Scotland Bagpipes, Northern Meeting Solo Bagpipes - Wonderful!

For lovers of bagpipe music here is a treat!

The Northern Solo Bagpipe Meeting in Inverness...WOW!!

Now I know that not everyone loves the bagpipes, and I put the music here for certain people, the ones who do not run away with their fingers in their ears..as I'm sure I did when I first heard them! Yes, the pipes are an acquired taste. To some, they are nails on a chalkboard, but to others, the sound of angels..

No-one really knows exactly where the bagpipes originated although probably one of the earliest recorded images of the pipes was on a Hittite slab, dating from around 1000 BC. The Romans definitely had and played them. Roman statuettes have been found of bagpipe-playing figures. Also a coin from the time of the Roman Emperor Nero depicts a bagpipe.

Bagpipe music spread around the world with the Scots. Especially during the World Wars, no Highland Regiment would be without them, which also led to their being classified as a weapon of war, one of the few musical instruments to hold that dubious honour!

The Bagpipes mainly consist of a chanter and a drone and altogether is classified as a woodwind instrument. The chanter is mostly made of some hardwood such as rosewood or ebony, and the bag was often made of animal skins such as goats or sheep. Thankfully for the goats and sheep, modern bagpipes are more likely to use Gore-Tex.

The Great Highland Bagpipe is probably the best known type of bagpipe. The chanter, or the melody pipe, is often used for practice, without the bag, even by experienced pipers as it is quieter and easier to manipulate.

The bagpipes are played throughout the world, where Scots reside,(and even where they don't!) in places such as Canada, Australia, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, as well as India, Pakistan and Nepal.

The Piper, by Hendrik ter Brugghen

The Bagpipes, as well as being played at Military Gatherings, weddings, funerals and many other types of occasion where people gather socially, have also been incorporated into modern popular music. Paul McCartney who lived and owns property in Scotland, used bagpipe music to great effect in his song about the "Mull of Kintyre" which was heard around the world.

The bagpipes can be stirring or sad, inspiring or evocative, and a pibroch can never be heard by a Scot anywhere in the world without accompanying thoughts of home...

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