What are /r/bagpipes' favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

According to worldcat:

1. MSR - Arthur Bignold of Lochrosque/Lady Louden/Lt Col DJS Murray

2. 6/8 Marches: Ian MacFadyen/Ullapool Bi-Centenary March

3. Gaelic Air & Hornpipe: Farewell to Viewfield/Flora Cameron

4. Jigs: P/M Joe Wilson/I Laid a Herring in Saut

5. 9/8 Marches: Alisa Wilkie/Dreaming of Islay

6. Piobaireachd: Corrienessan's Salute

7. 6/8 March & Jig: Mary McPherson of Kyle/Neil MacEachren

8. 2/4 Marches: John MacMillan of Barra/Dr E.G. MacKinnon

9. Gaelic Air & Hornpipes: The Piper's Prayer/PM Donald MacLeod/The Train Journey North

10. 6/8 Marches: Tugargan Gap/PM Sam Scott

11. Strathspeys & Reels: Mac 'n' Irish/Mrs Nell MacGregor/Rose Among the Heather/Jessie from Coulacs/Paddy on the Railroad/Devil in the Kitchen

12. Piobaireachd: The End of the Great Bridge

EDIT: I can't vouch for the accuracy of these (I don't have the album).

Got this round-robin from Stuart McCallum the other day:

We’ve always thought McCallum Bagpipes were out of this world………..and here’s the proof.

I thought you might be interested in this amazing story, the first set of Scottish made Great Highland Bagpipes played in space by an American piper and astronaut.

They are played by Kjell Lindgren from the USA and we made this set of acetyl bagpipes for him at our factory in Kilmarnock,Ayrshire,Scotland. We sent the set to him last year and they had to go through some tests before they were allowed on the space station.

Kjell Lindgren played Amazing Grace on the pipes after recording a message about research scientist Victor Hurst who had recently died, he was involved in astronaut training.

It’s the first time that bagpipes have been played in space.

I hope you agree this is a really great story.

This is the full clip of him playing.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...JEN0JMVEY0NXB3

A Collection Of New Tunes For The Highland Bagpipe, Book One; The Regimental Pipers Of The Scots Guards; Bagpipes Of Caledonia, Edinburgh EH6 7JQ

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Regimental-Pipers-Scots-Guards-Collection/dp/0951323067

Long out of print, and deservedly so, for the most part.

I have these . I’ve had them for a couple years. Use them weekly at practice. Love them!

Get this book. It was a game changer for me and has been for others. I memorized 2 of my QMM competition tunes in 2 days. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SRG22NF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I picked up the green book and chanter (combo) on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/RG-Hardie-College-Piping-Breathable/dp/B077CX328J/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=1HVNV6T2JTLXK&keywords=green+book+and+chanter&qid=1665758503&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjIyIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=green...

Transcribe means to write down, a valuable skill for any musician.

Although the Atholl Highlanders can be played as a jig, the most common version is as a march, versions of which can be found in a number of books, including (ahem) Modern Settings.

If you can handle the nonsense that is BMW coding, I'd have a look at ABC. There are various editing tools of varying quality but these days I mostly use http://moinejf.free.fr/js/edit-1.xhtml which is a javascript version of abcm2ps; I also use abcm2ps on the command line for bigger projects (Modern Settings was done almost entirely in abcm2ps , for example).

Seasoning is what they put in leather bags to make them airtight.

Bagpipe Seasoning

As to what's in it that's a secret. Probably lanolin suspended in glycerine, and a small amount of lye

I didn't even think about getting custom ear plugs! I just have a regular set of 3M Corded Earplugs. I wear these at band practice and they do the trick. How long did it take to get customs made?

If you want all the detail, I highly recommend Hugh Cheape's book.

https://www.amazon.com/Bagpipes-National-Collection-Treasure/dp/190526755X

Basically, a long time ago there were just bagpipes. They were all different. Some bigger, and some smaller. Different drone configurations. Each maker just made a set however he felt like. Then in the late 1700s, early 1800s, global trade brought nice woods to Great Britain and Ireland, and greater prosperity incentivized oboe makers to make bagpipes.

In Scotland, this led to the development of the GHB, while in Ireland it led to the uilleann pipes. The Scottish Smallpipes were never really standardized. They kind of died out as a thing but have seen a revival in the last few decades.

SSP is usually a pretty basic instrument with a 7 note chanter and two to four drones.

Uilleann pipes are the most complicated bagpipes. A fully executed instrument has a keyed chanter, three drones, and three regulators. The regulators are closed pipes with keys that play when pressed. The skilled player can use them to either play chords or harmony parts to accompany the chanter. You can play up to four notes at once (three on the regulators and one on the chanter) not counting the drones.

>never buy musical equipment of any kind off amazon

Let's not get carried away... You most certainly won't find decent bagpipes on amazon, but you can absolutely get high quality music equipment from there.

