The Bagpipe

The Bagpipe

Anatomy...Work In Progress

Bass - Tenor  Drones - The heart of the bagpipe. Give out a background chord to accompany the melody played on the chanter. There are two tenor drones, tuned one octave below on the chanter, and one bass drone, tuned two octaves below on the chanter. The drones are made of hardwood, but now the makers made completely them of Polypenco Plastic.

Projecting Mounts - Projecting mounts help keep the turned wood of the drone from splitting. More over, they provide a decorative. It's the most dominant feature of the Highland Bagpipe. Projecting mounts are made of ivory, imitation ivory, nickel or wood.

Drone Cords - Braided rope attached to the drones to keep them together. Without drone cords, the drones would not stand up over the piper's shoulder. Drone cords are made of wool or silk.

Ring Caps - Ring caps have the same function as projecting mounts, keeping the wood of the drones from splitting at the ends. Ring caps also cover the top and create a resonance chamber at the most top  section of the drone. Ring caps are made as the Projecting Mounts.

Blowpipe - Allows the piper to blow air into the bag. Traditionally made of wood but now commonly made of plastic because of wood's propensity toward cracking with moisture.
Blowpipes are now available in various models and for different applications. Telescoping blowpipes are commonly used with young pipers.

Tuning Slides - Also referred to as the "tuning pins" - slide into and out of the top sections of the drones. As the drone tops are moved farther down the tuning slide, the note produced by the drone rises in pitch. Conversely, the pitch will be lowered by moving the drone top farther up the tuning slide.
Tuning slides are part of the wooden drones, but are commonly sheathed in nickel, stainless steel or engraved sterling silver for a decorative flair.

Stocks - Short wooden tubes that the drones, chanter and blowpipe are fitted into it.

Chanter Reed - Made with thick Spanish cane. No substitute has been found to match the tonal qualities of cane chanter reeds… yet. Chanter reeds are available in different styles and by different makers, each having it's own characteristics. Very few pipers make their own chanter reeds, as there are many good brands from which to choose.

Chanter - The heart of the bagpipe. The chanter is where the fingers are placed over holes to produce a melody. Also traditionally made of wood but now commonly made of Polypenco plastic.

Chanter Sole - Just used for the decoration

Bag Cover - Covers the pipe bag for a decorative effect and can be fitted with non-slip material for added control. Bag covers may be made from wool, velvet and commonly corduroy. Pipe bands usually have matching bag covers for a uniform look.

to be continued...