Bagpipes- folk wind reed musical instrument. It consists of a reservoir (a bag made of skin or animal bladder) into which an air injection tube is inserted, several bourdon tubes equipped with a single or double reed to extract sound, and a melodic tube with holes (the range of the bagpipe depends on the number of holes). The number of bourdon pipes can be from one to four.
Bourdon (French Bourdon, lit. - thick bass) - a continuous sound when playing 1-2 bass pipes An organ point is a sound sustained in the bass, against which other voices move freely. The tonic organ point contributes to sound stability. Bourdon tubes are tuned in fourth, fifth, sixth, octave in relation to the melodic tube.
The bagpipe is one of the oldest musical instruments. According to researchers, this is an instrument of ancient Asian origin. Bagpipes sounded in military bands ancient rome, in the instrumental ensembles of France (XVIII century), in the solemn processions of musicians in Scotland.
It was played and is still played in the villages of Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Since the 11th century, the bagpipe (“gaida”) has become widespread among the southern Slavs in Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Albania. It was used mainly to accompany dances.
IN different countries the instrument has various titles: "goat" - in Ukraine, "duda" - in Belarus, "bagpipe" - in Russia. The image of a bagpipe on the miniature "Playing of the Slavs of the Vyatichi" in the Radzivilov Chronicle (XV century) suggests that, along with snots and pipes, buffoons Kievan Rus used in their musical creativity and bagpipes.
"It is difficult to decide which musical instruments primarily existed among the Slavs. One can only guess that, first of all, they used wooden canes and also the horns of domestic animals. Therefore, we can probably assume that the fife and the horn were the very first instruments among the Slavs. Then came the pity, the horn and the flute; finally, bagpipes, whistle, balalaika, spoons and psaltery."(M. Zabylin. "The Russian people, their customs, rituals, superstitions and poetry"). The book gives the following description of the bagpipe:
« It represents a very peculiar instrument in character, resembling an harmonica or fur in shafts; here the air is encased in ramskin, to which three pipes and a tube are attached. The tube attached to the top is filled with air from two opposite sides, two different sizes of tubes are defined, through which the air, passing through, gives bass voices, and the third small tube has several holes on the side, which allows the player to play with his fingers. different voices and sounds».
Tool varieties
In addition to the skin of an animal, a bull bladder was used as a reservoir for air. The way to process it is as follows:
- the walls of the bovine bladder are washed in water;
- so that the bubble acquires a large volume when inflated, it is treated with wood ash sifted through a sieve;
- multiple treatment of the bladder walls is carried out with ash from both sides (external and internal) and washed again in water, while the walls of the bullish bladder become thinner and become soft and elastic;
- subsequent processing is carried out with crushed chalk, which removes fat and moisture. In this case, the bubble acquires viscosity;
- the dried bubble is inflated with air using a tube inserted into its opening.
Then, tubes are installed on the air tank (bubble): one for supplying air into the bag, one for playing (melodic), from one to four for bourdon and placed in a bag sewn from animal skin or fabric.
An oxygen cushion used in medicine can be used as a material. Enough big sizes(660 x 500 mm) and volume, elastic and durable rubber cushions are suitable for such work.
In bagpipes, as a rule, they used a playing pipe like a flute, only with a squeaker. In Russia, the playing pipe also has a bell (cow horn) to amplify the sound.
Air tank manufacturing
Cut one side of the oxygen cushion along its entire length so that a small strip remains for subsequent gluing. Holes for attaching melodic and bourdon pipes on the pillow are cut out in the following way: draw a circle into segments and cut from the center so that eight petals are obtained; apply a thin layer of glue on the segments and hold for 5-10 minutes, and then tightly attach to the base of the sleeve and tie it with a strong cord, the ends of which are also glued. The bourdon tube in relation to the air reservoir can be located on the side of the performer's arm, or on the shoulder, or at the bottom of the air bag. When fixing all the parts on the body of the bagpipe, the air bag itself is glued together in last turn, withstanding certain time under load. To check the tightness of the gluing, you need to close the hole for the bourdon tube with a cork and make a sound on the melodic tube. If an air leak is detected, re-glue the air outlets.
