GreatPipe

The Scale of The Great

Highland Bagpipe and Its
Relation To Its Drones
A legato instrument without the ability to play
louder or softer, the bagpipe scale is different
from other instruments because of its need for
consonance with its drones. It is an ensemble
instrument. Because the drones depend on
unvarying wind pressure, they in turn govern
thepipescale.ThelowAofthepipechanteris
anoctaveabovethetwotenordronesandtwo
octaves above the bass drone. So it may be
saidthattheinstrumentplaysinthreeoctaves.It
canreadilybeseenthatanyattempttointerfere
with the scale of the instrument would simply
destroy all its characteristics. It could be said
thatthepipescaleisatemperedscale.Butisit?
Perhaps tempered because each note is
governed in pitch, according to some other
temperament acting upon it and we will come
backtothispointfurtheron.
Thechanterscaleconsistsofeightnotes,lowAthroughhighA,oroneoctave.
Whenthechanterisclosed,anextranote(lowG)issoundedwhichisactually
anextensionofonenoteintoaloweroctaveofthesamescale.Therefore,the
melodicrangeofthechanterisanoctaveandonenote.LowA(Amajor)isthe
lowest fundamental note. This seems to be the basic finger position of most
simplewindinstruments.Thescaleisactuallythesetintervals(mathematical
measurementsorratios)betweennotesandtheamountofintervalsdetermines
thepitchofthatnote.Thechanterhasonemajorandfourminortonesplustwo
limmas.TheselimmasonlyoccurintheintervalsbetweenthenotesCandD
andFandhighG.Hereiswheretheproblemofdescribingthechanterscale
getstiedupwithouroldfriendtemperamentandsemitones.
Because the intervals between C and D and F and high G are not in equal
proportiontothefrequenciesoftheothernotes,theydonotproducetonesor
soundsthatareinbalancewiththerestofthechanter'sscale.Dissharpand
highGisflat.Herewefindtemperamentsactingagainstorupontherestofthe
chanter scale. Consequently, the Highland Bagpipe scale is mixolydian. We
maysaythatithasamajorthirdandaminorordiminishedseventh,whichis
gapped.Butforthese,thepipewouldhaveajustscale.Thisisperhapswhat
causesthepipetosoundEasternororientaltosomebutitisaveryWestern
scale.Perhapsitmayevenbesaidtosoundmedieval.
The pitch of the Great Highland Bagpipe chanter is B flat against its lowest
fundamental or main tonic of low A. Oddly, the extra note, low G, made by
closingthechanter,doesnottuneorharmonizewiththedrones.Itisthemost
dissonantnoteofthepipescale,havingnoharmonicsagainstthewhole.Yetit
isconstantlyinuseinScottishpipingtoformgracenoteclusters.Nevertheless,

we are still left with the provocative question of where the chanter's scale
comes from. A safe guess might be ancient Greece. We know that Ptolemy
experimented with the scale of instruments in the second century A D and a
strikingaffinityexiststodayinthechanterscaleoftheMacedonianBagpipeand
thatoftheGreatHighlandBagpipe.

