Bagpiping
The Great Highland Bagpipe or “War Pipe” as it is sometimes known, the kind of bagpipe that we teach, originates in Scotland, many countries all over the world have different kinds of bagpipes, each having multiple reeds and a bag air reservoir to get them all to play together. The bagpipe is a very old instrument and people from many races, cultures and religions play a version of this wonderful instrument and have brought their versions with them wherever they’ve moved. Bagpipes arrived in Canada in the early 1600’s when explorers, Scottish settlers and the British military brought bagpipes with them. Since that time, some of the best pipers and bands in the world have come from Canada, not Scotland. Bagpipes are heard at many Canadian government and public ceremonies and celebrations, funerals and family gatherings. It has become very much a Canadian tradition and an important part of Canadian culture.
bagpiping clip
CHANTER
The Pipe chanter is the part of the bagpipe upon which the player creates the melody. It consists of a number of finger-holes and, in a simpler form, looks similar to a Recorder. New players will first learn how to play on a Practice Chanter which has the same fingering technique as the Bagpipe Chanter. This typically takes about 7-8 months before a student is then ready to get a set of bagpipes. Students will then learn how to blow a bagpipe, building their lung capacity to maintain tone control while transferring the fingering learned on the Practice Chanter over to the Bagpipe Chanter.