How to choose a bagpipe?

The Wonderful World of ... Other Bagpipes. All the surly with none of the regs!
Post Reply
Sakarron
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:40 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8

How to choose a bagpipe?

Post by Sakarron »

Greetings.

You see, i'm from Venezuela, a south american country that's not the better place to find irish-celtic stuff.

I really want to buy a bagpipe, but i don't know sh*t about they, i mean, famous brands and things like that, and there's nobody in my country to ask about that.

I searched bagpipes in amazon and i only found this http://www.amazon.com/Bagpipe-Black-Ros ... ds=bagpipe


And i don't know if that's a bad generic bagpipe, or a good one, or anything, i don't want to buy something sh*t.
User avatar
Sirchronique
Posts: 1014
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 9:56 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I like whistles, flutes, lyres, cittern/mandolin/bouzouki family instruments, as well as heavy and nasty slap bass. Languages, linguistics, history (especially Migration Period and Bronze Age Europe), cuisine from various parts of Latin America, chili growing, bushcraft, and the works of JRR Tolkien also tickle my fancy.
Location: Southern Indiana

Re: How to choose a bagpipe?

Post by Sirchronique »

Sakarron wrote:Greetings.

You see, i'm from Venezuela, a south american country that's not the better place to find irish-celtic stuff.

I really want to buy a bagpipe, but i don't know sh*t about they, i mean, famous brands and things like that, and there's nobody in my country to ask about that.

I searched bagpipes in amazon and i only found this http://www.amazon.com/Bagpipe-Black-Ros ... ds=bagpipe


And i don't know if that's a bad generic bagpipe, or a good one, or anything, i don't want to buy something sh*t.

Best off not buying a very cheap one, especially on amazon. Buy from the maker. Do a search on the forums about Pakistani-made bagpipes, and you will see why it's best to avoid the type you linked to on amazon.

The thing that matters most in what type you choose is what kind of music you plan to play. If you play Irish music, you want uilleann pipes. If you like Scottish music, you want great highland bagpipe, border pipes, or Scottish smallpipes. if you play Galician music, you'd want Galician bagpipes, etc. etc. etc. It would be good to say what kind of music you plan on playing.

If Irish music is what you play, it's important to remember that many Irish tunes won't fit on a great highland bagpipe
User avatar
maki
Posts: 1441
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:56 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: L.A. California

Re: How to choose a bagpipe?

Post by maki »

If you want to play Irish start on a decent whistle.
Spend at least a year or two learning the music and researching pipes.
I like Jerry Freemans whistles which can be found on Ebay, about $35 plus shipping.
(Look at the Mellowdog or Bluebird in the key of D.)
Most pipers play whistles so its not lost time.
Pipes are not an instrument to jump into without knowledge or assistance.

Whatever you do stay far,far away from any instrument from Pakistan!
Pipes, flutes, anything out of that area must be considered suspect
and often simply very expensive fire wood.
If you absolutely must have an Irish Bagpipe, otherwise known as Uilleann Pipes,
get on David Dayes waiting list.
http://www.daye1.com/pennychanter.html
Keep in mind that UPs are a difficult instrument to learn and even more
difficult to set up and adjust the reed(s). If you go for it you will need help.
Don't rush this!
User avatar
Sirchronique
Posts: 1014
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 9:56 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I like whistles, flutes, lyres, cittern/mandolin/bouzouki family instruments, as well as heavy and nasty slap bass. Languages, linguistics, history (especially Migration Period and Bronze Age Europe), cuisine from various parts of Latin America, chili growing, bushcraft, and the works of JRR Tolkien also tickle my fancy.
Location: Southern Indiana

Re: How to choose a bagpipe?

Post by Sirchronique »

maki wrote:If you want to play Irish start on a decent whistle.
Spend at least a year or two learning the music and researching pipes.
I like Jerry Freemans whistles which can be found on Ebay, about $35 plus shipping.
(Look at the Mellowdog or Bluebird in the key of D.)
Most pipers play whistles so its not lost time.
Pipes are not an instrument to jump into without knowledge or assistance.