The pitch of the two tenor drones is B flat. Their frequency is 240 cycles per second and they
soundoneoctavehigherthanthebassdroneandoneoctavelowerthanthepipechanter.The
dronesenhancethechantersound.Poordronesorpoorlytuneddroneswillsapthelifefroman
otherwise good chanter. Indeed, they will cause the instrument to seem louder and force it to
become more difficult to play and maintain overall steadiness. When properly in tune, a tenor
dronesoundslowA.Thepitchandharmonicsofadroneareaffectedbythestepsorshouldersin
itsbore.Harmonicsarethemultiplesorextrasoundsofthefundamentalnotebeingsoundedand
theoveralltuningoftheBagpipedependsentirelyonthebalanceorblendobtainedbetweenthe
fundamentalsandharmonicsofchanteranddrones.Orchestralinstrumentstendtohaverather
weak harmonics beyond the tenth or eleventh harmonic. Not so in the Bagpipe. Timbre is a
measurementofthestrengthofaharmonic.Highharmonicsmaketheoverallsoundbrightwhile
lowharmonicsmakeforanoveralldullsoundandaffectoverallamplitude.Theinternalboresofa
droneaffectthepitchoftheinstrument,thewiderthebore,thehigherthepitch and the greater
sonorityortimbreofthewhole.Narrowboresproduceaflattersound.Theuseof"tuningstraws"in
the chanter and drones was an ancient method used by several European piping cultures to
balancethetopandbottomhandsofthechanternotesaswellasthedronesagainstthechanter.
Becauseofthepreviouslynotedtemperaments,one cannot tune a Bagpipe drone alone or by
itself. The three drones must sound together with the chanter and are then tuned one by one,
locking in their harmonics with those of the chanter. Theoretically, sound waves should travel
through the drone unrestricted and undistorted to produce optimum brilliance of tone. The
possibilityofdistortionmay occur where the narrow bore of the lower part of the drone (tuning
slide)emptiesintothelargerboreoftheupperdroneandthenbackintoasmallerborebefore
collectinginanevenlargercaporbellatthedronetop.Untilapproximately1955,soundwaves
weresubjectedtodistortionatthesesquarecorneredairreductionareasinmostdrones.Today
they are more rounded and less abrupt. Drone bores today are often polished to reduce air
friction.Thetrumpet,pearorbottleshapedbellsatthedronetopshaveanimportantmellowing
effectontheoveralldronesound.Withsoftersoundingpipes,asingledroneisadequateasinthe
SpanishBagpipe.
Aphenomenonofthetenordroneisthatithasafirstharmonicsostrongthatitappearstothe
ordinaryeartobetheactualfundamentalnoteofthedroneandcausesitspitchtoseemanoctave
higherthanitreallyis.Theoutermostendsofthedrones,thebells,areclosedbyaflatcapwitha

hole in the centre. This cap has the effect of smoothing the sound by suppressing the highest
harmonics.Whenadroneistunedtoitsmaximumlength,thesoundbecomessmootherandthe
pipebecomeseasiertoplay.
Much

thought

by

the

nonperforming

community has been given to the age of the

bassdroneandwhetherornotitpredatesthe
tenor drone. A chicken or egg mentality! The
bassdroneisthekeyofharmonyandbalance.
It brings out the harmonics in the chanter and
providestheframeworkuponwhichthesound
of the Bagpipe is constructed. It is the most
important component of the Bagpipe, actually
determining its sound. It is the most difficult
drone to reed because there are more joints,
different gage bores and bore shoulders to
cause sound wave distortion. Because of its
length, it has a tendency to warp with age
especiallyinthebottomjointandthiswillmake
reeding more difficult. The bass drone is two octaves below the pipe chanter and one octave
below the tenor drones. It has a very strong second harmonic, giving it the phenomenon of
soundingafifthharmonic,whichitdoesnothave!Ofcourse,ithasthatextrachambertoaddtoits
resonance.ItskeynoteoflowAis114to120cyclespersecondanditcanonlybeusedwitha
conicalboredchanter.Itisalwaysconstructedthesameway,asaseriesofjointsandslidesfor
tuning in most European Bagpipes, especially the Italian and Spanish varieties where the
relationshipofbasstochanterisessentiallythesame.Itspitch,likethetwotenordrones,isBflat
and it can be documented to the thirteenth century in Europe. When and how the bass drone
cameintobeingisnotknownbutithasadefinitemusicalpurpose.AsafeguesscouldbeRome
simplybecausemostthingsofaningeniousnaturecomefromRomeorancientItalyanditisa
curiousfactthatthedroneboresoftheHighlandpipeareverysimilartothoseoftheItalianpipe.
Thebassdroneaddsstrength,colour,andanoverallricherandfullsound.Becauseofthedrones
length and narrow bore, it produces a strong set of overtones or ghost tones. Ghost tones are
heardwhenplayedagainstthechanteronlowG,BDFandhighG.
Wecannowbegintounderstandthatdronesalsogovern
thescaleintervalsandareatemperamentinthemselves
uponthescale.Ifthenoteintervalsof the chanter were
changed, there would be a dissonance between the
dronesandadissonancebetweendronesandchanter.
A rather important purpose of drones is to smooth over
thehardedgesofthechantersound.Mostancientwriters
comment on the loudness of the Bagpipe. A loud
soundingchanterneedsdronepowertobalanceitandis
possiblythereasonwhytenordroneswereadded.With
softersoundingpipes,asingledroneisquiteadequate.
Most pipers today play in bands and many have never
heard the harmonics of their instruments. Indeed many
seem not even aware or caring of their presence,
blissfully"playing"anuntunedpipe.
Wood is a major factor in the production of tone and
harmonics. Of course, every piece of wood responds
differently.Densityaffectstheresonanceofthewoodand
isofmajorimportance.Afinehardtextureandcloseness
ofthegrainwillgivethebesttone.

