How to Put The Bagpipes Together 

60 years on this planet and i learned something new today. Facinating how simple, yet complex this instrument is. Thanks for sharing and scratches for your fur baby lol.

Thanks Ally. You make it look so easy. I know that playing the pipes will be the real test. Love how easy you make it look when you’re playing but you have the talent for it. Keep up the good work giving us such wonderful music.

I was born in Scotland, but grew up in Canada and I now live in the USA... and in my 68+ years on this earth, I've never known how to put bagpipes together! Thanks for teaching me something new. Your videos are quite good - both informative and entertaining.

My daughter saw you play at Irish Fest in Erie. Prior to this she hated bagpipes (she had only ever heard them played at funerals). Now she is begging me to find someone who teaches bagpipes. I have taught her the trumpet, flute, guitar, clarinet and piano. I never learned bagpipes myself. Now I am looking into lessons for her.

I just bought my bagpipe I learned a lot with ur video thank you from Brazil 🇧🇷

What a beautiful set of pipes. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you, Ally; I've been taking lessons for 8 months and am just now trying to assemble the pipes given to me. . . we'll see how it goes. Your video was very helpful!

Hi 👋 it's my first time watching one of your videos and I enjoy watching them Happy Friday!!!!!! by the way enjoy your week and weekend stay safe and Happy late New Years!!!!!!👍👏😄🎆

Thank you for this instructional video. I learned from you today. So thank you for that. Wishing you a great weekend

Your videos are amazing!👍

Thank you! This was very helpful for someone who loves hearing the bagpipes but had no idea how the insides worked.

Aww the happy puppies!! ❤️❤️❤️

It's great when you're happy with your bagpipes.

He did need something from you... he was eyeing that chameleon again 😂

The bagpipes have always been one of the most distinguished instruments in history, to me, for as long as I remember. I love to see someone (young), keeping this instrument alive centuries after their inception. It gives me hope that we as a people won’t completely forget history.

Being able to play is not enough. Being able to make them play is also an art in itself. An intimate knowledge of the instrument and mastery of its' reeds and tuning is also 'required'. Batteries not included and not 'plug & play. Must! be airtight! Start young. Well done again!

Wow cool thanks for sharing, I have an old Scottish highland bagpipe that has a bag made of leather and all pieces are wood, I guess how they were initially made. and haven’t been able to put it together in several attempts, so this helps a lot 🎉, thanks Ally

Much love from Scotland ❤️😘🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I want to be that guy in my neighborhood who plays the pipes on a foggy Saturday at 7am.

Hey Ally,I am one of the long time stewards at Loon mountain for piping, glad to see you doing so well . Hope you come and play for us at Loon sometime,hope your mom is well. Cheers! Stephen

I just wanna cuddle that little puppy.

Thank you I love the sound of bagpipes bit had no idea how they work or are assembled. Thank you again young lady

Thanks I'm also 60 and thanks for keeping things simple on connecting the pipes

Thank you for another great video princess. This the first time I've ever seen the bagpipes put together. Thank you so so much.

Always fun learning new things! Have a wonderful weekend 👍

I love what you do! Keep up the great work!

Awesome video as usual Ally keep up the great work you are amazing

would love to see you do more bagpipe videos on bagpipes like maintenance how you hemp them and the things you use thanks for sharing i know that you are busy!

Off topic, glad to see Basil cameo.. or camo? Gross the spit tube. What is the oldest working set of bagpipes? How often do you have to replace reeds? Sorry for all the question. And yet another video where the puppies try to steal the show.. 🐶🥰

Informative. I have always wondered how the pipes went together.

Thanks, Ally. I’m learning from all your videos.

How cool! Thanks for sharing! #stayepic

As a RU-vidr and bass drummer I really appreciate this explanation!! I'm actually working on a 3D printed set of pipes, imagine playing bagpipes in your favorite colors!!

Thanks for this - it’s a very interesting instrument!

really love the video. informative.

Thank you for sharing all this information my friend

Love your videos. So informative. i would love to learn to play the bagpipes

New to me. Love learning something new. Looks like 3x5+3 ... and a half ... or 2 ... maybe. Sounds like you're putting it together right.

That is neat , I learned something!

