The bagpipe is a wind
instrument with a number of pipes and a bag. The melody pipe, or
chanter, has finger holes that are played to produce the tune. Three
other pipes, called drones, have bass and tenor pitches (with one
bass and two tenor drones). They are called drones because they
produce single notes only that are tuned to the chanter. The piper
puffs air by mouth into a blowpipe that fills the bag. The bag is
made of animal skin and is held by the player between the side of
the chest and arm. 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. 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 five pipes join the bag at wooden sockets called stocks.
In the stock where the mouthpiece is attached to the bag, a leather
non-return valve keeps air from escaping back up the pipe. Some
bagpipes are heavily ornamented with sterling silver fittings, a
velvet or tartan bag cover, and braided silk cords. The colors match
those of the Scottish clan (family), military regiment, or other
organization to which the piper belongs.
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. To give the effect of detached notes, bagpipe music is
written with grace notes that the piper plays rapidly. The range of
a set of pipes is limited, so music must be arranged specifically
for the bagpipe.
