Category Archives: Great Highland Bagpipe Solo

People playing solo great highland bagpipes.

Messing around

I haven’t really played highland pipes in over 2 years due to a sudden, drastic decrease in control of my left hand due to focal dystonia. Recently, I got a new chanter and I’m really digging it. Every note is very rich in timbre and it is very balanced and in tune with itself. Pitch here with a very easy reed is 485 Hz (ish). Drones are 1950’s Hendersons I got from Jimmy McIntosh, drone reeds are 480 Hz Overtones, and the chanter reed is by Gilmour.

Set 1: I love having a slightly flat high A!

Set 2: Tried to show off more high A. This is a very easy reed so throughout all recordings you can hear me under-blowing high A and high G so that I don’t accidentally blow the high A sharp.

Set 3: Last tune (Caber Feidh) illustrates the high and low G blown in tune, haha. Did I mention there is NO tape on high G? NONE!!!

Set 4: More high A!

Set 5: Just some jigs, again last tune illustrates low G.

Set 6: More jigs cause that’s all I can remember, the last one illustrating high and low G again and the stability of the chanter against squealing and squawking.

Set 7: Hornpipe and Jigs because I felt like showing off how my fingers don’t work? I dunno.

Set 8: MSR because I felt like screwing up the reel, or something.

January 2021 Tune of the Month: Wedding in the Woods

I haven’t done a tune of the month in over a year or so as I felt toward the end that I was too often grasping for something to share. But, I watched the online concert linked below and was struck by this awesome tune written by Fin Moore: The Wedding in the Woods.

Being unable to sleep early this morning I got up and figured it out, I hope correctly! I’ve got no sheet music for you as it’s under copyright but I do have a recording of it for you on highland pipes: Glencoe drones, Colin Kyo chanter, Husk chanter reed, Overtone drone reeds (Ackland). Just absorb the smoothness of those drones…

Wedding in the Woods (Fin Moore)

You could look at my fingers in the video I posted to BookFace if the audio isn’t enough for you to figure the tune out. Also, the microphone is directly behind me because my bed is currently acting as camera and sheet music holder as I sight read.