I can hear higher up the frequencies than most people - with a corresponding deficit in the low notes, and until the advent of electronic instrument tuners I found it best to hear bagpipes and some reed instruments from a distance as the harmonics were painful, and an 'overblown' accordion could reduce me to hysterics.

On top of a tendency for the music of the pipes to make my blood fizz and make me want to find things and do things to them - it could have been dangerous!!

Recordings of pipes - and many other instruments, tend to filter out the higher sounds anyway, so they are far easier on my ears, but as youngsters can hear a wider range of frequencies they might hear discords which are outside the adult range of hearing.

However - properly tuned pipes are really sweet sounding, and I can actually get moderately close to them and enjoy the sound.

After decades of feeling that my head was about to explode whenever I heard bagpipes 'live', it is really great.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: