i was at a festival a while ago and i saw a guy with some very small bagpipes. the bag looked not musch bigger than a tesco's bag bag blown up and the chanters and drones cant have been more than 25 cm long.
i've been trying to find out what they were, but cant find what they might be on the net.
I would guess Northumbrian if there was a bellows. If blown by mouth, possibly a Breton set in G or thereabouts.
If you're into strange foreign bagpipes you'll be amazed by the biannual international bagpipe festival in Strakonice in Southern Bohemia, CZ.
Pipers form all over the world attend, and every country has its own formula for what constitiutes a set of pipes.
I've never seen so many odd looking pipe contraptions - ranging from the crude - an unflayed goat (devoid of innards of course) with a pipe stuck in its rear (for blowing into) and a chanter emerging somewhere near its mouth - to the highly sophisticated Bohemian sets with cow horn crooks and screw-adjustable chanter tuning. Strangely, in the year I attended the only piping nation not represented was Ireland - not a single irish pipe to be heard.
The next festival will be in 2008. The beer is wonderful and the people are too.
Gibson makes a set of "ceili" pipes in A, D or Bb that can be either mouth or bellows blown...so does Walsh and a couple other makers in differing $ ranges...
Gibson also makes "fireside" pipes, the difference being whether the drones come out of 1 stock or 3...
The chap who tends to keep our local sessions running due to his boundless enthusiasm also makes mouth-blown pipes with two tunable drones. Very playable, at least he gets a good tune out of them! They've been christened the 'Surrey Bagpipes' since they don't seem to be directly based on anything else. He's happy to make to order.
Sadly, I am not the man to ask about sackpipa, but I have heard them played in ensembles/bands on several occasions.
Off the cuff, and being no scholar of pipery, I would still say that any instrument with a range of only approximately one octave will have its obvious limits.
Before thinking this sounds daunting, though, consider the Great Highland Warpipes, Border pipes, and Scottish smalls (not to mention various French, Galician, and Italian bagpipes - there, I mentioned them!), and I suspect you have heard what they can do in the hands of a skilled musician. If not yet, you may be in for a treat. Nine little notes can be used in a lot of ways.
Back to the subject - it seemed to me that the sackpipa did what it needed to do. It was being used for simple melodies and harmonies, and had a rather charming and fine sound.
very small bagpipes
very small bagpipes
Hi all,
i was at a festival a while ago and i saw a guy with some very small bagpipes. the bag looked not musch bigger than a tesco's bag bag blown up and the chanters and drones cant have been more than 25 cm long.
i've been trying to find out what they were, but cant find what they might be on the net.
any ideas anyone?
cheers
jake
# Posted on September 16th 2007 by sloth
Re: very small bagpipes
Have a look here:
http://www.hotpipes.com
or
http://www.bagpipeworld.co.uk/
# Posted on September 16th 2007 by Feargal French
Re: very small bagpipes
I would guess Northumbrian if there was a bellows. If blown by mouth, possibly a Breton set in G or thereabouts.
If you're into strange foreign bagpipes you'll be amazed by the biannual international bagpipe festival in Strakonice in Southern Bohemia, CZ.
Pipers form all over the world attend, and every country has its own formula for what constitiutes a set of pipes.
I've never seen so many odd looking pipe contraptions - ranging from the crude - an unflayed goat (devoid of innards of course) with a pipe stuck in its rear (for blowing into) and a chanter emerging somewhere near its mouth - to the highly sophisticated Bohemian sets with cow horn crooks and screw-adjustable chanter tuning. Strangely, in the year I attended the only piping nation not represented was Ireland - not a single irish pipe to be heard.
The next festival will be in 2008. The beer is wonderful and the people are too.
# Posted on September 16th 2007 by millionyears_bc
Re: very small bagpipes
i've just found out what they are: swedish pipes called Sackpipa
well thats wrapped up then
# Posted on September 16th 2007 by sloth
Re: very small bagpipes
Gibson makes a set of "ceili" pipes in A, D or Bb that can be either mouth or bellows blown...so does Walsh and a couple other makers in differing $ ranges...
Gibson also makes "fireside" pipes, the difference being whether the drones come out of 1 stock or 3...
there are also shuttle pipes
...and lots of marketing...
# Posted on September 17th 2007 by Sunnybear
Re: very small bagpipes
Very cool. And the story of the revival of the sackpipa is a rather interesting story, too.
May I ask, where was the destival? Was the piper one of the performers?
Rook.
# Posted on September 17th 2007 by Rook
Re: very small bagpipes
Sorry, "festival".
R.
# Posted on September 17th 2007 by Rook
Re: very small bagpipes
it was at towersy a couple of weeks ago. He wasnt one of the performers, he was just chatting to a mate with them under his arm.
They pretty cool, but im thinking that because they dont play many notes, you might be limited to the number of tunes you could play. Is this right?
jake
# Posted on September 17th 2007 by sloth
Re: very small bagpipes
The chap who tends to keep our local sessions running due to his boundless enthusiasm also makes mouth-blown pipes with two tunable drones. Very playable, at least he gets a good tune out of them! They've been christened the 'Surrey Bagpipes' since they don't seem to be directly based on anything else. He's happy to make to order.
# Posted on September 17th 2007 by NeilC
Re: very small bagpipes
sloth:
Sadly, I am not the man to ask about sackpipa, but I have heard them played in ensembles/bands on several occasions.
Off the cuff, and being no scholar of pipery, I would still say that any instrument with a range of only approximately one octave will have its obvious limits.
Before thinking this sounds daunting, though, consider the Great Highland Warpipes, Border pipes, and Scottish smalls (not to mention various French, Galician, and Italian bagpipes - there, I mentioned them!), and I suspect you have heard what they can do in the hands of a skilled musician. If not yet, you may be in for a treat. Nine little notes can be used in a lot of ways.
Back to the subject - it seemed to me that the sackpipa did what it needed to do. It was being used for simple melodies and harmonies, and had a rather charming and fine sound.
# Posted on September 17th 2007 by Rook