How to Put Bagpipes Together

The Highland bagpipes

The bagpipes are an ancient instrument that come not only from Scotland and Ireland, but were used in cultures ranging from Northern Africa to the Caucuses Mountains in Eastern Europe to ancient Persia. Most bagpipes consist of a chanter, which allows the piper to control the pitch; a drone, which provides a steady, single-pitch sound underneath the melody; a blowpipe, for filling the bag with air; and the bag itself. Learn how to put all of these parts together and assemble a Scottish Highland bagpipe.

Things You'll Need

• Bagpipes, including the bag, chanter, drones and blowpipe
• Drone reeds

Instructions

1. 

   Put the bag in the cover provided for it. The cover protects the bag from being punctured or otherwise damaged.

2. Insert the blow pipe into its hole by pushing it in firmly. This is the first small bit of tube on the rightmost end of the bag when you are holding the bag in playing position.

3. Assemble the drones by inserting the drone reeds into the drone stocks (the three wooden tubes standing up from the middle of the bag) so that the tuning slides point upwards. Cap the tuning slides by inserting the tops of the drones and snapping the caps into place.

4. 

   Insert the chanter into the chanter reed (the small tube at the bottom of the bag on the rightmost end when you are holding the bag in playing position) by gently pushing the chanter over the reed. Your pipes are now ready to tune and play.

Tips & Warnings

• Assemble your pipes carefully so as not to damage the reeds.

Resources

• About the history of bagpipes
• Bagpiper.com: find teachers and players in your area
• The Universe of Bagpipes: pipes from all over the world