The Great Highland Bagpipe

A look at the background of two pipers, one from each side of the battle which includes William Cumming who was the subject of the iconic full length portrait of the 'Piper to the Laird of Grant', usually taken to be a picture of a typical clan piper. pub. Piping Times Vol 68. No 2 (November 2015

Draft of a colloquium presentation given in 2014 at the University of Arizona as part of their ancient ethnomusicology series. Herein, the mechanics of the bagpipe as well as the basic structure of Ceol Mor (Piobaireachd) are briefly outlined for the uninformed. Traditional theories as to the origins of Piobaireachd are discussed, and then an additional likely source of inspiration for the genre is proposed: early liturgical change in the British Isles. More research and musical analysis is needed to fully outline this theory. Some problems arise when we consider that there are few extant sources of medieval chant from the Isles due to numerous church reformations and consequent destruction of archives. However, if we can examine closely related repertoires from the Continent, extant Scottish sources, as well as more recent chant sources in the Isles, the similarities between the melodic structure of the earliest Piobaireachd and medieval chant repertoires become evident as at least one additional source of inspiration for early Ceol Mor's distinctive intervalic contours.

Please note that this is a draft, not a published paper in any fashion (hence, it's labeling as such). I am not an expert on Piobaireach, rather a scholar in medieval studies with more extensive experience in chant history. My interest and knowledge of Piobaireachd comes from my experience as a bagpiper, and these observations come from my knowledge of chant in conjunction with my familiarity of early Piobaireachd repertoire. If you are interested in more thorough discussion of Piobaireachd apart from Gregorian/Gallican/Scottish chant, please refer to the bibliography.

You can view the presentation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWjFYPwcxWY&t

This is my PhD dissertation. The third chapter might be interesting since it shows that the natural scale was the primary scale used in European antiquity (the so-called Folk Music Scale). It combined with the early diatonic scale (stacking thirds on the diatonic scale that those instruments couldn’t play) to create our modern scale. The Highland bagpipe is an ossified hybrid between the two.

The fourth chapter might be of interest to composers because it explains the rhythm of languages (especially English) and also the pitch-patterning of the spoken word which is used as the basis of melody.

The link brings you to the University of Otago library which is open and non-private. So you have to force your web browser to continue to the site.

ABSTRACT:
The purpose of this study was to investigate through archival and musicological analysis the audio recordings of Fenian lays made in the middle of the last century. These recordings were made from informants who learned the material orally; they contain cultural elements that assist in comprehending the musical mechanics of Fenian lays at a time when their performance practices were being extirpated by foreign musical influences. These elements include Indo-European (IE) thematic material, poetics, language register, pitch structuring, rhythm, and vocal techniques. Audio recordings of Fenian lays from Ireland, Scotland, and Nova Scotia, Canada were analysed in terms of their linguistic-musical material. Results show that the rhythm of the lays did not display a repetitive musical metre but the more complex structure of speech. However, rhythmic patterns did alter with volume. Also, resonance tuning was apparent. Many characteristics associated with volume in lay recordings exist in declaimed speech as well; both may be seen to act as a bridge between speech and metered song. Lay poetry appeared to be syllabic, which is unusual for a stress-timed language; this reflects an Indo-European genesis that is supported by the presence of oral formulaic language. Both stress and accent shifted pitch by poetic line to match spoken characteristics. A high language register was present, which does not indicate composition by the intelligentsia for use at court, but rather a fear-induced protective linguistic device apparent in all social classes. Moreover, the addition of delineated pitch to spoken declamation may be seen as an attempt to further increase the communicative register. The pitch structure was seen to be anachronistic, matching the linear scales played by pastoral instruments, particularly that of wooden shepherd trumpets used since at least the beginning in the Early Neolithic Age.

