Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a woodwind musical instrument (aerophone), classified as complex reed pipes.
It always consists of at least one reed pipe, connected to an air reservoir (in the form of a bag). The parts connecting the pipes, blowpipe or bellows for inflating with the air reservoir — their size, shape (straight or curved cylinder, inverted, truncated cone, cuboid, zoomorphic or anthropomorphic form), construction (one-piece, two-piece). The characteristic feature of bagpipes is the continuous and constant intensity sound of the chanter against a drone accompaniment. In the practice of playing this instrument, however, one may encounter various ways of varying the articulation.
History
The bagpipes are the oldest known instrument with a complex structure. They are at least two thousand years old. Their origin is not sufficiently explained. They may originate from India, but more likely come from western Asia, the Middle East (Sumer), from where the Greeks and Romans were said to have adopted them. The earliest irrefutable written source accounts of the bagpipes refer to Nero’s Rome (1st century A.D.), where the instrument was played not only during games or various theatrical performances, but probably also in the army. Roman legions, conquering Western Europe, were to contribute indirectly to the spread of bagpipes in this part of our continent.
We can distinguish folk, church, military and royal court trends in bagpiping practice. In the folk one, they accompanied the rituals of the calendar cycle (annual) and human life (family), they were used as accompaniment for dancing, played by traveling musicians, as well as shepherds. In the church trend, bagpipes were played in place of organs (especially in small churches that were not equipped with organs), including in bands playing in temples. In the military trend, the Scottish “Highland bagpipe” became famous, but also the Irish “war-pipe” or the Hungarian “duda” or Polish “siesieńki”. In Britain and India, the military tradition of bagpipes is still maintained today. In the royal court practice, the “musette” came to great prominence at the French royal court in the 17th and 18th centuries.