The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1906-02-02
Ga My Zee Boob RheumaiIsm
DR.. SHOOP'S RHEUMATIC
R;.i.. E, Sis'aS ". TABLETS D,s:sI.ss, s:'s 2,
ORIGIN OF BAGPIPES
1t Is Found in the Ancient
Reed, or Shepherds Pipe
OF Early Times.

According to t;ie encyclopedia. the bag
pipe is a wind instrument the fixed char
acteristic Of which has always been
two or more reed pipes attached TO and
sounded by q wind chest, or bag. which
bag has In turn been supplied either by
the lungs Of the performer OF by a bel
lows. The original instrument was pre-
sumably the simple reed, or shepherds
pipe, which was well known to the
Trojans, Egyptians. Greeks and Ro-
mans. But the strain of blowing these
ancient pipes was SO great that some
genius conceived the idea Of having a
reserve supply Of wind in a bag attach
ed 20 the pipes, and hence tlle bagpipe.
The first real instrument is believed 10
have been a skin Of a goat or kid, with
two pipes, through one OF which the
bag was inflated the other emitting the
sound
In early times the bagpipe was COM
mon in Great Britain and abroad Al
one time there were five different kinds
known on the continent some inflated
by the mouth and others by bellows,
while In the British isles three kinds
were known--the great highland bag
pipe. the lowland bagpipe Of Scotland
I (which closely resembled the Northum-
brian) and the Irish bagpipe.
In the great highland bagpipe, which
originally had but one dronc, a Waived
tube leads from the mouth TO an air
tight bag, which has four other oriiices.
/ three large enough to contain the base
of three fixed long tubes, termed drones,
and another smaller. to which is fitted
the chanter The three are thrown on
the shoulder, while the latter is held In
the hands. All four pipes are filed
with reeds, but of different kinds. The
drones are tuned by means Of sliders,
or movable joints. and this tuning or
preparation for playing, which general
~ occupies a few minutes Of the piper's
time before he begins the tune proper,
is heard with impatience by those not
accustomed TO the instrument. Indeed.
1t gave rise to the saying, applied In
Scotland TO those who waste time over
small matters. "You are longer in tun-
ing your pipes than in playing your
tune"
The Scottish lowland bagppe, like
the Northumbran pipe. was In two
forms. one consisting OF smaller and
milder toned edition of the highland In
strument and the other a miniature OF
this and having the same relation to 1t
as the fife has to German band. Its
great drawback. from the point of view
of the devotees of the highland bagpipe,
is that IL is unsuited TO perform what
they consider the perfection OF pipe mu-
sic--the pibroch. These small pipes
were, however. gentler than the high
land. having the same tone. but less
sonorous. 1t was 10 the strains OF such
a bagpipe that Chaucer tells us the COM
pany OF pilgrims left London, and It Is
the same instrument that is alluded to
in Shakespeare as the Lincolnshire bag
pipe.
The Irish bagpipe Is the instrument In
its most elaborate form and is supplied
with wind by bellows. The drones
are all fxed on one stock and have
keys which are played by the wrist OF
the right hand. The reeds are soft and
the tones very sweet and melodious.
and there is harmonious bass which
is very effective In the hands OF a good
player. The Irish instrument is fast
dying out.
The bagpipe. though at one time fair
ly common, never obtained firm hold
In England. II lost favor and gradual
ly deteriorated until IL Is now practl-
cally extinct. The average English
man neither appreciates nor under
ofondo a. A fap,ouc naat irravarautly
once compared its notes TO "the shrill
screech Of lame goose caught in
corn" willie another heretic writer lik
ems its sound to "horrible, noisy, mad
Irishman" or TO the cries OF the "eter-
nally tormented." To the Irish people
IL appeals more strongly. They still
possess in u degree the feeling OF at
tachment TO the bagplpe which Is so
general among Scotsmen. But It Is
undoubtedly more closely associated
with Scotland, both in the highlands
and lowlands, than with any other
country, the particular instrument in
use being the great highland bagplpe,
which. as already explained, consists
Of three drones. including the big
drone, which was added about the be
ginning OF the last century. 1t is this
tyne which has sr;;,..:s sr;;;,.,::;s.!!,g- " superseded
the lowland pipe. There is no doubt
that the bagplpe was In use In Scot
land from very early period, and Il
is in Scotland that II has been brought
10 the highest degree Of perfection. Its
music distinctly connects II with Scot
land, as Is clear in the pibroch, the
strathspey. the reel the march and
other popular melodies. There are
proofs that the instrument waS cult
waited in Scotland certainly in the
twelfth century and OF iis ecise I
popularity as early as the fifteenth q.
tury, while In the seventeenth century
nearly every town IN the highlands and
iowlands boasted Of its piper London
Globe.