The main details of the bagpipe.
Final stage of work: place the pillow in a case made of animal skin or fabric, fasten the straps or ribbons that support the instrument on the performer's shoulder or neck, and install the tubes. A valve (thin kid or rubber) half-glued to the end side of the air injection tube helps to keep the air in the air reservoir (bag). The valve closes the return air outlet from the bag at the moment when the musician releases the air blowing tube from his mouth. The tubes are fastened with threads wound around the tubes.
The principle of extracting sound in a bagpipe is to vibrate the reed located on the mouthpiece, which in turn is inserted into the melodic and bourdon pipes. Inflating the bag, the musician squeezes it with both hands or one hand, presses it to the side of the body and vibrates the tongues in the tubes located in the body of the instrument. Periodic blowing of air into the bag maintains a constant air pressure. It is necessary for the oscillation of the reeds. When installing additional bourdon tubes, the air consumption increases, so the size of the instrument and its volume also increase.
When tuning the instrument, it is necessary to establish an overall balanced sound - bright and loud or quiet, soft, muffled. The bourdon (bass) tube when sounding should not overlap the sound power of the melodic one. To increase the sound, resonators are put on melodic playing and bourdon pipes. The tuning of the tubes is carried out in the same way as when setting up the pits by moving the tongue up - the sound is increased, and vice versa, down - the sound is lowered. In old times great attention paid to the external design of the instrument. Bagpipe pipes were made in various configurations and decorated with carvings, inlays, and paintings. The leather bag was sheathed with colorful fabrics and tied with fringe with tassels. Figures and heads of animals were cut out of wood, then fixed on the instrument. In Belarus and Ukraine, the bagpipe was decorated with a wooden goat's head. Hence, apparently, dialect name bagpipes - "goat", "goat".
Tube for supplying air to the instrument.
Bourdon tube. General view of the connection of tubes with a sleeve.
Tool setup
In a two-part bagpipe, in this case in G major, the melodic and bourdon pipes are tuned in unison. The melodic pipe has a scale from the salt of the 1st octave to the salt of the 2nd, and the bourdon pipe sounds below the salt of the small octave. In a bagpipe with three playing pipes - a melodic pipe from sol 1st, the second - re 1st, the third - small sol. The system of a bagpipe, which has four pipes, is the 1st - salt of the 1st octave, the 2nd - re of the 1st octave, the 3rd - small salt, 4th - large salt. The most common and most used bagpipe in musical creativity has two additional tubes. It is enough to have one body and several pipes tuned in different keys, and you can change the system of the bagpipe. See the dimensions of the tubes above - "Zhaleyka".
Bagpipe types:
Scottish highland bagpipe
Irish
Galician gaita
Bulgarian guide
Czech goat
Russian bagpipe
Lithuanian labanora duda, dudmaishis
French "musette"
Georgian "stviri" (gudastviri)
Estonian "torupill"
Adjarian bagpipe "chiboni"
Moldovan and Romanian bagpipe chimpoi
Shabr (shapar) - Chuvash bagpipes
Mari varieties - shuvyr, shuvyr, shubber
Technical extraction of sound
One of these three pipes with side holes (chanter) is used to play a melody, and the other two (bourdons) are bass pipes, which are tuned together in a clean fifth. Bourdon emphasizes the skeleton of the octave mode (modal scale), on the basis of which the melody is composed. The pitch of the bourdon pipes can be changed by means of the pistons in them.
Typology and differences
Some bagpipes are designed so that they are inflated not by the mouth, but by the bellows for pumping air, which is set in motion. right hand. These bagpipes include the Uilleann Bagpipe, an Irish bagpipe.
Russian bagpipe
The bagpipe was once a very popular folk instrument in Rus'. It was made from mutton or cowhide (hence the name) raw skin, on top there was a tube for pumping air, on the bottom - two bass pipes, creating a monotonous background, and a third small pipe with holes, with which they played the main melody. The bagpipe was ignored by the upper circles of society, since its melody was considered inharmonious, inexpressive and monotonous, it was usually considered a "low", folk instrument. Therefore, during the 19th century, the bagpipe was gradually replaced by more complex wind instruments such as accordion and button accordion.