My research on the nature of Scottish Gaelic performance culture has focused mainly around seanchas or discourse on tradition and the semiotics of words contained in such discourse (Falzett 2007-2010; 2010; 2012).  However, as John Shaw has argued, much can be learned by applying such contextual knowledge from the field to the analysis of verbal art forms (i.e. songs, stories, etc.) themselves: “Ideally, informants’ perceptions may eventually be correlated with analysis of texts—permitted variants and other materials—to form a coherent description” (1992/1993: 40). Therefore, this paper hopes to provide insights regarding the dynamic relationships between language and music in varied performative contexts of Scottish Gaelic cultural expression. This will be done by examining the role of ‘genre reinforcement’ (Shaw 1992/3: 38-40) in two Scottish Gaelic versions of ATU  503 (The Gifts of the Little People): one from Kate Dix of Berneray, Uist and the other from Donald (Danny) Cameron of Malden, Massachusetts, who grew up in Beaver Meadow, Antigonish County on the Nova Scotia mainland. In turn, the association of these two versions to the dance-tune ‘The Bob of Fettercairn’ and a related port-à-beul  version of it, beginning with the phrase “Cuir dhachaidh e,” will form the basis of our examination here.

The second part of this paper looks more abstractly at the symbolic nature of the narrative and examines the language contained within various Scottish Gaelic recitations of it. The Gifts of the Little People is well attested throughout the Gaelic-speaking regions of Scotland, Ireland and Nova Scotia. Lillis Ó Laoire’s (2009) groundbreaking discussions on the semiotic significance of this popular narrative have elucidated our understanding of its relevance to the inner mechanics of Gaelic aesthetic criteria and modes of transmission. Following Ó Laoire’s approach, the narrative’s aesthetic symbolism will be further explored through the lenses of emerging theoretical trends in the study of metaphor and other tropes from various scholarly disciplines, including cognitive linguistics and anthropology. This will incorporate a discussion concerning embodied understandings of abstract thought as demonstrated by the seemingly intangible nature of the aural and its ability to be made sense of through its associations with more concrete forms of sensory-motor experience, including vision, motion, and taste.

The New Zealand pipe band movement began in 1896 arising from the earlier influence of Scottish settlers who arrived in the mid 19th century. Internationally, pipe bands have grown from the translocation of Scottish culture as a result of emigration since the 17th century. New Zealand pipe bands associate with other national pipe band cultures, including those from Scotland, the United States of America, Canada, Ireland and Australia. Historical literature clearly defines the international development of pipe bands up to the present time and today pipe bands can be found on every continent and in many diverse places. Although pipe bands are considered by many to be a representation of Scottish culture they are hypothesised to also represent other identities in their performance. The aim of this thesis is to consider the place of pipe bands within New Zealand Society.

This research project involved an ethnographic fieldwork investigation of the 2008 Royal New Zealand Pipe Band Championships and included surveys and interviews conducted with festival participants and culture bearers. These surveys and interviews were structured in order to gather data on representations of cultural identity in New Zealand pipe bands.

Although the results demonstrate a predominance of Scottish cultural identity at the festival, the presence of New Zealand cultural identities were also observed. These included representations of provinces and regions, individual pipe band cultures that are unique to New Zealand, and local characteristics of the community which hosted the festival. Therefore New Zealand pipe bands not only represent historical settlement by Scottish migrants, and play a significant part in global pipe band culture, they also incorporate New Zealand national identity within their culture and display this during performance.

While there is no reason to doubt current thinking, which suggests that the bagpipe was a late arrival in the Highlands, having spread from continental Europe during the late medieval period; an examination of its place and appearance in the wider Gaelic culture of the era may help our understanding of its eventual pre-eminent position in the musical hierarchy. Early Gaelic literature frequently refers to two stringed instruments, the "Cruit" and the "Tiompan", (the latter a version of the North European Lyre),1 but it is obvious from the odd written reference and the evidence ofIrish and Scottish stone carvings that mouth blown wind instruments were also used.

Some articles exploring the background to the collection of pipe music known as the Campbell Canntaireachd published in the Piping Times Vol 58. No. 1 (October 2005), Vol 58. No. 2 (November 2005), Vol 58. No. 10 (July 2006) and Vol 67. No. 1 (October 2014).

Winner of the Alt Pibroch Club and Altpiborch.com “Modern Pibroch Library” Competition, 2018.

Program Notes and Piece Mechanics:

Shrouded in myth and mystery, a tradition that has been passed from master to pupil for unknown centuries, piobaireachd (Scots Gaelic for “piping” and anglicized as “pibroch”) is the “classical music” of the Great Highland Bagpipe, originating sometime during the Middle Ages. Piobaireachd is the oldest and perhaps most austere of all the Scottish bagpiping genres, focusing on simple tone progressions with slight elaborations over a series of variations. Crucial to this style is tone and timbre, and thus highly refined and particular tunings were constructed around these pieces, generally emphasizing tuning by Pythagorean ratios, particularly focusing on the 7th and 11th partials.

