Some Piping History
Angus MacKay, Queen's Piper
The origins of the Bagpipes in Scotland is uncertain. Some say it was a Roman import. Others believe that the instrument came from Ireland as the result of colonization. Another theory is that they were developed there independently.
Historians can only speculate on the origins of the Scottish clans' piob mhor, or great Highland bagpipe, but the Highlanders were the ones to develop the instrument to its fullest extent and make it, both in peace and war, their national instrument.
In the Lowlands of Scotland, pipers occupied well-defined positions as town pipers, performers for weddings, feasts and fairs. There was no recorded "master piper" nor were there any pipe schools. Lowland pipers played songs and dance music, as was expected by their audience. Over the mountains and glens, however, Highland pipers were strongly influenced by their background of the Celtic legends and the wild nature of the Highlands. The Highland piper occupied a high and honoured position within the Clan system. To be a piper was sufficient and, if he could play well, nothing else would be asked of him.
As a musical instrument of war, the Great Pipes of the Highlands were without equal, according to historians. The shrill and penetrating notes worked well in the roar and din of battle and pipes could be heard at distances up to 10 miles. Because of the importance of the bagpipes to any Highland army, they were classified as an instrument of war by the Loyalist government during the Highland uprising in the 1700s. After the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745, kilts and bagpipes were outlawed, the pipes being classified as instruments of war.
The Great Highland bagpipe belongs to the Woodwind section. It is also further classified as a Double-Reed instrument. The Great Highland Bagpipe has four reeds. The Chanter is a double reed, there is one Base Drone (single reed) and two Tenor Drones (single reed).
Has the Bagpipe always had 3 Drones?
No there initially were only two drones, one Bass and one tenor
The third and last drone to be added to the highland bagpipe was the "bass" drone, so-called because it produced a pitch an octave below that of the other two "tenor" drones. It is impossible to say with certainty when the third drone first appeared. Different historians give the date as 1600, 1700, or 1800 [Collinson, 185]. The earliest known illustration of a three-drone highland bagpipe is from 1730 [Emerson, Plate 1], but there are fragments of a bagpipe generally believed to have belonged to Patrick Mor MacCrimmon (c. 1595 - c. 1670) that include the tops of three drones [Collinson, Plate 20a]. There is a reference to a "great pipe," the modern term for the three-drone bagpipe, in 1623 [Dalyell, 4], so we can be reasonably sure that if three-drone bagpipes did not exist before 1600 they were invented not much after.
For a long time two- and three-drone pipes coexisted. Two-drone pipes were banned from the major competitions in Scotland in 1821 [Collinson, 189], but continued on in some of the Irish regiments of the British army until 1968 [Rangers]
Historians can only speculate on the origins of the Scottish clans' piob mhor, or great Highland bagpipe, but the Highlanders were the ones to develop the instrument to its fullest extent and make it, both in peace and war, their national instrument.
In the Lowlands of Scotland, pipers occupied well-defined positions as town pipers, performers for weddings, feasts and fairs. There was no recorded "master piper" nor were there any pipe schools. Lowland pipers played songs and dance music, as was expected by their audience. Over the mountains and glens, however, Highland pipers were strongly influenced by their background of the Celtic legends and the wild nature of the Highlands. The Highland piper occupied a high and honoured position within the Clan system. To be a piper was sufficient and, if he could play well, nothing else would be asked of him.
As a musical instrument of war, the Great Pipes of the Highlands were without equal, according to historians. The shrill and penetrating notes worked well in the roar and din of battle and pipes could be heard at distances up to 10 miles. Because of the importance of the bagpipes to any Highland army, they were classified as an instrument of war by the Loyalist government during the Highland uprising in the 1700s. After the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745, kilts and bagpipes were outlawed, the pipes being classified as instruments of war.
The Great Highland bagpipe belongs to the Woodwind section. It is also further classified as a Double-Reed instrument. The Great Highland Bagpipe has four reeds. The Chanter is a double reed, there is one Base Drone (single reed) and two Tenor Drones (single reed).
Has the Bagpipe always had 3 Drones?
No there initially were only two drones, one Bass and one tenor
The third and last drone to be added to the highland bagpipe was the "bass" drone, so-called because it produced a pitch an octave below that of the other two "tenor" drones. It is impossible to say with certainty when the third drone first appeared. Different historians give the date as 1600, 1700, or 1800 [Collinson, 185]. The earliest known illustration of a three-drone highland bagpipe is from 1730 [Emerson, Plate 1], but there are fragments of a bagpipe generally believed to have belonged to Patrick Mor MacCrimmon (c. 1595 - c. 1670) that include the tops of three drones [Collinson, Plate 20a]. There is a reference to a "great pipe," the modern term for the three-drone bagpipe, in 1623 [Dalyell, 4], so we can be reasonably sure that if three-drone bagpipes did not exist before 1600 they were invented not much after.
For a long time two- and three-drone pipes coexisted. Two-drone pipes were banned from the major competitions in Scotland in 1821 [Collinson, 189], but continued on in some of the Irish regiments of the British army until 1968 [Rangers]