Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Bagpipes

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Bagpipes
Bagpipers near Glasgow in Scotland. Steve Allen/ Shutterstock
Michael Kurek
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Perhaps, like me, you have been fascinated, even thrilled, when a bagpiper showed up in a kilt at a wedding or funeral you attended. Or perhaps you have heard the raucously festive sound of row upon row of bagpipers in a parade, accompanied by snare, tenor, and bass drums. That ensemble is properly called a “pipe band.”

Perhaps you also think that bagpipes are rather mysterious because they always seem to come and go too quickly, before you have a chance to really get a good look at them or figure out how they work. Let’s explore this intriguing instrument and its history and role in culture.

Michael Kurek
Michael Kurek
Author
American composer Michael Kurek is the composer and producer of the Billboard No. 1 classical album, “The Sea Knows,” and a member of the Grammy Producers and Engineers Wing of the Recording Academy. He is Professor Emeritus of Composition at Vanderbilt University. The most recent of his many awards for composition was being named in March 2022 “Composer Laureate of the State of Tennessee” by the Tennessee State Legislature and governor. For more information and music, visit MichaelKurek.com
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