This piece returns the modern Scottish bagpipe to these medieval traditions, however in unconventional ways through building a scale of 15 micro-tonal notes based on octave transpositions of the prime partials of an implied fundamental. Along with the 7th and 11th partials, the scale of this piece incorporates all the prime partials from 2 to 31. This resulting piece is both Medieval in aesthetic and form, but modern in its expansion of Pythagorean tuning and extended techniques on the bagpipe, including unconventional droning, alternative fingerings, and multi-phonics.

The scale is based on octave transpositions of all the prime partials (up to 31) of the fundamental note, which is (approximately) 60 Hz. This fundamental was chosen for convenience, since most Great Highland Bagpipes are tuned to about 480Hz on the lowest “A” of the chanter. The three drones form the second, third, and fifth partials above the non-sounding, implied fundamental of 60Hz. The primary chanter notes (melodic notes), given on the first page of the score instructions, form the other octave-transposed prime partials up to the 31st – 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31 – barring the low-A, which is simply a multiple of the 60Hz fundamental (Note: the tuning of these partials is as close as possible, +/- 5 Hz or so, pretty much indistinguishable to most human ears). The additional microtonal inflections or embellishments are totally for color and are not based on any mathematical proportion. They are simply created through alternative fingerings. The primary melodic content, however, is solely based on these prime partials.

APC and Altpibroch.com:

The Alt Pibroch Club and altpibroch.com are sites dedicated to the pursuit of bringing new approaches to bagpipe performance informed by ancient scores. While we support reconstructions of old playing, they are also interested in bringing new musicality to piobaireachd long since forgotten, much to the detriment of audiences and performers alike. AltPibroch.com is the definitive resource for information on pre-1841 pibroch manuscripts, their interpretation and history. These are the original, unexpurgated primary sources of our art, and the different musical perspective, interpretation and insight they bring is a revelation to those accustomed to the modern pibroch scene. They encourage performers to explore the full musical depth and creativity of the folk music of piobaireachd, from as many sources of instrumentation and inspiration as they can find.

Jordan Alexander Key:

Jordan Alexander Key (b. 1990) currently pursues his PhD in composition and musicology at the University of Florida. He earned bachelor’s degrees in music composition, mathematics, and Eastern Asian philosophy from The College of Wooster (2013), as well as a master’s degree in music composition from the University of Arizona (2015). His significant recent projects include his European premier with Vienna’s PHACE Ensemble performing his Octet, “Threnody on the Death of Children;” a performance by Boston String Quartet of his String Quartet No. 1; a concert with Bold City Contemporary Ensemble performing his Quintet, “Discursus Anachronismus;” a collaboration with the Vancouver Queer Arts Festival for his Art Song, "God Ourselves;” and the display of his recent audio-visual projects as part of the Wolfsburg Kunstmuseum’s new exhibit, “Never Ending Stories: The Loop in Art, Film, Architecture, and Music,” in Germany during the Winter and Spring of 2018. Jordan gives regular concerts on his two instruments: the pipe organ and bagpipes. His performance repertoire focuses primary on music from the Middle Ages, Early Renaissance, and Early Baroque. He has been a bagpiper for 15 years as of 2018. For more information on Jordan Alexander Key and for recent recordings of his works, see his website, www.jordanalexanderkey.com, or search for his work on YouTube (channel, “Jordan Alexander Key”)

