[Trombone-l] Bagpipes (was Bone guys that play other horns)

[Wayne Dyess]

Adrian.

I am REALLY sorry I started this bagpipe thread.

Slide-o-Mix anyone?
WD


On Apr 17, 2006, at 6:38 PM, ROBERT SLAVEN wrote:

> That makes sense.  Wikipedia's article 
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Highland_Bagpipe) says "This "A" 
> of the G[reat] H[ighland] B[agpipes] is actually slightly sharper than 
> B-flat, around 480 Hz, and within the realm of competitive pipe bands, 
> seems to get sharper each year."
>
> Unfortunately, part of why I love the trombone is because my lack of 
> fine motor control and finger dexterity means it's an instrument I can 
> actually play well.  On the chanter (never actually blew a full set of 
> pipes), I can't even throw a double D without risking the dislocation 
> of a digit....
>
> Robert
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Adrian Drover <slide at adios.co.uk>
> Date: Monday, April 17, 2006 4:31 pm
> Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Bagpipes (was Bone guys that play other 
> horns)
>
>>
>>
>>> From: Keith Marr
>>>
>>> The Highland bagpipe has three drones, the usual configuration
>> of which is
>>> two drones tuned to A (5th line of bass clef), and one to A
>> (first space
>>> bass clef). The chanter plays the "white keys" of the piano from
>> G (2nd
>>> line
>>> treble clef) up to A (1st ledger line above treble clef). It
>> follows that
>>> most bagpipe music is roughly in A major/minor/Aeolian mode. I
>> say roughly
>>> as the tuning isn't to an even tempered scale. The bagpipes have
>> their own
>>> unique scale. Hence the untuneful impression to sassenachs like
>> Adrian.
>>
>>
>> There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the tuning and
>> scale of the
>> pipes.  I once had to write an arrangement of "Auld Lang Syne" for
>> Pipes and
>> orchestra.  I was fortunate in that the solo piper was also a clarinet
>> player with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra so was able to give me the
>> complete lowdown.
>>
>> I was instructed to write the score in Eb.  He also told me that
>> the bagpipe
>> part is normally transposed down half a tone using the D major
>> scale.  The
>> diatonic scale has no half tone steps as the C# and F# are tuned a
>> quartertone flat (by Western standards) which provides the scale
>> with four
>> three-quarter tone steps.  Alternately the scale can be written
>> all on the
>> white notes which would mean C and F being a quarter tone sharp.
>>
>> A.
>>
>>
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