
HistoryĪlthough the familiar bagpipe of the parade band is the Scottish Great Highland bagpipe, bagpipes in many different forms are folk instruments in many cultures around the world. The range of a set of pipes is limited, so music must be arranged specifically for the bagpipe. To give the effect of detached notes, bagpipe music is written with grace notes that the piper plays rapidly. The sound that a bagpipe produces is continuous as the bag is constantly filled by the piper and rhythmically squeezed to feed air to the chanter and drones. The colors match those of the Scottish clan (family), military regiment, or other organization to which the piper belongs. Some bagpipes are heavily ornamented with sterling silver fittings, a velvet or tartan bag cover, and braided silk cords. In the stock where the mouthpiece is attached to the bag, a leather non-return valve keeps air from escaping back up the pipe. The five pipes join the bag at wooden sockets called stocks. When the piper needs to take a breath, squeezing on the bag provides the supplemental air supply to keep the bagpipe playing its continuous sound. The piper's lungs and diaphragm provide air and air pressure to make the reeds vibrate in the chanter and drones to produce one melody and three harmonies with one instrument.
#Bagpipe player formatting skin
The bag is made of animal skin and is held by the player between the side of the chest and arm. The piper puffs air by mouth into a blowpipe that fills the bag. They are called drones because they produce single notes only that are tuned to the chanter. Three other pipes, called drones, have bass and tenor pitches (with one bass and two tenor drones).

The melody pipe, or chanter, has finger holes that are played to produce the tune. The bagpipe is a wind instrument with a number of pipes and a bag.
