (like second position on a diatonic
harp). But Amazing Grace in A runs from E to E -
outside the range of the chanter. But if we play it in
D, it runs from A to A - that fits.

What about the drones against that? Well, the drones
sound the note A - which is the 5th of a D chord, and
the enxt strongest note in the D chord after D itself.
So it works very nicely - it's like twelfth position
on the pipes, with no need for bending or overblowing
- - hoot mon!

>Remeber that bagpipe and drum bands had a military
>origin. They piped troops on to the battlefield.
>Their wailing tone was supposed to inspire fear and
>dread in their enemies. Given the expansion of the
>British Empire in the 17th through 20th centuries,
>I'd say they achieved their purpose.

Again, not quite. They also inspire courage. Ever
watch the movie Gunga Din, where the murderous
disciples of Kali are holed up in a hilltop fort,
lying in wait to ambush the British? Before Gunga Din
can shimmy up the flagpole to warn them with a bugle,
the highland regiment is marching steadily across the
plain, pipes and drums skirling - it's very stirring.

Remember that the British did more than subjugate
their empire. They actually inspired their subjects to
believe in many British ideals, despite all the
brutality and blundering. Even now, there are
tartan-wearing native pipe bands in India and
Pakistan.

>There is another type of bagpipes (which I think is
>the lowland type) that doesn't use the drone.

There are hundreds of varieties all over Europe and
the middle east and perhaps elsewhere -the bagpipe or
musette or cornemuse or cabrette (along wth many other
names) is a very ancient instrument.

>The piper in The Chieftains plays this type of
>bagpipe. From his performances, it's very clear that
>this type of bagpipe is extremely adaptable to
>playing with other instruments. The lack of the drone
>also allows it to be played chromatically.

Again, not quite. There are smallpipes played in
Scotland and and the borderlands of northern England,
and there are the uillean pipes, an Irish variety
played by the Chieftains' Paddy Moloney (they *are an
Irish band). And yes, the chanter (the melody pipe)
does have a 2-octave chromatic range, but that has
nothing to do with lack of drones - the uillean pipes
have 3 drones AND three chord pipes - with the
chanter, a total of 7.

For more on Paddy Moloney and the uillean pipes,
visit:

http://www.escape.ca/~skinner/chieftains/paddy.html

Now, you can also get into the cabrette, the
sweet-sounding French pipes played in the mountains of
the Auvergne . . .

here's a faq site for those who want to know more
about bagpipes in general:

http://www-commeng.cso.uiuc.edu/~sandyv/pipes/faq.html

Winslow

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