Great Highland Bagpipe

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Great Highland Bagpipe with Ayrshire tartan
Scottish Boy with a Bagpipe (1997 Scotland )
Pipes and Drums Unstruttal 2010 eV in Rastenberg

Great Highland Bagpipe , also GHB for short , Highland Pipes or just Pipes , Irish an phíb mhór , Scottish Gaelic a 'phìob mhòr ' large pipe ' , French cornemuse écossaise , Breton binioù braz , German  large highland bagpipe (unusual as a name) is the name for the loud Scottish bagpipe . Because of its enormous volume, the Great Highland Bagpipe is mainly played outdoors. The player is called "Piper" ( Irish píobaire , Scottish Gaelic pìobaire ).

construction

The Great Highland Pipe consists of a wind sock or sack for short, which can be filled with air via a blow pipe in which there is a non-return valve (traditionally made of leather, today mostly plastic constructions). Three drones and a chanter as well as the blowing pipe are integrated into the sack.

Traditionally, all wooden parts of the instrument are made of grenadilla ( English blackwood ). Nowadays, chanter made of high-quality special plastics are also offered, which are largely insensitive to weathering. The various decorative parts are traditionally made of ivory ( English real ivory ) from the walrus or, more rarely, from the elephant. Nowadays a synthetic ivory substitute ( English imitation ivory, art ivory ) is mostly used for animal welfare reasons . In the case of higher-quality instruments, individual decorative parts are also made of metal ( nickel , silver , gold-plated silver ), which are either highly polished or engraved .

The sack is traditionally made of leather and has to be treated regularly with a sealant ( English seasoning ) inside in order to remain airtight and still be able to evaporate the moisture that occurs during play via the surface. There are now plastic bags made of Gore-Tex . The plastic bag does not require any sealant, but should still be cleaned regularly for reasons of hygiene. Via the bag, a fabric cover (usually English cover removed), either in a specific tartan is designed or is plain color.

The chanter is equipped with a double reed . The double reed is usually made from pile pipe , plastic reeds have not yet been able to establish themselves here. The drone pipes are equipped with single reeds. Traditionally, single- reed reeds are also used for single- reed reeds, in which a tongue is cut ( English cane reed ). This type of construction is very sensitive to moisture, which is why plastic constructions are often used today. The chanter has a conical bore with a strong linear slope, which results in a very loud sound with a full harmonic overtone spectrum . The drone pipes are cylindrically drilled and voiced with a fundamental tone.

Mood and range

The Great Highland Bagpipe is a transposing instrument; it is always notated in "A" and traditionally without a sign (A-Mixolydian has correctly notated two crosses as a sign) regardless of how it actually sounds. The fundamental A of the Great Highland Bagpipe is very close to a B ( English B flat ) and has a frequency between 469 Hz and 482 Hz, depending on the manufacturer and player. The fundamental is not standardized. "Concert pitched" refers to a chanter whose fundamental a¹ is tuned to 440 Hz, with which its fundamental corresponds to the concert pitch , or is tuned to 466 Hz, with which the fundamental corresponds to the equally pitched minor second above the concert, the sounding b¹.

The range of the chanter is a major ninth and ranges from g 1 (low G) to a 2 (high A). Traditionally, only nine notes are played on the chanter of the Great Highland Bagpipe, which result in a Mixolydian scale in relation to the root A. The intervals between the notes of the chanter do not correspond to the intervals of the equal tuning , but form a separate scale. Playing together with other instruments is therefore only possible to a limited extent. More modern pieces, however, also use (to a very limited extent) other tones, here called "semitones". These are achieved in that the finger holes are only half closed by the corresponding fingers. Therefore, semitones can only be played in the transition to a higher note. But it is also possible to set up chanter in such a way that the semitones can be played by means of fork handles, which z. B. is used for playing traditional Breton music. Pieces with semitones are generally notated in "A", but mostly musically correct with two sharps as an accidental, so that the semitones can also be correctly notated using additional sharps or natural symbols. There are traditional names for the tones on the chanter, which have now also been introduced for the semitones ( italics in the table).

designation noted tone
low G g 1
low A a 1
B flat b 1
B. h 1
C natural c 2
C. c # 2
D. d 2
D sharp d # 2
E. e 2
F natural f 2
F. f # 2
high G g 2
high G sharp g # 2
high A a 2

Two of the three drones (tenor drones) are tuned an octave below the keynote of the chanter, i.e. to a 0 . The third drone (bass drone) is tuned an octave lower to the note A, i.e. two octaves below the chanter root.

music

An arrangement of the Skye Boat Song for Bagpipes, played by the Clan Stewart Pipe Band

The traditional Scottish literature for the Great Highland Bagpipe consists almost entirely of pieces that do not contain the semitones mentioned above. Therefore, the pieces are in A mixolydian (drone on the root) or D-hypoionic or D major (drone on the fifth of the root). In order to be able to play in Aeolian or (pure) minor without using the semitones, there are a few pieces that are in H-Aeolian. The drones are on the minor seventh to the root note, which takes a bit of getting used to in terms of sound. In the case of non-traditional Scottish literature, the semitones are also used, in particular the C natural and the F natural , which means that pieces in the Doric and Aeolian mode and on the root D (drone on the fifth) can also be found on the root note A (drone on the root) to the keynote) develop pieces in the Hypodoric and Hypoaeolian mode.

Solo lecture

Led by their piper, the soldiers of the 7th  Seaforth Highlanders of the 15th (Scottish) Division advance during Operation "Epsom" on June 26, 1944

Playing as a soloist on the Great Highland Bagpipe is common, as certain instrument-specific playing techniques such as B. the "grace notes", very short notes between the actual notes of the melody, come into their own. In addition to literature, which is also played in groups, there is literature specifically for solo performances such as B. the Piobaireachd. The solo performance also allows the use of semitones to a particular extent, as there are no intonation problems with other Great Highland Pipes.

