Bagpipes: Instruments of the Gods
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
I am a bagpiper. Yes, I admit it. Pipes are my life, and I couldn't ask for more. There is nothing like standing before a crowd with a judge, and playing your absolute best, and getting to take that golden medal home with you.
Now there are those out there who hate the pipes. I would prefer to refer to it as ignorance rather than hate however. Most bagpipe-haters aren't exposed to true pipe music, and thus, cannot appreciate its true beauty. Allasdair Gillies, the world's best piper alive, once said, "When the pipes are played in tune, and played properly, there isn't a single instrument which can compare with its beauty." And that is the truth.
I won't go into the history of the pipes, because that has been done many times before. But instead, I shall endeavor to instruct the finer points of bagpipe music.
To begin there are two key types of pipe music, Cael Beigh (Light music), and Cael Mohr (Heavy music). Cael Beigh is the modern form of bagpiping and it is divided into several styles of playing.
These would include, Strathspeys which are cut then elongated on note patterns, Reels which are in cut-time (for you musicians), Hornpipes which are like reels only in 2/4 time and faster, jigs which are in any time divisble into triplet time, marches which are the standard street performance pieces, and slow airs which explain themselves.
The other form of bagpipe music is Cael Mohr, and this is the ancient form of bagpiping, dating back to 800 AD or earlier. Some of the first music ever written down, was Cael Mohr. Before sheet music, it was passed by mouth through a language called the Canteraidch (Canter-Rock). Cael Mohr is a music based upon interpretation, though there are usually set norms. There is no real time, and no real strict rythmns like in other music.
I've only skimmed the surface of music that has been created with only nine notes. A powerful and dramatic instrumen, the pipes are truly instruments of the Gds.
Now there are those out there who hate the pipes. I would prefer to refer to it as ignorance rather than hate however. Most bagpipe-haters aren't exposed to true pipe music, and thus, cannot appreciate its true beauty. Allasdair Gillies, the world's best piper alive, once said, "When the pipes are played in tune, and played properly, there isn't a single instrument which can compare with its beauty." And that is the truth.
I won't go into the history of the pipes, because that has been done many times before. But instead, I shall endeavor to instruct the finer points of bagpipe music.
To begin there are two key types of pipe music, Cael Beigh (Light music), and Cael Mohr (Heavy music). Cael Beigh is the modern form of bagpiping and it is divided into several styles of playing.
These would include, Strathspeys which are cut then elongated on note patterns, Reels which are in cut-time (for you musicians), Hornpipes which are like reels only in 2/4 time and faster, jigs which are in any time divisble into triplet time, marches which are the standard street performance pieces, and slow airs which explain themselves.
The other form of bagpipe music is Cael Mohr, and this is the ancient form of bagpiping, dating back to 800 AD or earlier. Some of the first music ever written down, was Cael Mohr. Before sheet music, it was passed by mouth through a language called the Canteraidch (Canter-Rock). Cael Mohr is a music based upon interpretation, though there are usually set norms. There is no real time, and no real strict rythmns like in other music.
I've only skimmed the surface of music that has been created with only nine notes. A powerful and dramatic instrumen, the pipes are truly instruments of the Gds.