Ty for the vid, it was informative and fun to watch. 🙂

Cool! I think I am going to get a chanter to wake up my teenagers for school.

Great Tuturial.... make Highland bagpipe great again!

Thank you for the video!

it hade bean fun if you cudent play a swedisch folk song on the bagpipe. hugs frome me in sweden😊

I love the dogs!

Such Nice eyebrow ! Lordie !!

doggos! Let Them In

I like your pets and love you ❤❤😘💕💕

Wow, the video was very informative.

Oh oh you don't know how to play the bagpipe 😂😂😂 omg,I can't believe someone said that,you are amazingly talented...much much respect 🤘🤘👊

Nice video, thank you very much! 👍

Hello, thank you for your videos, you are a Celtic warrior princess, I am Spanish, I do not understand English but I really like your style, thank you, and well, I am also Celtic, so they were here too,

Thanks for another great video! You certainly have a passion for what you are doing, because you smile the entire time you make your videos. How often do you have to replace your reeds?

Could you please make a guide on how/where to obtain a bagpipe? Cheers! Great content lass

Thank you for telling aspiring pipers to start with the practice chanter. I know that it is tempting to buy a set of pipes and just start blowing but it's just not a good idea.

Thank you for sharing this information. That was really cool to see. Also extra scratches and belly rubs for the doggies.

I like your video and you have very beautifully music

Dogs are cool. Another reason I watch your videos.

All of a sudden I know more about bagpipes than I know about most instruments. What kind of guitar is on the wall? Looks kind of like a Paul Reed Smith. I own 50 or 60 guitars but I may now know more about bagpipes than I know about them.

PUPPIES 🙂

Thank you Ally you keep teaching us more about the bagpipes and I'm getting more and more interested and how to play them I love the sound of them but I think if I'd tried to play it might sound like a dying animal. Do some people just play the Cantor I believe you said it was,

Чюдесница, разъяснила всё конкретно!), 🐁

❤️❤️❤️

Just subscribed to your channel! Cool videos!! I was wondering if you ever tried to squeeze in a bagpipe part on Wild dances by Ruslana. No idea if it would work but it’s a fun melody and I think it would sound great! 😁

I think I remember you saying in an earlier video that the two tenor drones play the same note. If that is the case, why is it important (as you say in this video) to ensure that the reeds and pipes for the middle and outside drones are consistently matched? In other words, would not the reeds and pipes for these two drones be interchangeable? Also, are the drones tunable, say from one tune to the next, or does retuning them require changing (or modifying) reeds or some other sort of time consuming operation? As always, thank you for your excellent and instructive videos!

I love listening to a good bagpiper. That is why I sub to this channel. There is one song that I believe should be played on bagpipes but I can't find a good version anywhere. Would you give a try at The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald?

I started taking bagpipe classes just last September still using the chanter. I have been impressed by how you convert music that was not made for a bagpipe to work on the bagpipes and their limited note range. The bagpipes are my first instrument so I've had to learn music as I go. Is there an app that helps convert songs, or is it something you are just gifted to be able to do?

I do have a few questions for you @Ally The Piper. By the sound of it, the very first time you put a set of bagpipes together it doesn't matter which tenor pieces are the middle vs the outer, but it does after that. First of all, am I correct in that understanding, and if so, why? Do the connection points form together somehow over time? Speaking of, what are the connection points called? Joints? And why hemp rather than cork? Dose it make it easier to replace? Do you then not need cork grease or some other lube? When you first pulled up the fully disassembled pipes, there was no case as far as I could tell, so how do you transport them? Can the bag pull double duty as a case? I imagine that could damage it though, so my assumption is there is a dedicated case for them. How many total pieces are in a set of bagpipes? Do you know if there is another instrument that would have similar fingerings to the bagpipes? (Of course, minus the...flourishes I think you called them? The method of 'tonging' for bagpipes given the steady stream of air.) For example, the clarinet, flute, and sax all have simmilar-ish fingerings. If you were to undo the hose clamp on the chanter stock, would it just fall out of the bag, or is there something else holding it in? Is that how you get to the inside of the bag to do upkeep on the water trap? If not, how do you get in there? Do you even ever need to get inside the bag in the first place, or would you take it into some sort of repair shop if anything ever went wrong with the innards? Coming back to the middle vs outer tenor, you said you usually just take off the tops of your drones, but you didn't mention anything about marking them, can they be swapped back and forth while the centers and reeds stay put, or is that a no-go as well? Or are they kept in order by the drone cords? Approximately how long is the base drone when fully assembled? Do you know what the volume is of the bag? Dose it vary from one set to another? Would that have an effect on the difficulty? Under normal circumstances, how fast can you assemble you pipes? Wow, that grew fast, I thought it was just going to be one or two quick questions! In all honesty I could probably just google most of these, but you did ask for questions! Well, still sorry for the wall of text. in case you couldn't tell I'm very new to this concept, I only just found out how the most basic mechanisms work about a day ago, but am very curious. Well, take it or leave it, answer what you want, don't what you don't, but there you go,. some random person on he internet's musings. Good [applicable time]!