Ranald MacAllan Og, of the MacDonalds of Morar has been the subject of numerous traditional tales but with few hard facts. Indeed that the traditional tales mostly have a supernatural element should arouse the suspicion that they are, like many of the even earlier folk tales of fairies and changelings, a method of dealing with the less pleasant realities of life. A subject which has been well covered by Ronald Black in his introduction to 'The Gaelic Otherworld' in his new edition of Gregorson Campbell's Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Therefore in the absence of solid evidence this author and others have mainly relied on just one main source, the three volume 'The Clan Donald' published by the two Ministers, the Reverends MacDonald and MacDonald between 1896 and 1904, where they state that, Ranald of Cross. He had a great reputation as a piper, and was also reckoned a good performer on the harp and violin. It was on this basis that Ranald MacAllan Og was included as a harper in the book 'Tree of Strings', published in 1992. The research has however continued since then and it has become clear that this simple statement presents a number of problems when set against the evidence now to hand. Ranald MacAllan Og was certainly a piper but the claim that he was 'of Cross' and was also a harper and violer seems to be the result of some enthusiastic embellishment by the two Victorian Ministers with no such claims appearing prior to their publication. Indeed it has some similarity to some other erronious additions to piping history, also down to an over enthusiastic clerical historian when in 1840 the Reverend Doctor Norman MacLeod published a number of unsubstantiated claims about the MacCrimmon family of pipers including the myth that they originated in Italy in the town of Cremona.

First published in the Piping Times vol. 50 No. 11 and No 12, (August and September 1998) and vol 51. No 1 (October 1998), This revised version from Ceol na hEireann No 3, (2002). Plus a follow up on the last days of Fitzmaurice entitled End Notes in An Piobaire vol. 5 No 4. (September 2009)

A Highland piping culture has been present within New Zealand for over 150 years, initially brought by Scottish migrants as early as the 1840s. Once established, disconnection from Scotland and the influence of local social developments (among other factors) began to effect the trajectory of the Highland piping tradition. During the twentieth century, Highland piping flourished within New Zealand to the extent that it arguably had more pipe bands per capita than any other country in the world.

Since the mid-twentieth century, a number of New Zealand pipers have undertaken pilgrimages to Scotland. Some have performed in the most prestigious events, and have met with success. Others have learnt in person from the most revered authorities on authentic performance. In addition, recent advances in telecommunications technology and media distribution now afford New Zealanders the capacity to challenge our isolation from Scotland like never before, where we can readily tune in to the most authentic tutors and performers in the world with the push of a button.

This paper examines the impact of such transcultural (re)connection. Informed by interviews with cultural authorities, literature, participant observation, and insider experience, discussion focuses on two major themes: local cultural heritage and contemporary performance standards. Dominating the Highland piping community in New Zealand since it was founded, musical competition has been (and still is) seen as vital for preserving authentic tradition, which drives a politics revolving around the maintenance of culture within, and flow of culture to, New Zealand. This paper explores how the Highland piping tradition is maintained in New Zealand, questions Scotland as the authentic home of Highland piping, and finally examines the notion of authenticity itself.

In this paper, I consider the question of why it can be difficult to dance to bagpipe music, and I examine the effectiveness of recent initiatives to bring dance and music closer together in Scotland, from a dancer's perspective. Piping and Highland dancing have been inextricably linked since at least the beginning of the nineteenth century with the establishment of the early piping and dancing competitions.

The Irish Piper James McDonnell was widely traveled and was a source of several tunes collected by Edward Bunting. He had a reputation as a somewhat irascible character which was certainly justified if this account of some legal problems he got into while on a circuit of Scotland was typical. Published in An Piobaire Vol 4. No. 37 (September 2006). He along with several other Irish Pipers  performed for the Highland Society of London and an example of his signature is reproduced in 'The Highland Society of London Meetings' published in An Piobaire Vol 7. No 4 (September 2011)

Material describing the current cultural parameters, meaning and value of piobaireachd (also known as pibroch/ceòl mór), either within or beyond Scotland, is limited in its contemporary and global application. This research attempts to address such limitations by investigating piobaireachd in contemporary society from a cultural and social perspective. In particular it considers whether piobaireachd in New Zealand has been localised by investigating concepts of cultural authenticity embedded within musical sound. It draws upon existing scholarship and contributes towards the discourse on music and culture. This paper suggests we re-think piobaireachd as the authentic aural embodiment of the past, and recognise it as a subculture existing within a contemporary global context, where definitions vary and concepts of the past are subject to social influence. Cultural approaches offer much to the study of musics, including considerable potential for new interpretations, insights and directions for Highland bagpiping.