For example. You could have this Gibson poly chanter tomorrow from amazon, or wait for Henderson to restock https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00888LO7O/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_GFW7E8XVDRP1NHBS2S97

https://www.hendersongroupltd.com/product/gibson-regular-length-poly-practice-chanter/

It's not the bottom of the hole that should come uncovered first, but the side. It's hard to explain so I recorded a quick video showing the movement from B to C (deepest apologies for the vertical video). Hopefully it helps.

I also live in a cold, dry place. I tried the Boveda packs, but they dry out super fast and I was blowing through them like crazy. I now use the oasis case humidifier Oasis Case Plus+ Humidifier: Oasis Case Plus+ Humidifier https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B003KWFYCE/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_4YAW05FEVZCXBFEA38B6

probably easiest to look here https://www.gumtree.com/p/hobbies-collectibles/large-lot-of-highland-pipes-and-drums-band-gear-and-miscellaneous-items-jackets-and-kilts/1342179270

So I live in Tennessee and amazon is my only place I can purchase this type of item it comes with a practice chanter.

Here is the link to the pipes I just bought: New Black Scottish Bagpipe Silver Mount Velvet Bag Cord Highland F Size with Carry Bag https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010Q39U5Q/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_R53TZNXCV6NFC2QJ9DF0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon.

I'd also highly recommend Gracenote Apparel. I've bought several shirt from there and each one is excellent. Plus, these shirts are made by an actual piper, Kevin McLean from SFU.

Others have said online instructors. But are there any groups near you? I think a lot of pipe bands take beginners. Might even set you up with being able to get a chanter or borrow pipes.

Also I think like any instrument really you can just YouTube someone like bagpipe master and watch tutorials once you've got a chanter if you choose to just buy one. Don't break the bank though. I really don't see a decent chanter and a book costing more than $100. Something like this.

It's been a while but I'm pretty sure I used that book and it was worth it. I'd have to dig around to check. Seriously though if there is a group nearby, I'd imagine they have copies of almost anything you'd need.

It really depends on how involved/serious you want to get. The whistle in general is pretty easy. I use it as a sort of practice chanter for the Uilleann pipes.

The fingering is very similar to scottish pipes, except the whistle doesnt have a bottom pinky hole (the scottish Low G). That can make a few tunes kind of odd, but most tunes will transpose pretty well to the whistle. Also, there is no back hole (high A), so you have to get used to the method of a high D on the whistle.

If you chose to take it more seriously, there are a plethora of online learning sources, many are free. There are many styles of "irish" tin whistle, and there are some unique embellishments such as Rolls that can be learned.

The great thing about the whistle is you can buy a cheap $10 whistle on amazon and be set for life. Over time you will probably want to invest in a really nice one, or maybe a Low D whistle... but there is absolutely no need to spend more than $20 when starting out.

Honestly, I think the whistle is so easy, your piping skills are irrelevant. Just grab yourself a whistle and have fun.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alpine-MusicSafe-Filter-Plugs-Musicians/dp/B00MEE876O?th=1

These are the ones I use; cheap, and effective. I use what is meant to be the lowest level of sound reduction and it was fine for whole band playing indoors, even when I was on the end of the circle next to the drummers.

Thats a bummer.

The only other thing I could possibly suggest, if you havent already, would be a non-scratch channellock pliers.

But even with those, it sounds like something's gonna get damaged at this point.

Not sure on the brand, it came from Amazon, here is a link. I have tried blowing pretty hard with no difference (trumpet player, I can provide a good amount of pressure!)

I have a CD form the Pipes and Drums of the Black Watch and the Band of the Welsh Guard from their tour around 2006 or so and there is a track on there that combines the bands playing Last Post and Taps combined with Abide With Me.

The Welsh Guard play Last Post and Taps while the Black Watch play Abide With Me. It's a very nice performance.

I'd like to be able to make something like Gibson's PC reeds. The comments of that tell me that it requires a lot more air to blow through than most other reeds.

I have ones made by Alpine Hearing Protection.

I tried several other brands and they usually have a hard plastic core and will hurt if you don't pick the right sizes or their standard sizes don't fit you well.

The Alpine ones are one size and made of all soft rubber with just a small filter insert, so you don't have to worry about fit and they are comfortable all day long.

The sound quality is fine. Their filtering seems to that they leave open a small hole to let in a small amount of sound waves. You are still getting in the original sound waves, just less of them. I don't notice any change in pitches when them in or out, only volume.

For Android check out DA Tuner they have $2 Paid version and there is a free lite version. The tuner supports bagpipe temperament.

I have a stand alone Blair HBT3 bagpipe tuner and can put the phone right next to it and the results match very well.

The one feature that I like is "strobe". There is square that rotates around the note letter that will slow down as you approach the note. This seems much more accurate than the traditional needle representation.