The earliest ancestors of the Great Highland Bagpipe were first developed in the Near East and Egypt before 2,500 BC. The most common of these instruments was the 'Shawm", a simple reed-pipe, blown with the mouth.

The traditional form of this instrument is still played in many countries today and has also evolved into the modern day Oboe and the Bombarde of French Brittany.

The "Hornpipe" was another early ancestor of the bagpipe. A double reed fitted into a "stock and horn", blown with the mouth. The Hornpipe is also the basis for our practice chanter.

The bag was a logical development - dating to Roman times - most likely added as a replacement for circular breathing. The bag allowed the player to sustain playing for much longer, without having to stop the music to take breaths.

Reed pipes and bagpipes are found all across the Mid East, through Asia, along the Silk Road and beyond. As trading spread over the centuries, so did the bagpipe. It made its way through Europe, becoming the most popular instrument (in its many forms) of the middle ages. In the painting to the right you can see a bagpipe being played along side a shawm.

Every ethnic group in Europe has or has had its own type of bagpipe, often several. The French have about three different types of pipes, there are Swedish pipes, German pipes, Spanish, Bulgarian, Italian and the list goes on. Each are similar in function, yet distinctly different in sound.

King Nero was shown on a coin engraving playing a bagpipe. So it is possible that he actually played a bagpipe as Rome burned, not a fiddle. The Romans used pipes extensively in battle and probably can be credited with bringing the pipes to the British Isles.

Bagpipes were known to the Gaels (early inhabitants of the Brittish Isles) by the mid 16th century, but probably much earlier. And although the Highland pipes are by far the most well known, the Scots have played a wide variety of bagpipes.

Scottish Gaelic music is an integral part of the piping tradition. Gaelic songs were adapted to the pipes as piobaireachd (pea-broch) and airs. The pipes were used much in battle and celebration.

The Great Highland Bagpipe as we know it has been around since the early 1700s. Two and three drone models were common at that time. Our Great Highland Bagpipe is nearly identical to the older Irish War Pipe which only has two drones, tenor and bass.

The world wide popularity of the Scottish Highland pipes owes much to the English. The pipes were introduced to the world as the English used Scottish regiments and laborers to expand their empire.

The Scottish Highland pipes are now played in every corner of the world. Musicians of many nationalities have adopted this noble instrument, even transposing their own native music to the scale of the pipes.

The last twenty years has seen incredible advancement in the technology, refinement and adaptation of the Highland bagpipe and its music. But as the pipes and their music continue to evolve, there are mighty efforts under way to help research, revive and protect the most ancient and fragile aspects of the tradition.

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