Medieval bagpipes

**Nighthawk** · 11th January 10, 08:13 PM

So- I've been on the chanter for a while- a year and a half!- and my instructor has been bugging me to get my own darned set of pipes. I don't want a set of modern Great Highland; I want a more historical set, as I am in a living group that centers around the late Renaissance. I was looking at these- http://harp-bagpipe.com/miba.html Do any of you know anything about them? I don't want to buy a cheap Pakistani POS model set of pipes. Any help would be appreciated.

***EDIT*** I should point out here that I have been out of lessons for 3 months now, and haven't had a chance to talk to my instructor. The holidaze and all... Heck , I just got back from my first martial arts class in three weeks- and man, are my legs killing me. But I digress... I fully intend to talk to my teacher when I get back to my lessons- it's just going another month or so, so I thought I would start doing some research now.

**MacHummel** · 11th January 10, 08:23 PM

I have to say from the experience I have gained from my pipe teacher I wouls if I were you learn on a set of Highland pipes try picking up a set of Dunbars P1 or what I have a set of Dunbar P3's they are polypenco pipes made in St Catherines Ontario Canada, I love my set learned so mich about taking care of pipes, breathing etc, i have a set of Pakistani
bagpipes and with a alot of time and effort have not been able to tune them even using high end drone reeds and different chanters and chanter reeds, the just that great of a set to learn on, do yourself a favor save your pennies and get a reaaly good set of pipe whethter you want medieval pipes or highland pipes you might want to consider a set of small pipes they have similar sound and great to learn on try looking into Walsh small pipes I also have a set of these and they are wonderful .

**HarborSpringsPiper** · 11th January 10, 08:39 PM

First, I don't know anything about the medieval pipes you linked. My first question would be, is the chanter the same as a GHB, i.e - have the same fingerings?

I think I see where you are headed here and it sounds like a cool idea, however, I wonder if this is the best way to get there? If the chanter/fingerings are identical, this might work out okay. Perhaps somebody who knows these pipes would be a better one to answer this question!

I do wonder is these might be a different animal though, which takes this in another direction. You might well be able to adapt what you've learned on the GHB to these, but that could be adding an additional learning curve. If that's the case, I think you might be further ahead getting a basic set of GHB, even in Delrin and continuing to learn from your teacher and transition to the GHB. Once you can comfortably play on an actual bagpipe, you would actually have a leg up, being able to control breathing, bag pressure, etc. If the chanter is identical, your instructor might be inclined to work with you on these, but I know some wouldn't be willing to budge from the real thing.

Please let us know.

**beloitpiper** · 11th January 10, 08:49 PM

First of all, the site that you linked is crap. If you're serious about some real historical pipes, check out Julian Goodacre http://www.goodbagpipes.com/ but make sure you know what you're doing. Bear in mind, just because you can play one set of pipes, doesn't mean you can play them all!

**auld argonian** · 11th January 10, 08:54 PM

I have a slightly different set of "smallpipes" of similar manufacture and I'm still screwing around trying to get them playable...and these were acquired with the sole intention of having something to play around with: no ambitions or delusions that I'll ever play the GHb's. Nothing on them is straight.

Again, I'm not a piper but maybe some of the fellas who are could render an opinion on these:

http://www.hotpipes.com/kpipe.html

...which are a little bit more than the ones that you asked about but seem to be more "true" to the GHB.

Best

AA

**ohiopiper** · 11th January 10, 09:26 PM

I have a set of the kitchen pies, got them from Oliver at Universe of Bagpipes, in fact.

Due to the low pressure they operate at, using three PC reeds, they can be a little tricky if you've not got the blowing/squeezing thing down quite well. It's a game of percentages. Not much air means that a small fluctuation is a large percentage. This makes them hard to tune.

However, I had no trouble tuning mine, after a day or two of playing with them and finding the "sweet spot" for pressure. Once you do get them tuned, they are actually quite stable and are smal enough to leave intact (not take apart) for storage. This means only minor fiddling when you pick them back up the next day.

I notice you said you have no ambition of playing the GHB. Unless you have dedicated some effort to at least the rudiments of playing and tuning, you'll have a hard time with even these small pipes. Tuning relies on consistent pressure and knowing what you're tuning to.

**HarborSpringsPiper** · 11th January 10, 09:30 PM

Originally Posted by auld argonian

I have a slightly different set of "smallpipes" of similar manufacture and I'm still screwing around trying to get them playable...and these were acquired with the sole intention of having something to play around with: no ambitions or delusions that I'll ever play the GHb's. Nothing on them is straight.

Again, I'm not a piper but maybe some of the fellas who are could render an opinion on these:

http://www.hotpipes.com/kpipe.html

...which are a little bit more than the ones that you asked about but seem to be more "true" to the GHB.

Best

AA

I suppose it all gets down to what you're trying to achieve. These Kitchen pipes are probably the least expensive way I have seen to have a set of smallpipes and a decent practice chanter to boot. What they sound like, I don't know. FWIW, I echo the positive comment above about the Walsh shuttlepipes, as I have a set of those also.

If you want to play the GHB, then going the traditional route is the only way. If you want to add on a smallpipe, a mouthblown variety is an easy transiton from there. If you want to play smallpipes, jumping in with a bellows model is probably the way to go. I just don't know enough about those "medieval pipes" to know how that figures into this equation.

**ohiopiper** · 11th January 10, 10:16 PM

I gotta say that I'm with beloitpiper. Anyone trying to sell you a "bagpipe" for less than an approximate thousand dollars is either selling junk or giving you a really good deal. Really good deals are not the result of web searches for bagpipes. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but I'd hate for you to lose your money and also be stuck with something nearly impossible to play. Several good pipers have taken these e-bay contraptions and made them playable, but it usually costs as much as buying a decent stand of pipes from the outset.

For a good pipe under a grand, I know of two, Pipers Choice and Dunbar, and then their polypenco pipes. Not knocking poly, I have a set. But blackwood or other suitable woods are more expensive even than poly.

**auld argonian** · 12th January 10, 06:52 AM

I guess that I wasn't very clear about it...I didn't get those kitchen pipes from Hotpipes, I got a set of the "Far Eastern" smallpipes from ebay and was basically suggesting that Nighthawk would be disappointed by anything like that and should invest in something that would be more helpful to his goal of playing the GHB.

And I really didn't and don't have any plans to even try to play the GHB...I got those things as an experiment...and it was a "second chance" thing and cost me all of $25...and that was more than they were worth.

Best

AA

**wvpiper** · 12th January 10, 08:59 AM

Originally Posted by Nighthawk

So- I've been on the chanter for a while- a year and a half!- and my instructor has been bugging me to get my own darned set of pipes. I don't want a set of modern Great Highland; I want a more historical set,

I doubt those pipes are fingered the same as Highland pipes, and probably junk to boot. At the least, you've wasted 1.5 years learning highland pipes.

If you want historical accuracy, you could get a set of highland pipes, made to order, with historical touches. The painting of the piper to the laird of grant, dated 1714, shows the tenors in a common stock. You could also opt for 'bell' shaped drone tops, etc. The highland pipe was around late 16th century, it just wasn't standardized as it is today. So, you could find a maker, like Doug MacPherson, and have him make what you want to look like they came from the late Renaissance.
More likely to be seen throughout Europe during the late Renaissance, however, would be bellows blown pipes. Therefore, I would go for bellows blown Scottish smallpipes. The fingering is the same as the GHB, so you won't have to relearn anything, and it will remain somewhat historically accurate. Although the Scottish small pipe is modern, it is a representation of older bellows blown pipes.