My guest blog for Keltfacts, the blog series of Keltfest, a major Celtic festival in the Netherlands. In my article, I tell more about the Scottish bagpipes, how the instrument works, Scottish bagpipe music, and pipe band life. I also provide a history of the bagpipes, and I shed light on the commonly asked question: "Why do we associate the bagpipes with the Celts?" The aim of the blog post is to give a general introduction to the Great Highland Bagpipes for a broad audience interested in Celtic culture.
- Dutch version: https://keltfest.nl/nl/blog/keltfacts-doedelzak
- English version: https://keltfest.nl/en/blog/keltfacts-doedelzak

New Zealand has an amateur yet competitive pipe band performance culture with over 100 years of piping history based on more than 200 years of international history. New Zealand’s pipe band culture associates itself closely with the traditional competitive movements centred in Scotland and fortified by other competitive cultures in North America, Britain, and Australia. These have probably occurred from the translocation of Scottish cultural practices, resulting from Scottish migration to the colonies of the British Empire since the 17th century. Given that pipe bands and their cultural products are originally a result of Scottish influence, how do New Zealand pipe bands represent New Zealand culture? The following questions will be discussed. What is it that New Zealand pipe bands represent, and to what extent has localisation provided identities and distinctions between New Zealand and international pipe bands?

In Gaelic, the term piobaireachd (anglicised as pibroch) literally means piping, or what pipers do. However in recent times the term has come to represent the classical music of the Scottish Highland bagpipes, traditionally known as Ceòl Mór. Today pibroch still holds its literal meaning, but is widely used in bagpipe culture to refer to Ceòl Mór. Pibroch has a hazy history, but is thought to have been a musical style for the Scottish Highland bagpipes for over 500 years. Pibroch was a musical repertoire historically written for and performed within contexts of celebration, mourning, victory, or warfare (amongst others). As a result individual pieces have associated stories that allow people to interpret emotion during a performance, and some of these stories come to be seen by some as highly emotional and ‘moving’. Today, significant changes have affected pibroch: where the highland clan system no longer exists; where there are now international enclaves of pibroch performance; and where romanticisation, editorialising and ‘empire’ have led to diverse interpretations of bagpiping and pibroch. As a result, the performance contexts of pibroch in contemporary society have also changed. Today pibroch is a music mostly maintained in competitive performance cultures, especially strong in Scotland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, the United States of America, Australia, and New Zealand. This presentation will focus on the interpretation of emotion in association with pibroch perperformance, and the role that this process plays in maintaining pibroch cultures, particularly within Australia and New Zealand.

Piobaireachd (Anglicised as ‘pibroch’) literally means ‘piping’, or ‘what pipers do’, but is widely used in bagpipe culture to refer to the classical music of the Scottish Highland bagpipes, traditionally known as Ceòl Mór. Since the establishment of Scottish Highland bagpiping in New Zealand in the mid nineteenth century, a strong infrastructure for the local development of Scottish Highland bagpipers has emerged and has led to a flourishing New Zealand pibroch culture. Today a number of New Zealand pipers venture forth to test themselves at music competitions globally and to further their musical knowledge, with a particular focus on doing so in Scotland. Eventually some return to New Zealand and become promoted as authorities on pibroch, for a variety of reasons. Of particular interest is the manner in which authority is awarded to certain individuals. A number of different models exist for gaining authority which ultimately depend on how an individual is perceived in relation to pibroch pedagogy, performance and knowledge, and also on the different authoritative roles they may fulfil. This presentation seeks to explain these models, the role of pibroch contexts for the interpretation of authority, as well as the impact that such authorities have on New Zealand pibroch in terms of cultural maintenance, identity, and development.

The background to Piper Donald Ferguson from North Uist who served through most of the Napolionic Wars and who was the original source for the place name which more commonly distinguishes the First World War Gaelic Poet Domhnall Ruadh Choruna. Published in the Piping Times Volume 67. Number 9 (June 2015)

Commonly held beliefs about the Highland bagpipe include that it comes from and represents Scotland; both embodying Scottish tradition, history, and heritage; and presenting Scottish, Gaelic, Celtic, folk, and arguably British identity. Other beliefs can include that it is ancient, primitive, brutal, undeveloped, basic, savage, and/or barbaric; that it is loud and will deafen you; and that it is synonymous with concepts about the past such as tradition, heritage, ancestry, and authenticity.

A valuable body of scholarly work exists on the Highland bagpipe and its music, but largely neglects the instrument's contemporary global use. This paper attempts to present an introductory exploration of the Highland bagpipe in popular music and popular culture in order to better grasp the relationship between popular culture, mass media and the instrument.