What is a bagpipe and what are its features?

The bagpipe is a musical wind instrument, traditional for many European countries. In Scotland, it is considered the main national instrument.

For each individual ethnic group, the bagpipes have a number of structural differences, while, according to the principle, all devices are the same. It is an air reservoir made of a whole piece of skin (bubble) of an cloven-hoofed animal, equipped with an upper tube for blowing in air and several playing tubes from the bottom. The bag is sewn from calf or goat skin, but sometimes elk, sheep, cow and even kangarino are used. It must be made airtight to hold air well. Sometimes the bags are made of synthetic materials.

The blowing tube is attached to the bag from above by wooden cylinders. It has a shut-off valve that does not release air back. The melodic pipe is called a chanter and looks like a flute on which a piper plays a piece of music. A tube with multiple play holes is attached to the tank at the bottom. From the inside, it is equipped with a cane hidden in the drain. A monotonous background sound is created by drone pipes, the so-called. drones.

There is a version that the bagpipes are the national instrument of the Scots. But this fact has no historical confirmation - where and when it was invented is not yet reliably known. According to some reports, the homeland of the instrument is Sumer, while other assumptions interpret that it comes from China, in which it existed already in the 5th century. BC NS. Written references to the likeness of a bagpipe are found in the comedian Aristophanes, who lived in Ancient Greece in the 400s. BC NS.

In addition, it is known that the bagpipes were already known under the emperor Nero. The cruel ruler was passionately fond of playing a kind of instrument and enthusiastically listened to its melodies. According to one of the versions, archaeologists found a tool similar in design on excavations in the area of ​​the alleged location of the ancient city of Ur. The instrument traveled with musicians all over the world. It is present in many states.

Throughout Russia, the Slavic bagpipes wandered with buffoons and accompanied the leaders of the bears until it became disgraced. When the bagpipes came to Scotland, there is no definitive information. But there are suggestions that during the period of the Crusades she ended up in England and then on the lands of Ireland, and later she found herself in Scotland, where the indigenous population did not immediately like her loudness, but after that she firmly entered their life.

Bagpipes were especially respected in the mountains of Scotland, where it evolved and acquired the status of a national musical instrument. In the course of evolution, it has an additional tube with 8 holes for playing a melody and an additional shortened tube for filling air into the tank. In Scotland, the melody of bagpipes was heard from everywhere: at solemn moments and at funerals, and at weddings, and in the war zone. The Scots believed in the "holy" power of the bagpipe motif and used it against "evil spirits."

The art of melody performance and instrument making was inherited. Along with that, in the history of Scotland, not all bagpipes have always been held in high esteem. There were times when she was denounced as the offspring of Satan and disgraced. In the 18th century, the Scots were going through hard times, and the bagpipes were forbidden by the order of the English authorities. At the same time, the highlanders ignored the decree and did not change their traditions. The veto lasted half a century. The growth of British possessions forced the British army to urgently engage in the formation of Scottish regiments. The bagpipe again became an invariable attribute of the Scots, along with the drum it accompanied the Scottish soldiers everywhere in the English army.

The bagpipe is a world-wide popular wind musical instrument, of which there are a great many varieties. Virtually every nation has its own version, made from a variety of materials, with a different number of tubes. The design principle of the instrument is always the same, but it differs from each nation in its peculiarities.

This bagpipe is the most popular and recognizable in the world. The Scots call their national instrument the highland bagpip - "mountain bag with pipes". Bagype is a container from the inside of a sheep's skin, on which tubes are attached: 3 pcs. bourdon, 1 pc. with holes for melody and shortened for air intake. The sound pressure in this instrument is 108 dB. In the mountains or in open areas, the sound can travel 6 km.

The bagpipe was known as a popular instrument among the Slavs. To make it, they took a lamb or ox (this is how the name of the instrument went) skin, attached a tube from above for forcing air, from below - a pair of bass pipes for a monotonous background and an additional mini-pipe on which a melody was played.

Another version of the history of the name "bagpipe" is associated with the Volhynian tribes who lived in the 9th-11th centuries. in Kievan Rus. Due to the fact that the name of the bagpipes is very similar to the name of the tribe, some researchers decided that the instrument was named after the Volhynians. In high society, the bagpipes were ignored, considering that such a melody lacks harmony and sounds inexpressive.

The French call their national bagpipes musette or cornemuse. Mostly the fur of the tool is made of fabric. His images are present in the images of peasant holidays by German, Dutch and Flemish masters, dated to the 16th-17th centuries. In Renaissance painting, covering secular themes, the bagpipes define phallic associations. A similar, but more veiled meaning had a musette at the French court in the 17th-18th centuries. Characters from paintings such as "Gallant Festivals" of the Rococo era are depicted playing the musette.