Whatever you do stay far,far away from any instrument from Pakistan!
Pipes, flutes, anything out of that area must be considered suspect
and often simply very expensive fire wood.
If you absolutely must have an Irish Bagpipe, otherwise known as Uilleann Pipes,
get on David Dayes waiting list.
http://www.daye1.com/pennychanter.html
Keep in mind that UPs are a difficult instrument to learn and even more
difficult to set up and adjust the reed(s). If you go for it you will need help.
Don't rush this!

Very good advice, especially if one is wanting to play uilleann pipes. Honestly it's a completely different skill and not a huge amount of what you learn on whistle is going to cross over to pipes, however, the more familiarity one has with the music , the better it will be when learning any instrument. It's also good for a piper to be able to play whistle, it's sure to come in handy at some point or another, and wouldn't be a waste of time. Also, the uilleann pipes are a very hard instrument to learn, and if one can't progress on whistle, I doubt they would on pipes , either.

I assume from the pipes linked by the OP that he is wanting to play scottish music, though. I know very little about scottish pipes, but I do know I've heard plenty of good things about the Walsh smallpipes. The volume might make them better for a beginner to learn on (or solely play despite what level they are), as the volume is more friendly. I'm sure experienced scottish pipers could give better info on that than me, as I don't play them.

Again, Maki makes a very good point. Becoming familiar with the music before buying pipes might be a good idea, unless bagpipes are the only instrument you have any desire to play. Good ones will rarely come up for cheap, and especially not as cheap as the ones on amazon.

There is another option, though. If you are wanting to play scottish pipes, you could invest in a "practice chanter". They are not a full bagpipe, they are only the chanter. They are much less expensive than a full set of pipes, and if I were in your position that's what I'd do. It would be a good way to learn the fingering and several aspects of the playing before moving on to an actual bagpipe, and give you a good head start while you save for a good set of pipes. Also, it would be a useful thing to have even after getting a real set of pipes.

If I were in your position, and I wanted to play scottish pipe music, I'd get a practice chanter and just learn on it while saving money for a good set of pipes. However, if you want to play irish traditional music, it would be a good idea to get a whistle first, learn some, and then get a set of uilleann pipes. This is what I did.

I believe galician pipe fingering is very similar to a whistle, also.


So, practice chanter if you want to play scottish pipe music, and/or whistle if you want to play Irish is a good choice, and just save up for a good instrument. A bad set of pipes might make noise, but all of the problems with it might make you discouraged and want to give up, not to mention waste money that could go towards a good set. I'm no pro piper, and I only play uilleann pipes, so it would be good to see what scottish pipers have to say on the matter, as they'd know more than I do! Best to be patient on the matter of buying an instrument, though. You can always save up for longer and get more pricey pipes at a later time. However, if you buy a pakistani set then you will lose your money, and probably won't be able to sell them to recover the money, either. That 100-200$ would make you need to wait that much longer for a set of good pipes.
User avatar
pancelticpiper
Posts: 5298
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:25 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Playing Scottish and Irish music in California for 45 years.
These days many discussions are migrating to Facebook but I prefer the online chat forum format.
Location: WV to the OC

Re: How to choose a bagpipe?

Post by pancelticpiper »

Since you posted your query in the "Non-Uilleann" forum, I will assume that you mean Scottish Highland pipes.

Here's a good basic article about identifying quality Highland pipes

http://www.bagpipejourney.com/articles/ ... ipes.shtml

Andrew has other articles there which will hopefully steer you away from horrible Pakistani-made pipes.

