Old style Highland piping

**Katia** · 11th April 13, 07:49 PM

Nifty history. Can't wait to see the video (when I'm at a computer with functional sound).

**Nathan** · 12th April 13, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by yodofizzy

Sorry if this is a thread hijack!
You mentioned bagpipes being made out of lathe turned ash. In ghe summer, I have access to a lathe as well as large quantities of ash. Would it be possiblebfor me to make my own set of pipes? Not GHBs, but an older, quiter type of bagpipes, probably cornish doublepipes (I fell in love with these pipes after researching them when another member (though I forget who :P) posted about them)
I'm sure they wouldn't be perfect, but I would be thrilled if I could make something that I could get a noise out of and could relatively make the pitch lower by covering ip a hole or two. Is this possible?
Would this be possible?
Sorry for the "threadjack" and for the long post.
Thanks!

It's possible, but I don't know how to do it. You need a lot more than a lathe. That will help you turn the drones...You need to bore the drones make the bag, season the bag, make the reeds, the chanter, etc...

It would be quite a project...

**Nathan** · 12th April 13, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by yodofizzy

I, ve found instructions for the bag, and Cornish doublepipes don't use drones anyway, but two chanters. Rather than boring the chanters, I think I will use two pieces of wood each and use a router to hollow out a half circle, then glue them together and finish them as one piece. I can use the hole measurements from my practice chanter and I will also probably use practice chanter reeds.
Do you think this would work?
Thanks for the advice,

I guess you'd have to ask a bagpipe maker... I just like history and Celtic music...

**tulloch** · 12th April 13, 01:04 PM

I love the music of Cape Breton! Thanks for that.

**OC Richard** · 14th April 13, 06:00 AM

Barry Shears is an expert on the traditional Cape Breton piping, he's written a book on it I think. Here's a thread where he discusses the Cape Breton piping history

http://forums.bobdunsire.com/forums/.../t-113208.html

About the Cornish Doublepipes, some of the carvings show a single drone, some show no drones. No actual instruments exist so all our modern Cornish pipes are based on one or more of these carvings.

http://www.bagpipeworld.co.uk/countr.../altarnun.html

**Nathan** · 14th April 13, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by OC Richard

Barry Shears is an expert on the traditional Cape Breton piping, he's written a book on it I think. Here's a thread where he discusses the Cape Breton piping history

http://forums.bobdunsire.com/forums/.../t-113208.html

About the Cornish Doublepipes, some of the carvings show a single drone, some show no drones. No actual instruments exist so all our modern Cornish pipes are based on one or more of these carvings.

http://www.bagpipeworld.co.uk/countr.../altarnun.html

Barry is from my home town. Here's Barry talking about the style:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OyxIMSelY8

Here he is playing it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8xLPVzqAdw

**piperchris** · 20th April 13, 08:16 AM

Very interesting! Beautifully done! Thank you!

**Nathan** · 22nd April 13, 08:16 AM

I just read an interesting interview with Shears that was published in Cape Breton magazine where he goes into the dance (ceol beag) tradition as well as the pibroach (ceol mor) tradition in Cape Breton. Interestingly, a lot of pipers are decended from a certain MacIntyre who, prior to emmigrating, was the official piper of the Captain of Clanranald. I read it in a bound book, but found a copy of the article in which Shears provides considerable detail here:

http://capebretonsmagazine.com/modul...hp?itemid=3296