Editing Bagpipes (section)

== Construction ==
{|align=right
|{{Listen|filename=Skye Boat Song.ogg|title=Skye Boat Song|description=An adaptation of "[[The Skye Boat Song]]" for Great Highland bagpipes played by the Clan Stewart Pipe Band.}}
|}
[[File:Cantiga bagpipes 1.jpg|thumb|right|A detail from the [[Cantigas de Santa Maria]] showing bagpipes with one chanter and a parallel drone (Spain, 13th century).]]
[[File:Bagpipe en.PNG|thumb|On this Bulgarian gaida, the chanter is the short gray pipe at the top, while the drone is the long three-section pipe.]]
[[File:Hieronymus Bosch 068.jpg|thumb|right|A detail from a painting by [[Hieronymus Bosch]] showing two bagpipers (15th century).]]
A set of bagpipes minimally consists of an air supply, a bag, a [[chanter]], and usually at least one [[Drone (music)|drone]]. Many bagpipes have more than one drone (and, sometimes, more than one chanter) in various combinations, held in place in stocks—sockets that fasten the various pipes to the bag.

=== Air supply ===
The most common method of supplying air to the bag is through blowing into a blowpipe or blowstick. In some pipes the player must cover the tip of the blowpipe with the tongue while inhaling, in order to prevent unwanted deflation of the bag, but most blowpipes have a non-return valve that eliminates this need. In recent times, there are many instruments that assist in creating a clean air flow to the pipes and assist the collection of condensation.

The use of a [[bellows]] to supply air is an innovation dating from the [[16th century|16th]] or [[17th century|17th]] century. In these pipes, sometimes called "[[cauld wind pipes (disambiguation)|cauld wind pipes]]", air is not heated or moistened by the player's breathing, so bellows-driven bagpipes can use more refined or delicate reeds. Such pipes include the Irish [[uilleann pipes]]; the [[border pipes|border or Lowland pipes]], [[Scottish smallpipes]], [[Northumbrian smallpipes]] and [[pastoral pipes]] in Britain; the [[musette de cour]], the [[musette bechonnet]] and the [[cabrette]] in France; and the {{ill|Dudy|pl}}, [[Kozioł (bagpipe)|koziol bialy]], and [[koziol czarny]] in Poland.

=== Bag ===
The bag is an airtight reservoir that holds air and regulates its flow via arm pressure, allowing the player to maintain continuous, even sound. The player keeps the bag inflated by blowing air into it through a blowpipe or by pumping air into it with a bellows. Materials used for bags vary widely, but the most common are the skins of local animals such as goats, dogs, sheep, and cows. More recently, bags made of synthetic materials including [[Gore-Tex]] have become much more common. Some synthetic bags have [[Zipper|zips]] that allow the player to fit a more effective moisture trap to the inside of the bag. However, synthetic bags still carry a risk of colonisation by fungal spores, and the associated danger of lung infection if they are not kept clean, even if they otherwise require less cleaning than do bags made from natural substances.

Bags cut from larger materials are usually [[saddle stitch|saddle-stitched]] with an extra strip folded over the seam and stitched (for skin bags) or glued (for synthetic bags) to reduce leaks. Holes are then cut to accommodate the stocks. In the case of bags made from largely intact animal skins, the stocks are typically tied into the points where the limbs and the head joined the body of the whole animal, a construction technique common in [[Central Europe]]. Different regions have different ways of treating the hide. The simplest methods involve just the use of salt, while more complex treatments involve [[milk]], [[flour]], and the removal of fur. The hide is normally turned inside out so that the fur is on the inside of the bag, as this helps to reduce the effect of moisture buildup within the bag.

=== Chanter ===
{{Main|Chanter}}
[[File:Thechanter.jpg|thumb|A Great Highland bagpipe [[practice chanter]]]]
The chanter is the [[melody]] pipe, played with two hands. All bagpipes have at least one chanter; some pipes have two chanters, particularly those in North Africa, in the Balkans, and in Southwest Asia. A chanter can be bored internally so that the inside walls are parallel (or "cylindrical") for its full length, or it can be bored in a conical shape. Popular woods include [[Buxus|boxwood]], [[cornus mas|cornel]], plum or other fruit wood.

