Peebles
EH45 8LQ
Scotland
High Quality Scottish Smallpipes, English and other bagpipes from one of Britain's most innovative makers
SCOTTISH HIGHLAND PIPES |
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My Highland Bagpipe is copied from surviving 18th century instruments
- a piob mhor of the 18th-century Gaelic tradition. Whereas a considerable
amount of bagpipe music from this period has survived or is currently
being researched and revived, very little research has been done on the
surviving sets of pipes from this period.
The pipe is based on detailed measurements I have taken from a wonderful set of drones and a chanter belonging to the Scottish National Museum and now housed in The Piping Centre, Glasgow. The exact date of the drones is not known, and though they have been referred to as 'The Waterloo Drones', they are certainly much older. They bear a striking similarity to the above well-known drawing in Joseph MacDonald's 'Compleat Theory of the Scots Highland Bagpipe' (c.1760). |
| They are certainly one of the oldest surviving sets of
drones, and are impressive, as they terminate in very large bell-ends shaped
like wine glasses. They are made of a light-coloured wood - possibly pear
or elder - with bone and horn mounts. At a glance, their shape and turning
style would appear to have more in common with the Galician gaita
than the modern Highland bagpipe.
The chanter is copied from one a similar age which was discovered on the Island of Mull. The original is damaged and unplayable, but like the drones shows signs of considerable use. Unlike many old chanters that have survived it appears never to have been modified. Some of the fingerholes are undercut, but this could have been done by the maker. I feel its importance lies in the likelihood that it satisfied generations of pipers, none of whom heard reason to modify its intonation. I am now working in conjunction with Barnaby Brown
to explore further these pipes. Barnaby had been researching 17th and 18th
century Scottish piping- particularly the Colin Campbell Canntaireachd
manuscript and was looking for a copy of a period set of pipes. In March
1999 he won first prize playing a set of my pipes in the seventh
annual Piobaireachd competition for the Archie Kenneth Quaich. (22
competitors. Judges Donald MacPherson and Andrew Wright). He played them
as part of the 1999 Edinburgh Festival Pibroch Concert which was recorded
and released by Greentrax Records (CDTRAX 5009).
We are currently working on a chanter based on the Mull chanter, but modifying its intonation so that its tuning is more acceptable to modern ears. Last autumn we measured the Black Chanter of Clan Chattan is great detail and I have already made my first copy of this. We will also be measuring and copying another 18th century chanter later this year and our ultimate aim is to be able to offer a small range of copies of early chanters. Meanwhile Barnaby is working to research and develop suitable reeds for the chanter and the drones. I have kept these copies as true to the originals as I possibly can. I make these pipes in Scottish woods- pear, thorn, almond, yew, plum. The mounts are in horn. The pipes come reeded up by Barnaby Brown with a spare set of reeds in a reed case. The pipes are supplied with a quality lined fibreglass carrying case. Please contact me if you need further information or visit Barnaby at pibroch.net. |
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| A comparison of the original drones with my copy, which is in whitethorn wood and horn. (In reality the original is much lighter than it appears in the photo). | Barnaby Brown playing a set of these pipes, with which he won the Archie Kenneth Quaich at the 1999 amateur piobaireachd competition, Royal Scottish Pipers' Society, Edinburgh. (Judges: Donald MacPherson & Andrew Wright). |