42nd Highlanders Regimental Pipes & Drums

A Short History of the Bagpipes
by George Hall

The Bagpipe has a long and honorable history as one of the earliest instruments played by man. It is believed to have its beginnings in ancient Egypt where a simple chanter and drone were played together. These were later attached to a bag made of animal skin and fitted with a blowpipe making a primitive form of the pipes we know today. This kind of bagpipe was played by the Greeks and Romans, and eventually spread throughout Europe. It was carried first by the Celts and then by the Romans on their invasions.

The bagpipe remained popular until the eighteenth century. When the towns and cities of Europe grew, more elaborate instruments were invented and music became more of an indoor activity. The popularity of the bagpipe died throughout most of Europe. Some traces still survive in Brittany, Southern Italy and the Balkans. In these areas the original form of bagpipe has changed little.

In Britain, its history and fate, except in the Highlands of Scotland, followed the same pattern as on the Continent. It came with the Celts and Romans and flourished for centuries as the instrument of the common people. It was played at fairs, weddings, open-air dancing, pageants and all sorts of processions and merry-makings. It is mentioned in the books and plays of William Shakespeare, and in many country ballads.

In the Highlands of Scotland, however, its history was different. Its martial music appealed to the warlike spirit of the people there, and at an early date it superceded the harp as the favorite musical instrument. The original form with bag, chanter, blowpipe and one drone remained unaltered until around fifteen hundred. Around this time a second drone was added. A third - the large bass drone - was added about two hundred years later.

The bagpipes fit very well into the Clan system then operating in the Highlands. The Chiefs of the Clans had their own pipers, in many cases, a hereditary office. Several colleges were established to teach the art of playing the bagpipes. Of the many colleges, the most famous was the MacCrimmons at Borreraig, in Skye. They were the hereditary pipers to the MacLeods of Dunvegan. The MacCrimmon school flourished as the head of piping instruction for over two hundred years. Many of the masterpieces of Ceol Mor which we still have today were written by the students and teachers of the MacCrimmon school.

After the rising of 1745 an attempt was made to break up the Clan system. The playing of the pipes and even the wearing of the tartan were forbidden in Scotland. The law was harshly enforced, and many of the colleges were broken up at this time. The families of the hereditary pipers scattered throughout Scotland. Many of them managed to make it across the Atlantic to the Americas. At that time it was feared that the art of the bagpipe would be lost forever. It was about thirty-three years before the Scots were again allowed to wear the tartan, and the playing of the pipes was resumed.

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