The chanter is usually open-ended, so there is no easy way for the player to stop the pipe from sounding. Thus most bagpipes share a constant [[legato]] sound with no [[Rest (music)|rests]] in the music. Primarily because of this inability to stop playing, technical movements are made to break up notes and to create the illusion of articulation and accents. Because of their importance, these embellishments (or "ornaments") are often highly technical systems specific to each bagpipe, and take many years of study to master. A few bagpipes (such as the musette de cour, the [[uilleann pipes]], the Northumbrian smallpipes, the [[Piva (bagpipe)|piva]] and the left chanter of the [[surdelina]]) have closed ends or stop the end on the player's leg, so that when the player "closes" (covers all the holes), the chanter becomes silent.

A [[practice chanter]] is a chanter without bag or drones and has a much quieter reed, allowing a player to practice the instrument quietly and with no variables other than playing the chanter.

The term ''chanter'' is derived from the Latin ''cantare'', or "to sing", much like the modern French verb meaning "to sing", ''[[wikt:chanter#French|chanter]]''.

A distinctive feature of the gaida's chanter (which it shares with a number of other Eastern European bagpipes) is the "flea-hole" (also known as a ''mumbler'' or ''voicer'', ''marmorka'') which is covered by the index finger of the left hand. The flea-hole is smaller than the rest and usually consists of a small tube that is made out of metal or a chicken or duck feather. Uncovering the flea-hole raises any note played by a half step, and it is used in creating the [[musical ornamentation]] that gives [[Balkan music]] its unique character.

Some types of gaida can have a double bored chanter, such as the Serbian three-voiced gajde. It has eight fingerholes: the top four are covered by the thumb and the first three fingers of the left hand, then the four fingers of the right hand cover the remaining four holes.

==== Chanter reed ====
The note from the chanter is produced by a [[Reed (instrument)|reed]] installed at its top. The reed may be a [[Single-reed instrument|single]] (a reed with one vibrating tongue) or [[double reed]] (of two pieces that vibrate against each other). Double reeds are used with both conical- and parallel-bored chanters while single reeds are generally (although not exclusively) limited to parallel-bored chanters. In general, double-reed chanters are found in pipes of Western Europe while single-reed chanters appear in most other regions.

They are made from reed (''[[arundo donax]]'' or [[Phragmites]]), [[bamboo]], or [[elderberry|elder]]. A more modern variant for the reed is a combination of a cotton phenolic (Hgw2082) material from which the body of the reed is made and a clarinet reed cut to size in order to fit the body. These type of reeds produce a louder sound and are not so sensitive to humidity and temperature changes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = gaida (bagpipe) in Greece : γκάιντα στην Ελλάδα : gaida (Dudelsack) in Griecheland : gaida Yunanistan'da|url = http://www.gaida.gr|website = www.gaida.gr|access-date = 2016-01-24}}</ref>

=== Drone ===
Most bagpipes have at least one [[drone (music)|drone]], a pipe that generally is not fingered but rather produces a constant harmonizing note throughout play (usually the [[Tonic (music)|tonic]] note of the chanter). Exceptions are generally those pipes that have a double-chanter instead. A drone is most commonly a cylindrically bored tube with a single reed, although drones with double reeds exist. The drone is generally designed in two or more parts with a sliding joint so that the pitch of the drone can be adjusted.

Depending on the type of pipes, the drones may lie over the shoulder, across the arm opposite the bag, or may run parallel to the chanter. Some drones have a tuning screw, which effectively alters the length of the drone by opening a hole, allowing the drone to be tuned to two or more distinct pitches. The tuning screw may also shut off the drone altogether. In most types of pipes with one drone, it is pitched two octaves below the tonic of the chanter. Additional drones often add the octave below and then a drone consonant with the fifth of the chanter.