Scottish bagpipe
Bagpipe playing
An old Scottish instrument. It is a tank made of sheep or goat skin, turned inside out (goose), to which three bourdon tubes (drones), one tube with eight game holes (chanter) and a special short tube for blowing air are attached (tied). It has a simplified air supply - through an inflating tube - provides freedom to the right hand.
When playing, the musician (piper) fills the tank with air and, pressing it with the elbow of his left hand, makes the bourdon and playing pipes sound, which in turn are equipped with special reeds (reeds), moreover, single canes are used in bourdon pipes, and double canes are used in the playing pipe, made from reeds.
Irish bagpipe
Cillian Vallely plays a "full set" of Irish bagpipes
see also
- Scottish music
- Irish music
Notes
Literature
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Links
- (Russian) (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Russian-language site-encyclopedia about bagpipes for beginners and masters (rus.) (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Encyclopedia of Bagpipes (Russian) (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- How to make a bagpipe, drawings (Russian) (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Moscow International Piper Festival "Russian Bagpipe Forum" (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Information portal "News of the bagpipes" (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Forum of pipers from Russia, the CIS and neighboring countries (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
Russian performers using bagpipes
- Moscow & District Pipe Band - Moscow and Oblast Piper Orchestra (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Evgeny Lapekin (Scottish bagpipe, Irish bagpipe)
- Mervent (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Moscow folk-rock band Tintal (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Puck & Piper (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Vagant Heritage - Heavy folk rock with bagpipes (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Music Radicum - Musica Radicum. medieval folk. They use Galician, French and Irish bagpipes. (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Reelroad Russian-Celtic music. (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- The site of a band from Novosibirsk that performs Celtic music. Among the instruments is a bagpipe played by Galina Belyaeva. (Russian) (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Dubrava - Ensemble of medieval music from Ryazan
- SKOLOT - Neo-folk rock band from Tambov (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- TeufelsTanz is a group performing medieval music new time
- ZMEY VOLYNYCH - Neofolk group, Moscow (Retrieved August 6, 2011)
- Alexander Anistratov - musician playing bagpipes in Scotland, Ireland and Spain, popularizer, music master
| Wind musical instruments | |
|---|---|
| Wooden | |
| Copper | |
| Keyboards | |
| Details | |
A bagpipe is a folk wind musical instrument made of several tubes embedded in a leather bag or bubble through which air is blown.
Bagpipes is a traditional musical wind instrument of many peoples of Europe and Asia.
The bagpipe represents air tank, which is usually made from calf or goat skin, taken off entirely, in the form of a waterskin, sewn up tightly and equipped with a tube on top for filling the fur with air, with one, two or three playing reed tubes attached below, which serve to create polyphony.
One of these three pipes with side holes (chanter) is used to play a melody, and the other two (bourdons) are bass pipes, which are tuned together in a clean fifth. Bourdon emphasizes the skeleton of the octave mode (modal scale), on the basis of which the melody is composed. The pitch of the bourdon pipes can be changed using the pistons they contain.
A bagpipe bag is most often made of leather, but bags made of synthetic materials are sometimes found.
Some bagpipes are designed in such a way that they are not inflated by the mouth, but by a bellows for pumping air, which is set in motion by the right hand. These bagpipes include, for example, the Uilleann Bagpipe, an Irish bagpipe.
Scottish bagpipes exist and have their own characteristics, as well as Irish, Italian and Spanish, French, Mordovian, Armenian, Chuvash, Belarusian ... The Lithuanians called the bagpipe "Labanora Duda", "Dudmaishis". In Georgia, the bagpipe was called Stviri or Gudastviri. She didn't have bourdon pipes. There were two melodic pipes. The Estonian bagpipe is called Torupill. Her bag was made of goat skin. The number of tubes is from three to five. 
