Bagpipe FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Bagpipe.

This FAQ about Bagpipe was compiled and written by Denise McNickle denisem@southwind.net with numerous contributions by others.

0) Introduction. (rec.music.makers.bagpipe): The information in this FAQ is drawn from questions, answers ...

1.1) What is this news group? (rec.music.makers.bagpipe): The group rec.music.makers.bagpipe is for people with a shared interest ...

1.2) Are there any news group posting guidlines? (rec.music.makers.bagpipe): Not specifically. However, some common sense etiquette can be ...

1.3) Is there an archive of old messages and/or postings? (rec.music.makers.bagpipe): At the moment, an archive of bagpipe mailing list messages from 1992 ...

2.1) What is a Great Highland Bagpipe?: The Great Highland Bagpipe (GHB) is native to Scotland and is the ...

2.2) How hard is it to learn? (Great Highland Bagpipe): The GHB is a complex instrument, and the initial learning curve is ...

2.3) I want to learn to play the GHB; what do I do first? (Great Highland Bagpipe): The first thing you'll want to do is get a practice chanter, as you'll ...

2.4) Okay, I've got a practice chanter, now what? (Great Highland Bagpipe): You'll also want to find a teacher. There are several ways of doing this....

2.5) I live in the Aleutian islands and there are no GHB teachers here. What can I do? (Great Highland Bagpipe): Well, you can get one or more of the excellent printed tutorials ...

2.6) What will a set of Highland bagpipes cost me, and where do I find them?: The cost of a set of pipes will vary greatly depending on maker ...

2.7) I can play the practice chanter better if I finger the notes like I do on a tin whistle. That's O.K., isn't it? (Great Highland Bagpipe): Well, no. The practice chanter approximates the sound you get from ...

3.1) What is an Uilleann Pipe?: The Uilleann pipe (UP) is a type of bagpipe native to Ireland. The UP ...

3.2) I'd like to get started playing the Uilleann pipes...: ...I keep hearing ...

3.3) Where do I get Uilleann pipes, and how much will they cost me?: Uilleann pipes are less widely available than are Highland pipes, ...

3.4) What else should I look for when starting? (Uilleann (Union) Bagpipe): As with any instrument, a good teacher is invaluable. You may also wish ...

3.5) Do Uilleann pipes play a lot differently than Highland pipes?: Yes. The Uilleann pipes have a much wider range than do the Highland ...

4.1) What are Northumbrian pipes?: The Northumbrian small pipe (NSP) is a small, bellows-blown pipe ...

4.2) What is a Scottish Small Pipe?: The Scottish Small Pipe (SSP) is a bellows-blown instrument and a sort ...

4.3) What are "cauld wind" pipes?: The term Cauld Wind Pipes is generally used to refer to bellows-...

6.1) I'm looking for the music to tune X. What sort of tune books are available to pipers?: A partial list of available tune books might easily triple the length of ...

6.2) Is there any music notation software available for pipe music?: There are several software packages available for pipe music. Some ...

6.3) What is bagpipe.tex and how is it used?: Bagpipe TeX is a freely-available set of TeX macros developed by Walter ...

6.4) What is "abc" notation? (Bagpipe): abc notation is a relatively simple ASCII notation for tunes, and is ...

6.5) Are there any conversion/manipulation utilities available? (Bagpipe): Yes. Chris Walshaw's abc2mtex package is freely available and in ...

6.6) Are there any music-playing utilities for tunes written in these formats? (Bagpipe): Yes. Don Ward has written a program called playabc which plays abc-...

6.7) What is Bagpipe Music Writer, and how do I get it?: Bagpipe Music Writer is software for notation of bagpipe music. It runs ...

6.8) What is Lime, and how do I get it? (Bagpipe): Lime is music notation software for the Mac. It is reported to ...

7.1) I'm interested in books related to learning the Highland bagpipe. Which books are recommended?: The most recommended tutorial among list members is the College ...

7.2) Are there any books available for beginners learning to play the Uilleann pipes?: Yes, though they may be a bit harder to find. Highly recommended is H.J....

7.3) Are there any monthly or quarterly magazines of interest to pipers?: Yes indeed. Some of the most frequently-mentioned follow; addresses ...

7.4) What about general interest books on piping?: The following books have been mentioned often. Sources, if available, ...

8.1) What bagpipe-related pages are available on the World Wide Web (WWW)?: As you might already know, the number and content of Web sites increases ...

8.2) Where can I get Bagpipe TeX?: Before getting Bagpipe TeX you'll first need TeX and MusicTeX. TeX ...

8.3) How do I get James Stewart's index of tunes? (Bagpipe): By anonymous ftp from . The good people at St. Olaf use ...

8.4) What is the Ceolas archive? (Bagpipe): Quoted from Ceolas files:...

8.5) Can you save me some searching and point out items of piping interest in the Ceolas archive?: Well, O.K....

9.1) Electronic bagpipes? Are you kidding?: Not at all. Electronic pipes have been around for several years now....

9.2) Well, then, who makes them and what are they good for? (Electronic bagpipes): Two makes of electronic pipe have come up most often. The first is ...

9.3) What are plastic reeds, and how are they used? (Bagpipe): The most common use of plastic reeds occurs with the GHB practice chanter....

9.4) Are plastic drone reeds any good? (Bagpipe): As to Ross and Champion reeds, you won't find general agreement on ...

9.5) I've heard that artificial materials are used to make some bags. What are these bags, and are they better than hide or leather? (Bagpipe): The type of bag you're referring to is commonly called a Canmore bag....

10.1) Are there societies and/or associations for people with an interest in piping?: Yes indeed, quite a few. They are listed (with addresses) in the ...

10.2) I also have an interest in drumming. Anything out there?: Yes. There is a side drum mailing list out there as well. The ...

10.3) Is there an available list of piping competitions and/or Highland games?: A list of games in North America is available from the ...

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