History (Mystery) of Bagpipes
No one knows when or where the earliest bagpipes were introduced to the world’s unsuspecting ears. Suffice to say that their distinctive sound has been inspiring and entertaining audiences for a very long time. The earliest known image of a bagpipe dates to about 1,000 BCE — 3,000 years ago during the Bronze Age— carved by Hittites on rock slab in what is now Turkey. In their day, the Hittite Empire’s rich copper and tin resources for producing bronze made the Hittite’s a prominent world trade and military power that rivaled the Amorites, the Assyrians, and the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Since those ancient times many bagpipe variations have spawned worldwide. The Great Highland Bagpipe (GHB) of Scottish acclaim is likely the offspring of bagpipes first introduced into the British Isles by invading and occupying Romans. Indeed, Roman Emperor Nero is said to have played some type of bagpipe instrument.
In its most simple form, a bagpipe is a woodwind instrument with a single or double-bladed cane reed inserted into the end of a pipe “chanter” that has finger holes to transition between musical notes. The GHB pipe chanter has 9 finger holes tuned from a low G to a high A.
An inflated air bag is attached over the pipe chanter reed so that the musician produces an uninterrupted “legato” of sound.
Pipe + Bag = Bagpipe
Most varieties of bagpipes tie into the air bag some additional drone pipes that also contain reeds. The drones are adjustable in length so they can be tuned to resonate in harmony with the pipe chanter. The GHB has two tenor drones tuned to the pipe chanter’s low A note and one bass drone tuned to A one octave lower.