Scottish bagpipe - English. Scotch bag-pipe - "Scottish pipe bag". This instrument was so popular that even angels were depicted playing the bagpipes. It is customary in Italy to play the piffaro ( Italian name this instrument) on the feast of the Nativity in front of the image of the Virgin Mary with the Child. Therefore, in the pictures Italian painters on the theme of "The Adoration of the Shepherds" one can also see the playing of these instruments.
The French bagpipe is called the musette. Her fur was made mainly from fabric.
The image of the bagpipe is present in the scenes of peasant holidays in the paintings of German, Dutch and Flemish artists XVI-XVII centuries (Fig. 636, 637). In Renaissance painting on secular subjects, the bagpipe has phallic symbolism. A similar, but somewhat softened, veiled meaning was acquired by the musette in the everyday life of the French court of the 17th-18th centuries. Characters in paintings in the genre of "Gallant festivities" (French "Fêtes galantes") of the era french styles Regencies and Rococo are played on the Musette.
Today, the bagpipe remains, perhaps, only in the national orchestras of Scotland and Ireland. The sound of the bagpipe is so loud and shrill that it is not recommended to play it for more than half an hour a day. :-)
Bagpipes in Rus'
The bagpipe was a very popular folk instrument in Rus'. It was made from mutton or cowhide (hence the name of this musical instrument) raw skin, on top there was a tube for pumping air, on the bottom - two bass pipes, creating a monotonous background, and a third small pipe with holes, with which they played the main melody.
Another version of the origin of the name. In the 9th-11th centuries, the Volhynian tribes were part of Kievan Rus. Due to the fact that the name of the tribe is very similar to the name of the instrument, some researchers conclude that the instrument got its name from the name of this Volyn tribe.
The bagpipes were ignored by the highest circles of the world: its melody was considered inharmonious, inexpressive and monotonous, it was usually considered a low and common folk instrument. Therefore, during the 19th century, the bagpipe was gradually replaced by more complex wind instruments such as accordion and button accordion.
How to play bagpipes
Through the valve tube, the bag is filled with air using a special device - bellows or simply by mouth. Then the valve closes, and the air cannot go back through this tube.
Pressing the bag with his hand, the musician forces the air out of it into bourbons - special tubes with tongues or canes. They oscillate and certain sounds are produced.
A bagpipe usually contains between one and four bourbons. They create the background music.
- a musical instrument consisting of two or three playing pipes and one for filling the fur with air, and also having an air reservoir, which is made from animal skin, mainly from calf or goat skin. A tube with side holes is used to play a melody, and the other two are used to reproduce polyphonic sound.
The history of the appearance of the bagpipe
The history of the bagpipe goes back into the mists of time, its prototype was known back in ancient india. This musical instrument has many varieties that are found in most countries of the world.
There is evidence that during the time of paganism in Rus', the Slavs widely used this instrument, it was especially popular among the military. The warriors of Rus' used this tool to enter a combat trance. From the Middle Ages to this day, the bagpipe occupies a worthy place among the popular instruments of England, Ireland, and Scotland.
Where was the bagpipe invented and by whom specifically, modern history unknown. To this day, scientific debates on this topic are ongoing.
In Ireland, the first information about bagpipes dates back to the 10th century. They have genuine confirmation, as stones with drawings were found on which people held an instrument that looked like a bagpipe. There are also later references.
According to one version, an instrument similar to a bagpipe was found 3 thousand years BC, at the excavation site ancient city Lv. 
IN literary works the ancient Greeks, for example, in the poems of Aristophanes dated 400 BC, also have references to the bagpipe.
In Rome, based on literary sources during the reign of Nero, there is evidence of the existence and use of bagpipes. On it, in those days, "all" ordinary people played, even the beggars could afford it. This instrument enjoyed wide popularity, and it can be said with full confidence that playing the bagpipes was a folk hobby. In support of this, there is a lot of evidence in the form of statuettes and various literary works of that time, which are stored in World Museums, for example, in Berlin.
Over time, references to the bagpipe gradually disappear from literature and sculpture, moving closer to the northern territories. That is, there is not only a movement of the instrument itself territorially, but also by class. In Rome itself, the bagpipe will be forgotten for several centuries, but then it will be revived again in the 9th century, which will be reflected in the literary works of that time.
