Displaying Bagpipes

[Navy87Guy]

When my Dad passed away, I brought home his bagpipes. I'll never learn to play them (I don't have the manual dexterity or the patience to learn) but they were an important part of my childhood.

I wondered if anyone had any good examples of displaying pipes at home. I know I can Google and get a bunch of ideas, but I thought getting direct input from some like-minded rabble rousers would be better.

Thanks!!

[ThistleDown]

Mine just lie on the top of the upright grand piano -- gathering dust -- but I like them there

[Macman]

If you want to keep them out (i.e. not under glass) you might look into a guitar stand. That's what I use.

[EagleJCS]

A lot depends on how you want them to appear and how much wall space you have to cover.

As a piper, I'm not yet ready to hang my pipes up for display, but I have thought about how it could be done once I'm no longer able to play. When I was playing on a regular basis, I used a guitar stand like Macman to keep them handy. I added a little bit of foam insulation to the top and lay my bass drone across it, letting the tenor drones and bag hang free.

If you want to hang them so that they're fully open as if on a piper's shoulder, then I'd use some large screw hooks and some black thread/string or even Velcro cord ties snugly secured around each drone in several places. Hang the threads from the hooks. I'd try to distribute the weight of the pipes so that no one point or drone carries much weight. Some smaller cup hooks could be used for the drone cords or ribbon to help splay them out a bit. The bass drone would need to be more on a diagonal rather than straight up and down as it would actually be in a playing situation.

A simple shelf wide enough to lay them on would do if you just want them out to be seen.


Whatever you do, don't drive anything through the pipes or the bag!

[OC Richard]

McCallum has used attractive photos like this in adverts for their Duncan MacRae reproductions



and that's probably how I would display a family heirloom set.

With tartan background (if the pipes are dressed in solid colours) and the drones arranged like that. It's fairly standard to display pipes with the drones splayed out just like that, the same as they would look when being played.

In the photo above, the blowpipe and chanter are going across the drones, however I would probably have them going up alongside the drones, like this



If your pipes are dressed in tartan then a plain background would look best



Here's the famous piob-bhreac displayed on Skye, they have the blowpipe going up beside the drones but the chanter below, which is more how the pipes would look when being played. This is possibly the most "classic" way to display pipes.



Now, these sets are just laid out or propped up, but what I would probably do is cover a sufficiently-sized piece of wood with fabric (tartan, velvet, etc) then put it in a frame that could be hung on the wall like a painting.

Then the pipes would be attached in a way that didn't scratch the pipes, such as silky cords like are used to hold curtains, or as was suggested above velcro which would allow you to remove the pipes when you wanted.

[Navy87Guy]

McCallum has used attractive photos like this in adverts for their Duncan MacRae reproductions



and that's probably how I would display a family heirloom set.

With tartan background (if the pipes are dressed in solid colours) and the drones arranged like that. It's fairly standard to display pipes with the drones splayed out just like that, the same as they would look when being played.

In the photo above, the blowpipe and chanter are going across the drones, however I would probably have them going up alongside the drones, like this



If your pipes are dressed in tartan then a plain background would look best



Here's the famous piob-bhreac displayed on Skye, they have the blowpipe going up beside the drones but the chanter below, which is more how the pipes would look when being played. This is possibly the most "classic" way to display pipes.



Now, these sets are just laid out or propped up, but what I would probably do is cover a sufficiently-sized piece of wood with fabric (tartan, velvet, etc) then put it in a frame that could be hung on the wall like a painting.

Then the pipes would be attached in a way that didn't scratch the pipes, such as silky cords like are used to hold curtains, or as was suggested above velcro which would allow you to remove the pipes when you wanted.

Thanks for some great examples, Richard. I think I tend to like the last arrangement - blow pipe up and chanter beneath the bag. There is no cover on the bag currently, so I have some flexibility there and with the background. I guess I just need to get creative with some hangers that won't damage the drones or put too much weight on them. An interesting winter project, for sure!

[OC Richard]

Thanks for some great examples, Richard. I think I tend to like the last arrangement - blow pipe up and chanter beneath the bag. There is no cover on the bag currently, so I have some flexibility there and with the background.

You're welcome!

Do you have photos of your dad playing the pipes?

What I would probably do it try to dress the pipes the way they were dressed when he played them.

Be aware that the fashion of dressing pipes has changed over the years. From Victorian times up to the 1970s when I started playing tartan wool bag-covers with matching tartan wool fringe, and matching wool or silk cords, were standard.

In the 1980s plain velveteen covers became standard, usually with gold or silver metallic fringe. The cords often matched the velveteen colour, or were silver or gold to match the fringe.

Now in the 21st century the covers are usually corduroy with "gimp" trim rather than fringe. Those wouldn't have been around when your dad was playing unless he was playing recently.

BTW there's a recent fad for tweed bag covers and all sorts of novelty bag covers



If you're going to purchase a new bag cover I highly recommend Alasdair MacDonald in the UK http://www.bagpipecovers.com/

I think he makes the best bag covers available anywhere.

[Navy87Guy]

You're welcome!

Do you have photos of your dad playing the pipes?

What I would probably do it try to dress the pipes the way they were dressed when he played them.

Be aware that the fashion of dressing pipes has changed over the years. From Victorian times up to the 1970s when I started playing tartan wool bag-covers with matching tartan wool fringe, and matching wool or silk cords, were standard.

In the 1980s plain velveteen covers became standard, usually with gold or silver metallic fringe. The cords often matched the velveteen colour, or were silver or gold to match the fringe.

Now in the 21st century the covers are usually corduroy with "gimp" trim rather than fringe. Those wouldn't have been around when your dad was playing unless he was playing recently.

BTW there's a recent fad for tweed bag covers and all sorts of novelty bag covers



If you're going to purchase a new bag cover I highly recommend Alasdair MacDonald in the UK http://www.bagpipecovers.com/

I think he makes the best bag covers available anywhere.

Thanks again, Richard!

I think my Mom may have some photos of him playing. The only ones I have of him are from when he was a drummer (He played snare and tenor before switching over to the pipes).

I think I recall the bag cover being a Kelly green velveteen, but I’m not positive. The pipe band we played in (I played tenor and bass) has its own registered tartan, so that’s the only one I would consider - but I doubt it’s widely available so a plain bag cover is probably he way to go.