Expert: Arash Ebrahimi - 3/10/2008

Question
Hello,
I am a sound artist currently working with drones.

I am curious what the range of tuning on the drone pipes are available on a set of bagpipes. I would like to make some kind of drone chord, and possible while performing, adjust the tuning of the drone pipes.


Thank you.

Answer
Hi Ben,

Interesting question, and I would like to say upfront that I may not have an answer for you.  I can tell you that many bagpipers will adjust the tuning of the drones while they are performing.  While it is considered "bad form" to do this, many pipers are skilled enough and have a good enough ear to be able to tune in the middle of a performance.

Below is a link to an article that will give you more information specifically on the range of the drones, etc.  

I hope I was able to help.  If you need more assistance I would contact a local bagpipe band (not sure where you are located, but there are plenty around the world) and talk to the pipe major.  They tend to know a lot about the science behind the pipes.

http://www.hotpipes.com/tuning.html

Arash