There are several suggestions that the homeland of the bagpipe is Asia, 
from which it spread throughout the world. But this remains only an assumption, because there is no direct or indirect evidence for this.
Also, playing the bagpipe was a priority among the peoples of India and Africa, and in mass form among lower castes which is still relevant today.
In 14th-century Europe, many paintings and sculptures depict images that reflect real application bagpipes and her various options. And during wars, for example in England, the bagpipe was generally recognized as a type of weapon, as it served to raise the morale of the soldiers.
But there is still no clarity about how and where the bagpipe came from, as well as who created it. The information presented in the literature sources differs in many respects. But at the same time give us general ideas, relying on which, one can only speculate with a degree of skepticism about the origins of the creation of this tool and its inventors. After all, the bulk of literary sources contradict each other, since some sources say that the homeland of the bagpipe is Asia, while others say Europe. It becomes clear what to recreate historical information possible only with deep scientific research in this direction.
What does your imagination draw for you when you hear the sounds of bagpipes? Most often, we associate this instrument with a large man in a kilt, a great lover of adhesive tape, with an incomprehensible headdress. In general, with the classic Scot. It may come as a surprise to some that the bagpipe is not a Scottish instrument at all! Actually there is a large number of varieties of this instrument, although, undoubtedly, the most popular today is the Scottish bagpipe called the Great Highland Bagpipe.
It is believed that the history of the bagpipe originates in the East. Obviously, the wind instruments, the forerunners of the oboe or horn, were the prototype of this instrument. Many musicians in their works combine the sounds of bagpipes with these instruments. The first mention of the bagpipe dates back to 400 BC. V written works Aristophanes. However, there is no information about who exactly decided to add fur to wind instruments. The bagpipe significantly diversified the sound of melodies, since, unlike ordinary similar instruments, it is characterized by bourdon polyphony.
Bagpipes are made from cowhide, calf or goat skin. It is completely removed from the animal, sewn together in the form of a wineskin, to which a tube is attached to fill the furs with air. At the bottom, one or more tubes are attached, which create a peculiar sound.
Until now, there is no unequivocal opinion about when and how the bagpipe appeared in England. Some believe that the Romans brought it. The Scottish bagpipe is quite different from the English or Irish bagpipe. It is equipped with an additional blowpipe with eight playing holes, as well as a tube through which air is blown. Musician playing on Scottish bagpipe, blows into one tube, after which he presses on it with his elbow to move the air into another, making sounds. Interestingly, the Scots loved the bagpipe so much that it became a family instrument, and each family performed its own unique melodies and in a peculiar manner. By the color of the fabric with which it was trimmed, it was possible to determine its belonging to one or another owner.
In the XII-XIII centuries, at the height of crusades, the bagpipe became more and more famous and in European countries. In general, the geography of distribution of this tool is quite extensive. The bagpipe was an outdoor instrument, and only from the 17th century could its sound be heard indoors.
But in Rus', the bagpipe did not take root, no matter how folk instrument, not among higher strata society. Her sound was considered boring and inexpressive, with which, in fact, it is difficult to disagree. In the 19th century, the bagpipe was replaced by more complex instruments - the accordion and button accordion, which are still loved by the Russian people today.
Almost every country has its own variation of the bagpipe. different peoples modified the instrument in their own way, adding certain elements or making it from other materials. There is a version of the bagpipe in Italy, France, Belarus, Spain, Armenia, Ukraine, Mordovia and Chuvashia. In the latter, for example, a bladder of a cow or a bull was used for manufacturing, and the pipes were made of bones or metal.
But, probably, in no other country did the bagpipe have such a significant historical and cultural significance, as in Scotland, where it has become a symbol of unity and power. During the battles, the sounds of the instrument raised the morale of the Scots, which, by the way, subsequently served as the reason for its ban in the British Kingdom, however, only for a while.
Historically, the bagpipe has become an exclusively male instrument, because to play it, you need to have very strong and developed lungs. Pipers are highly respected in Scotland because they are national spirit. Even today, not a single holiday in Scotland can do without a bagpipe.
