In these pipes, (sometimes called coldpipes) air is not heated or moistened by the player's breathing, so bellows-driven bagpipes can use more refined and/or delicate reeds. Īn innovation, dating from the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries, is the use of a bellows to supply air. The piper, thus, is only indirectly supplying air to the pipes. The air supply is provided to the bag which then supplies its air to the drones and chanter. In some pipes the player must cover the tip of the blowpipe with his tongue while inhaling, but modern blowpipes are usually fitted with a non-return valve, which eliminates this need. The most common method of supplying air to the bag is by blowing into a blowpipe, or blowstick. Further, they are branched with reedpipes, which all function via vibration of the reed.

The chanter is the melody pipe, and everything is attached to the bag, made either of synthetic materials or more traditional leather.īagpipes are classified as an aerophone, or an instrument needing air in order to make sound. These drones are held in place in stocks-connectors with which the various pipes are attached to the bag. Some bagpipes also have additional drones (and sometimes chanters) in various combinations, although the most common number is three: two tenors and a bass. 1) Chanter 2) Bag 3) Stock 4) Blowstick or blowpipe 5) Tenor drones 6) Bass drone 7) Tuning Slide 8) CordsĪ bagpipe minimally consists on an air supply, a bag, a chanter, and usually a drone. Annotated stand (set) of Great Highland Bagpipes.

Jazz bagpipe player