The most sure way is to go with a maker with a good reputation. I highly recommend Dunbar in Canada. Dunbar pipes are made the old-fashioned way, turned entirely by hand from quality African Blackwood by an experienced craftsman (Rick Pettigrew) who is also delightful to deal with. You'll get good service and a quick turnaround time.

http://www.dunbarbagpipes.com/

The most readily-available quality pipes are those by McCallum in Scotland. I hear they make around 40 sets of pipes a week! They are partly turned by CNC machine, partly by hand. But they play well: you'll see a large number of McCallum pipes being played in the Grade One circle at the World Pipe Band Championships, which speaks to the high level of sound and performance of McCallum pipes:

http://www.mccallumbagpipes.com/

There are dozens of small "boutique" makers in Scotland, but Dunbar and McCallum can serve as a sufficient introduction to the Highland pipe world for now.

The bagpipes on that Amazon listing are horrible worthless sh!te Pakistani pipes. Steer clear of any pipes not made by a legitimate well-known maker in the UK or North America. (Well, there are very good makers in France, of the Highland pipes used in the Breton Bagad bands, but that's another story.)
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
Sakarron
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 13, 2013 1:40 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8

Re: How to choose a bagpipe?

Post by Sakarron »

Thanks for the answers.

I've been playing tin whistle for a year.

The reason of why i posted in non uilleann piping section is because the bagpipe i found was not uilleann.

I do want to play irish music, but i find uilleann pipes so expensive, that i thought i could do well with a highland bagpipe.
McElmurry
Posts: 33
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2012 9:13 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Location: Carmichael, CA

Re: How to choose a bagpipe?

Post by McElmurry »

If you want to play indoors with other people then the great highland bagpipes are not what you are looking for.

You can play several years on a starter or half set of uilleann pipes or you could consider smaller pipes such as border pipes or similar.

I am no expert on the subject, hopefully someone will come along and provide more experienced advice.
User avatar
Sirchronique
Posts: 1014
Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2012 9:56 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I like whistles, flutes, lyres, cittern/mandolin/bouzouki family instruments, as well as heavy and nasty slap bass. Languages, linguistics, history (especially Migration Period and Bronze Age Europe), cuisine from various parts of Latin America, chili growing, bushcraft, and the works of JRR Tolkien also tickle my fancy.
Location: Southern Indiana

Re: How to choose a bagpipe?

Post by Sirchronique »

Sakarron wrote:Thanks for the answers.

I've been playing tin whistle for a year.

The reason of why i posted in non uilleann piping section is because the bagpipe i found was not uilleann.

I do want to play irish music, but i find uilleann pipes so expensive, that i thought i could do well with a highland bagpipe.

If Irish music is what you want to play, then you want uilleann pipes. Scottish pipes don't have the range needed to play most of the Irish tunes. The notes you will need are not there!
User avatar
pancelticpiper
Posts: 5298
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 7:25 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Playing Scottish and Irish music in California for 45 years.
These days many discussions are migrating to Facebook but I prefer the online chat forum format.
Location: WV to the OC

Re: How to choose a bagpipe?

Post by pancelticpiper »

It's odd, sometimes I'll get a call from somebody saying they want to start bagpipe lessons and I'll ask which type, Highland pipes or uilleann pipes?

Usually the people don't know the difference (even telling me "I don't care, either type is fine") so I end up making a little speech about it over the phone.

It dawned on me that the musical environment, the milieu, of each instrument is perhaps the most different thing about them, more different than the instruments themselves, more different than the musics themselves.

About the music, well, oftentimes the same music is played on both, though of course each instrument has music that can only be properly played upon it.

About the instrument, each has a chanter with seven holes which the same fingers move upon, each instrument has three drones, a bag, a blowpipe, reeds, and so forth.

But the typical environment or milieu is utterly different!

I explain the musical environment of the typical Highland piper: taking formal lessons, learning music from the page, beginning solo competitions at the Highland Games and working one's way up the solo ladder, joining a Pipe Band and doing the regimen of rehearsals, competitions, and shows.

Then I explain the musical environment of the typical uilleann piper: the struggle to obtain a working instrument, perhaps under the wing of an experienced player, perhaps not, attending tionoil, regularly attending your local session (held in a pub usually) and picking up their repertoire by ear, perhaps one day joining a Irish folk band.
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle
Post Reply