Moisturemustalsocomeintotheequationbecause,overtime,itwillcauseshrinkagetothebores
and bore diameter affects amplitude and brightness of sound. When purchasing a previously
ownedsetofpipes,onemustbealertforwarpageandellipticalbores.Otherwise,dimensional
stabilitywillbelost.
The stocks of the instrument are all
important in producing steady tone. It
is here that harmonics are also
produced. The stock will definitely
affect the behaviour of the reed as
well.Thevolumeofairinthestockand
in its mouth actually controls the
frequency of sound produced in the
drone.Thisiswhyintheancientworld
waxwasusedinthestocktoadjustthe
behaviourofthedrone.Antiquepipes
haveverylongstocksanditisfeltthat
theyenabledthepipestostayintune
for

longer

periods,

perhaps

condensingwatermoreefficientlythan
today's shorter stock. The stocks of
these older sets of pipes also had
greater internal diameter and it is felt
by some that this controlled the
velocityofairgoinguptothedrones.
The bag also produces its share of
harmonics and many pipers feel the
Icelandic sheepskin, because of its small pores, give the most harmonics and actually add to
overall amplitude. We can now see how each component of the bagpipe inter reacts with the
wholeandhasitsshareintheoverallproductionoftoneandvolume.
Reedsofcourseareastudyinthemselves.Theconstantopening
and closing of the reed tongue results in both even and odd
harmonics. Anyone assuming that jamming a reed, cane or
synthetic, into a drone without adjusting it to its drone, is just
askingforcacophonyandwouldperhapsbebetterdirectedtothe
disciplines of the tin whistle, but then one would not be able to
wearthekilt,whichseemstobeamainmotivationformurdering
theBagpipeinmanypipebands.
Itisobviousthatthebagpipemusthaveaconstantairsupplyin
order to maintain tone and balance. The slightest over or under
blowingwillforce the instrument out of tune. If one had to turn a
page of music, for instance, the pressure and consequently the
harmony of the instrument would be lost. This is why all of the
piper'smusicmustbememorized.

References

Observations by:
AJEllis
GeneralCSThomason
DJBlaikley
GFRoss
DrGEAllen
PipeMajorWillieGray

1885
1906
1920
1927
1937/1940
1939

SeumasMacNeill

19481950

FGScott

1954

ArchieMacNeill
JohnWilson,Canada

1959
1958

Piping Times:
AlexRCarruthers"CharacteristicsoftheSoundLevelsoftheHighlandBagpipe"
JohnMALenihanandSeumasMacNeill"TheScaleoftheHighlandBagpipe"
SeumasMacNeill"ThePitchofthePipe"
Proceedings of The Piobaireachd Society:
AlexanderCMackenzie
"SomeRecentMeasurementsontheScaleoftheGreatHighlandBagpipe"
"PiobaireachdanditsInterpretation"Dr.FrankRichardsonandSeumasMacNeill
"TheHighlandBagpipeanditsMusic"RoderickDCannon
"TheTraditionalandNationalMusicofScotland"FrancisCollinson
"Bagpipes"AnthonyBaines\OxfordUniversity

GreatPipeScotlandRome/AncientWorldPiobaireachdIrelandWarPipeUilleannPipeSaffronReferences
20072008,FrankTimoney
Website|ImpressionTechnologies,LLC