"Duda" or "goat" is the Ukrainian and Polish name for the legendary bagpipes. In Ukraine, the instrument appeared 200 years earlier than in Scotland. Probably, it was named "goat" for its characteristic sound and its manufacture from the natural skin of this cloven-hoofed animal. At the same time, the Ukrainian instrument is thoroughly given a resemblance to an artiodactyl and externally: it is covered with a skin, made out of clay with a goat's head, and the pipes are crowned with hooves. Such specimens are found to this day in the Slovak, Polish, Lemkovo, Czech and Bukovina Carpathian regions. It is customary to make a goat's head there of wood and decorate with horns. The name "bagpipe" is associated with the Volyn region, since the words are of the same root.

Here the bagpipes are called "guides". It differs from similar instruments in that a hole is made in the reservoir, which the piper closes with his index finger during the game.

During the performance of the melody, the pitch of the bourdons can be changed. To do this, there are three playing holes on the bourdon pipe. The playing pipes on the instrument are removable, so they can be used separately, as independent musical pipes.

Celtic, Irish, Italian and Spanish bagpipes have their own characteristics. The same can be said about Mordovian, Armenian, Chuvash, Belarusian instruments. The Lithuanians call such an instrument "labanora duda" or "dudmaishis". Georgian bagpipes with two melodic pipes are called "gudastviri" or simply "sviri".

The Estonian bagpipes are known as toropill. The bag for her is made of sheep skin. There are 3-5 pipes on it.

The Chuvash version of the "shapar" is distinguished by metal pipes. Mari "shuvyr" - a pair of melodic pipes that allow you to perform two-part melodies. The air reservoir is made of bovine bubble.

The Estonian bagpipes are also peculiar. The bag is the stomach or bladder of a large animal, such as a fur seal. It usually has 1-2 bourdon tubes, a flute as a voice tube and one more tubular piece for filling the container with air. Some bagpipes are designed in such a way that they are not inflated through the mouth, but with fur, which is set in motion with one hand. An example is the Irish tool Uilleann Bagpipe. Its modern appearance was finally formed by the end of the 18th century. This bagpipe is one of the most difficult in terms of its parameters.

There is a belief associated with the bagpipes, supposedly magical power emanates from its sound, and the instrument's voice is comparable to the guttural singing that a person reproduces. The instrument's timbre is continuous and harsh, spreading through the air for miles around, not going unnoticed.

A bagpipe is a polyphonic instrument that plays a sonorous melody against the background of a monotonous harmony emanating from drone pipes. The low and harsh sound of a nasal timbre is created in this way: through the mouthpiece tube, the musician pushes air into the bag and, by pressing the elbow, forwards the flow to the tubes, simultaneously closing the playing holes on the chanter's body with the pads of his fingers. The bagpipes are characterized by free-flowing decorations and short trills. The range is very meager, depending on the type of instrument, one or two octaves are possible.

Through the valve tube, the leather (synthetic) bag is filled with air through bellows or exhalation through the mouth. Then the valve slams shut, preventing air from moving back through the tube. Using his hand on the bag, the piper expels air from it into tubes with special tongues. From their vibrations, a certain sound is obtained. The more bourbons there are, the more varied the game will be. Standard bagpipes from 1 to 4 bourbons for background melody.

In modern times, bagpipes can only be heard in the national Scottish and Irish orchestras. Its sound is so clear and piercing that it is recommended to play no more than 30 minutes. in a day. In Belarus, bagpipes are called "dudes", in Armenia it is known as "parkabzuk" or "tik", among Moldovans and Romanians it is called "chimpa", in Germany - "zakpfaife" or "dudelzak", among the British - "bagpipe", and the Dutch have dudelzak.

• The largest of the Scottish bagpipes is the Highland, today it is the most popular type in Scotland, which is used in local military bands.
• Scotland has no national anthem. Unofficially, it is considered to be the motive of the folk song "Flower of Scotland", which is traditionally performed by pipers.
• Scottish soldiers always attacked to the sound of bagpipes. The musicians marched ahead of the regiment, charging the military for victory. In the First World War, more than 500 musicians laid their heads in battles, becoming an accessible target for enemies.
• In Edinburgh, at Waverley Railway Station, visitors are greeted by an original and mesmerizing bagpipe melody.
• The Scots endow the instrument with magical properties, for example, they believe that it is capable of scaring away rats with its sound. There is also such a belief that a piper is able to produce a harmonious sound only after 12 months of practice, when the instrument gets used to its owner.
• The only example of Russian bagpipes, created according to the descriptions in the archives of the past, is considered to be an exhibit from the Moscow Museum. M.I. Glinka.
• Some tools for fastening use ivory, which is prohibited in a number of countries, so it will be problematic to travel with such a bagpipe.
• The Queen of England greets a new day with the melody of a military march. The monarch's alarm clock is replaced by an ensemble of pipers dressed in ceremonial uniforms.
• Pakistan is considered to be the largest supplier of bagpipes in the world market. The Pakistanis have learned how to create bagpipes for the soldiers of the Scottish military units who are in their country. Modern bagpipes from Pakistan are not of good quality.
• The pipers have their own international holiday, which is celebrated on March 10.