More Bagpipes!

The WSJ asks if that's really what bagpipe bands need. "Is there such a thing as too many bagpipes? There’s a nagging suspicion, even among bagpipers, that the answer might be yes."

However, the real answer is, "No."

8 comments:

Unknown said...

There can never be too many bagpipes! I dream that one day the USMC will have its own pipes and drums.

E Hines said...

I'm glad the Scots like it. They can have my share. I make them this gift.

Eric Hines

Anonymous said...

One out-of-tune piper is one set of pipes too many. Based on my personal experience. Your experience may vary.

One set of pipes in a small church sanctuary might be too many for some.

LittleRed1

Grim said...

The Great Highland Bagpipe was not really meant to be played indoors. I've heard it done well, especially in large auditoriums, but that's not what the thing is for. :)

Unknown said...

First time I heard bagpipes was technically indoors - seeing the Black Watch in Houston at the Astrodome. Biggest kick in the pants I'd felt at that age (~10yrs old). To be fair though, the Astrodome was not a "typical" indoor venue.

Gringo said...

Scotland is not the only place where Celts and bagpipes mix. The north coast of Spain also combines Celts and bagpipes. Marcha do antigo reino da Galiza / March of the Kingdom of Galicia.

In northern Spain, the word for bagpipe is "gaita." At the same time, Gaita is a song form in Venezuela, especially in Zulia/Maracaibo. Here there are no bagpipes. It refers to a drum. Linguistic origins go back to the Goth language- for goat akin covering the drum.

Grim said...

Thank you, Gringo. That was interesting.

douglas said...

Interestingly bagpipes are pretty common throughout European and Caucasus cultures, historically anyway.

In Hungary, it's a more rustic bagpipe called the Duda. The way they play it such that it chirps as a fiddlers bow does is interesting.