A Rookie Mistake Ordering Another Kilt

[OC Richard]

I thought one set (Highland Pipes) was the same as another.

Yes and no, you can have two sets of Highland pipes, the instruments themselves the same, however one is set up for playing in a pipe band and the other is set up for doing Concert Pitch gigs.

In the old days Highland pipes were tuned around Concert B flat so your pipes could sound good to piping judges and also be in tune for playing with brass ensembles, pipe organs, etc.

But the pitch of the Highland pipes kept creeping higher and higher and now they're tuned a quartertone sharp of Concert B flat.

The new sharp pitch is ingrained with piping judges so serious competition pipe bands have to be tuned that way.

Here's the 2019 World Champions who, of course, are playing at the modern sharp pitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znTbK9F8ArM

Which means the pipes are too sharp to "play well with others".

So it behooves pipers who play in competition pipe bands, who also do gigs requiring being in tune to Concert Pitch, to maintain two sets of pipes, one dedicated to the sharp competition pitch and one dedicated to Concert Pitch.

Here are pipers set up to play at Concert Pitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1UvqC8CQbE

For several years now I bring both sets to every gig just to be sure!

The alternative, which I did for many years, is to maintain only one set of pipes, and constantly be switching that set back and forth, which can be a hassle.