Pipe bands

Pipe bands are Scottish marching bands that are only filled with Great Highland Bagpipes and percussion (bass drum, several tenor drums, several snare drums). They are the Scottish counterpart to the brass bands or marching bands in harmony or brass . Semitones are hardly used at all in these formations, as intonation problems between the individual instruments cannot be ruled out in choral playing with these notes.

The formations used to belong to the military. The civil bands that dominate today, however, are in the military tradition, especially when it comes to marching and discipline. At events such as pipe band competitions or tattoos (military curfew ) occur frequently (usually at the beginning and / or end) several pipe bands in joint formation as a so-called. Massed Pipes & Drums or Massed bands , which then for major events from several a hundred musicians. A well-known example is the appearance of such a formation at the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo .

Through the British mandate administration , these bands also came to the Middle East, where this tradition has been preserved to this day. There are miners' trains in the Jordanian army . Pipe bands are particularly active in the Palestinian denominational scout groups , which perform specifically at the major Christian festivals.

Bagad

Bagad (plural: bagadoù , whereby the plural in Breton is not marked after numerals) is the Breton variant of Pipes & Drums. In addition to the Great Highland Bagpipes (Binioù braz), there are also the reed instruments Bombarde (multiple instrumentation ), Bombarde tenor (single instrumentation or with a few instruments) and Binioù kozh (mostly only one instrumentation ). The chanter of the Great Highland Bagpipes used are set up so that the semitones can also be played. The striking mechanism (battery) corresponds to that of Pipes & Drums. Unlike Pipes & Drums, individual pieces also include other instruments such as flutes, saxophones, other bagpipes (e.g. Cornemuse du Center ), accordion and additional percussion instruments, but also "modern" instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass and Synthesizer used.

Great Highland Bagpipe and other instruments

The Great Highland Bagpipe is occasionally used as a solo instrument with the organ . Frictions between the intonations of the Great Highland Bagpipe and the organ are accepted. The Great Highland Bagpipe is tuned to the B note of the organ, provided that it is tuned to a¹ ≈ 440 Hz.

As part of larger brass music festivals, such as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo , Great Highland Bagpipes are combined with other wood and especially brass instruments. In practice, pipes & drums usually play together with brass bands. The tuning of the instruments involved is usually not critical, as most of the wood and brass instruments used can be played fully chromatically and are often tuned to Bb or Eb.

The composer Graham Waterhouse commented on his work Chieftain's Salute (2001) for Great Highland Bagpipe and string orchestra: “Up until now, attempts have seldom been made to combine the bagpipe with classical orchestral instruments because its mood is not tempered and its" original sound "is too penetrating is. Its advantages remain so unused ... The problem of volume and unbalanced sound balance was solved in Chieftain's Salute by the spatial distance between the bagpiper and the orchestra. "

In the 18th century, Scottish regiments of the British Indian Army brought the Great Highland Bagpipe to India, where it was used in parades and is still used today. In folk music it largely replaced the traditional North Indian bagpipe mashak .

Rufus Harley introduced the instrument to modern jazz in 1965 .

Exercise instruments

Playing the Great Highland Bagpipe is often not initially learned on the actual instrument, but on a simple hand-blown double-reed instrument with a wind capsule, the Practice Chanter . The volume is moderate and suitable for small rooms. High-quality practice chanters are made of grenadilla or a polyamide optimized for instrument construction and have the same finger- hole spacing as the chanter of the Great Highland Bagpipe (Long Practice Chanter) or smaller finger- hole spacing and in both cases hinted at, i.e. felt by the fingers, with the Great Highland Bagpipe finger holes of comparable size. The fingering of the Great Highland Pipe is learned on this instrument. The Practice Chanter also accompanies experienced pipers lifelong, e.g. B. for learning new pieces, for finger exercises or for practicing together in a group.

The “Practice Goose” is a practice chanter that is integrated into a windsock equipped with a blow pipe. This practice instrument is used less often, but unlike the Practice Chanter it gives the feeling of playing a bagpipe.

More recently, as an alternative to the Practice Chanter, modified "Scottish Smallpipes" have been offered as practice instruments. These soft-sounding bagpipes, which are therefore suitable for apartments, are usually bellows-blown, but are also offered hand-blown and the chanter of these instruments are fingered like the chanter of the Great Highland Bagpipe and produce a Mixolydian scale without using semitones like the Great Highland Bagpipe. These instruments are mostly offered in D, A and B tunings.

volume

Pipes & Drums reach an average volume of 122 dB. The EU is therefore considering introducing the obligation to wear hearing protection for professional musicians.

literature

  • Reinhold Ege: MacEges manual for the Scottish bagpipes. The artisanal side of the Great Highland bagpipe . 2., revised. Aufl. Verlag der Spielfahrer, Reichelsheim 2002, ISBN 978-3-927240-68-1 (manual for the practical use of this instrument).
  • Reinhold Ege: MacEges textbook for the Scottish bagpipes . 2nd, corrected edition. Verlag der Spielfahrer , Brensbach 1993, ISBN 3-927240-08-7 .
  • Reinhold Ege: Keys and moods of the Great Highland Bagpipe , self-published (www.macege.de), Herrenberg 2001

Web links

Commons : Great Highland Bagpipe  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Video of the Massed Pipes & Drums on the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on YouTube
  2. ^ Graham Waterhouse Works. In: arbc.de. Retrieved November 3, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Tagesschau (ARD) on April 22, 2008