Peebles
EH45 8LQ
Scotland
High Quality Scottish Smallpipes, English and other bagpipes from one of Britain's most innovative makers
|
ENGLISH DOUBLE PIPE |
|
 |
THIS IS A SMALL PIPE WITH A CHANTER HAVING TWO REEDS AND TWO BORES WHICH CAN BE FINGERED SEPARATELY TO PRODUCE SIMPLE HARMONIES AND COUNTER MELODIES. IT IS A FAIRLY QUIET PIPE. |
| click to enlarge | |
| The chanter's left bore is similar to that of the
Leicestershire Small Pipe, playing one octave from D to D', but the
top C' and the C produced by the little finger are both tuned to C natural
for playing in G. The right bore has no holes for the fingers of the left
hand, so tht it plays only up to G. The single drone is tuned to G an
octave below the chanter's G.
I usually make the pipes of yew. They can be either bellows-blown or mouthblown. Mouthblown pipes have a leather bag. For a bellows-blown pipe the bag is sewn from vinyl-backed fabric in a velvet cover. (A leather bag can be fitted as extra if required). The bellows are the same as supplied with the Leicestershire Small Pipe. I make these pipes in G, F and low D. The chanter reeds are plastic and are very stable - double chanters with cane reeds can require a lot of attention to keep well in tune. There are references and illustrations showing that double pipes were played in England. My design is based on the specification drawn up by my brother John from a measured description of a bellows-blown double pipe written in England by James Talbot in the 1690s. Nearly all the essential dimensions were noted and there is a picture of a similar chanter in Mersenne's 'Harmonie Universelle' of 1636. There is a detailed account by George Skene in 1729 of two sets of double pipes being played by James Bell of Carlisle. One set, which Skene eventually bought, had 'three burdens (drones) on it'. I can fit these pipes with three drones in a common stock similar to the Scottish Small Pipes. It is an intriguing pipe to play. Using covered fingering, as on the Leicestershire Small Pipe, it can be played as a simple pipe in G, with the right hand covering the sound holes for both bores simultaneously. However, when the left hand is forming notes above the G on the left bore, there are possibilities of playing G or a lower note on the right bore. There are even some possibilities of fingering the bores independently from G downwards. The effect is surprising and the tone gorgeous. | |