Bagpipes

Extracted from "Walter's Tales of the Borders", Walter Elliot, 1996. With thanks to the author

All over the world, bagpipes are recognisably Scottish and you get pipe bands of every race and colour who wear the tartan. These are the "great pipes" or the " Highland bagpipes" and are outdoor pipes.

Less well known are the Border, Lowland and Northumbrian pipes which are indoor as well as outdoor instruments. The main difference between the two is their air supply. In the great pipes, the air is blown directly into the bag which causes the moisture in the breath to wet it and is directly responsible for the theory that pipers have to drink a lot of whisky to preserve the skin of the bag. In the other pipes, the air is pumped in with bellows under the other arm and for this reason the Border, Lowland and Northumbrian pipes are referred to collectively as "the Cauld Wund Pipes". Players of these pipes drink whisky for medicinal reasons only.

In the Scottish Borders there were three classes of piper. Lowest in the social scale was the wandering or gypsy piper; highest in scale was the personal piper to a duke or other nobleman. Somewhere in the middle was the "Toun Piper", for each Border town of any size and pretension had a Town Piper. This office was often a hereditary one and passed down from father to son, providing the son had sufficient skill on the pipes. When not engaged on their official duties, they would wander the countryside, playing and telling stories. By having a bellows pipe, the Border piper could sing and play his own accompaniment at the same time. It is said that some could also dance while doing both the above.

Each Burgh had its official piper and drummer who attended the magistrates during official engagements. As they were not highly paid for such an important burgh office they had to entertain at other functions - which usually got them into trouble with either kirk or court (see Sunday in Scotland).

In the case of the Personal Pipers the higher the title the better the piper. Two noted pipers were James Allen, the famous (or notorious) piper of the Duke of Northumberland, and Geordie Syme who was attached to the Duke of Buccleuch. Geordie lived in Dalkeith and seems to have gone round the town twice daily but paid particular attention to the Buccleuch family whenever they were in residence. The Queen still has her personal piper at Balmoral where she is awakened each morning to the sound of the pipes.

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