Thank you ally... could you suggest where I could get a how to book to begin learning the pipes?

Thank you,

Do you have to tune the bagpipes? I would be interested to know how all that works. Found this video really interesting.

Definitely did not know the bass drone is tied in 2 places 🤯

@Ally The Piper, you mentioned reeds, now my question, although I already THINK I know the answer. Do the reeds need to be lined up in a certain direction, or do they work, just as put in the Chanter, and Drones ? Keep the great content coming

Ally, I have learned many songs on a Gibson practice chanter over the last year and now feel like I'm ready to transition to a set of pipes. I would love to own and play a set of Gibson R 110 Great Highland pipes but they're way out of my budget. What set of pipes would you recommend for a budget of around $1,000?

Just wanted to pop in and say you are an amazing pipper! And I was wondering if I could send you my bagpipes so you could help me tune and set them up? Please and thank you!

I think the most amazing part is how long ago the people created this instrument considering how complex it appears to be; the materials available, the construction, etc..

Do you have any antique pipes, was there much of difference in the parts or materials compared to older generations of pipes! Ty, Ally

You seem to prefer pipes with three drones of two different tones, are the pipes with more drone pipes configured in the same way, just with more tenors or are there pipes with, for example, soprano drones outside the tenor drones?

My chanted 🌹..❤❤

Hey Ally, I have some celtic favorites that i've heard on the tin whistle. how does playing the bagpipe chanter compare to playing the tin whistle? i can't play the whistle or the bagpipe, but I'm curious.

And what about the cameleon? 😉He's playin' bagpipe with the dog? 😸

Thx

Does the learning kit come with ear plugs for the rest of the family?

So how do you tune the drones? Does the lenght affect them or do you tune with the reed?

Do I need to adjust the bridal on my reeds to keep them from sounding when I'm not squeezing the bag? I'm fairly new to the pipes.

So if you buy a bag pipes would the drones already be airtight and ready to assemble or would you need to do it yourself?

Do you use 1 set drone reeds or do you use a combo set of reeds?

Is it possible to replace the middle drone with a bass drone, so you get more bass?

So let me get this straight when you blow into the bag it makes the drones vibrate to create that beautiful sound am i correct ????????

Bonjour, Grâce à vous, je viens de découvrir le fonctionnement de la cornemuse. Bonne continuation.

What reeds are those? I have those bamboo things and I can never get them to make sound in the pipes lol

I saw another girl playing the bagpipes on her site. Her bagpipes had a dragons head on it. Does the dragons head have any function other than decorative?

I bet the puppies are great help 💖🐕

I’ve been trying to figure out the Pipers kilt uniform?? What each part is called? Maybe you can explain that some time.

That was very cool, and informative, you should do a collaboration with Archy Jay (The Snake Charmer), Jane Espie. H Phantom Piper), and Chelsea Joy ( Dame of Drones)

Dogs, cats, Basil. So, obviously Chickens and Goats are next. The question is which first. (Considering the cost of eggs...)

I learnt nothing but it's probably because I used to play pipes when I was younger 🙂 Thanks for explaining to those who don't know, it's a mysterious instrument to many people 😛

where can I buy practice decanters in the United States that you recommend?

So how do you clean it and what do you clean it with?

0:15 Boop da snoot!