Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [bagpipes]

For questions on bagpipes, a reeded woodwind instrument that consists of a bag of air, a chanter with finger holes, and drones.

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How can I make my D gracenotes shorter and crisper?

On the Great Highland Bagpipes, the D gracenote can be difficult to play as short and crisp as the G gracenote, especially in contexts such as the tachem. Aside from just consciously trying to play them shorter, is there a good way/exercise to…
axelotl
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Do uilleann pipes have a “louder” lower D?

I’ve always loved the skirl of the uilleann pipes ever since I first heard it used in the James Horner’s Titanic OST as a kid. I don’t know much of anything about the instrument (or bagpipes generally) yet, but I have one particular…
Walter
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Is the bagpipe a transposing instrument?

Until this morning I was under the impression that the bagpipe is a D♭ transposing instrument, thus a written C would sound like a D♭, a written A would sound like a B♭, etc. Now I see (check the fourth and fifth paragraphs) that the A of a bagpipe…
Richard
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What kind of practice chanter do I need to start learning to play the Scottish small pipes

I would like to learn to play the Scottish small pipes. Before I invest in a set of pipes I would like to start out with a practice chanter. Can I use a practice chanter for the highland pipes or is there a different type of practice chanter that…
busyspin
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Why are bagpipes tuned using just intonation?

To my knowledge, the Great Highland Bagpipes are tuned using just intonation rather than equal tempered tuning. Why is this? What is the advantage of just intonation?
axelotl
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Why is the range of the great highland bagpipe so limited?

The Great Highland Bagpipe has a range of only one octave + one note. Why is the range so limited, and would there be a way to increase it?
axelotl
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Why do bagpipes drones use single reeds?

At least in the Great Highland Bagpipes, the drones use single reeds while the chanter uses double reeds. What is the reason for this, and would the bagpipes still work if the chanter had single reeds and/or the drones had double reeds?
axelotl
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What is the difference between Uilleann pipes and Great Highland Pipes?

Uilleann pipes being the less famous Irish cousins of the Great Highland Pipes, what exactly is the difference between the two? This question is a variant of this question.
Neil Meyer
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How do you bend notes on the bagpipes?

Here's a video I was pretty impressed with: (Loving the Red Hot Chilli Pipers) At about the 1 minute mark we hear a bagpiper bend a note upwards by a tone, imitating a riff on the guitar pretty closely. I just can't figure out how he did it? How…
AJFaraday
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How can you imitate a bagpipe sound with a guitar?

Imitating a violin sound is already known. How can I get a violin sound from my electric guitar? Also surprising is how the sound of a Bagpipe ( and other instruments) can be imitated on the Guitar. How does it work?
Albrecht Hügli
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How can I tune a bagpipe practice chanter?

I find that the high G is sometimes as much as a semitone sharp. One solution would be to try to use less air pressure when playing the note, but that's tricky. Currently I am using electrical tape to partially cover the G hole, but that has the…
axelotl
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Changing the key of a practice chanter

There are tunable practice chanters for sale that some say can be retuned from the key of A to C. Would love to hear from anybody who has tried / done this to learn what's involved.
Caomhainn
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How can I start playing bagpipe?

I am going to start bagpipe (either Galician, Scotish or Ireland one), but I have not clue what is the best beginning to play it. Any tips for this instrument, in terms of music technique, please? Thanks in advance! :)
user71695