Why are Bagpipes Scottish?

Let’s face it. Bagpipes are an acquired taste. They don’t sound pretty and understandably a lot of people find them hard to listen to. Other people love them and they’re a symbol of national pride for many Scots. This would lead you to believe that the Bagpipes are Scottish, right? Wrong. There is a lot of debate about the exact origins of the instrument, further confused by the fact multiple types of Bagpipe are found in various countries. One thing is clear though and that is that they are pretty darn ancient…

Ancient Origins of the Bagpipes

So the question is, why did Bagpipes fade in popularity in most places but gain status in Scotland? It depends on which type of Bagpipes you’re talking about. You see, the pipes seen on shortbread tins and whiskey bottles are actually the Great Highland Bagpipes. They differ from the Small Pipes that came before them. The Great Pipes are, well, bigger. And louder, having three drones rather than just one. They really came into their own in the 17th and 18th centuries when the highlanders got hold of an existing instrument and took it to the next level. (Adding drones and making them bigger as mentioned.) Before they took on form as the Great Pipes and became the domain of the highlanders it was commonplace for towns all over Scotland to have a town piper. They played at various community functions and events – weddings, ceremonies, festivities etc. Once the Bagpipes became established in the Highlands of Scotland they began to develop in isolation. In the Highlands, where Gaelic culture was dominant and the system of clans was entrenched is where the Bagpipes became entwined with Scottish identity.

Gaelic influence on the Bagpipes

“Clan” comes from the Gaelic word for “children” or “stock”. Many people today can trace their ancestry back to the 13th century through the history of the clans. A given clan was usually  associated with a particular region and had a chief who would provide protection for the clan members in return for their allegiance to him. Chiefs would have pipers. These Bagpipers enjoyed a relatively decent status, more so than the village pipers of the lowlands. They were full time employees of the chief, playing at events important to the community such as weddings, funerals, festivities etc but they were also integral to the clans war efforts. And the clans were quite often at war – with each other, with Norse invaders during the medieval period and eventually with the British government. Highlanders were known to be ferocious warriors and the pipers were right there on the battlefield motivating the troops. 

Interestingly, there are links between the musical repertoire of the Great Pipes and ancient Celtic Music. There was a strong oral tradition in Gaelic culture and a system known as Cantarach (spelt Cataireachd in Gaelic) was used for passing along tunes amongst the pipers for many generations. The first pipe tunes weren’t written down until the 17th century so it’s fun to speculate just how far back some of these melodies might go! 

The Jacobites

After crushing the rebellion the British government set about trying to eradicate Gaelic culture and the clan system once and for all. Chiefs were stripped of their political power, the language was outlawed as was wearing traditional Highland dress and playing Bagpipes. The Highland armies were decimated and most of the surviving soldiers fled in order to survive. 

Not long after this the Highland Clearances began and the old Gaelic way of life was more or less wiped out. The Clan chiefs, who were now more like landlords than protectors of their tribe, became tools of the British government who were intent on ‘improving’ the land and how it was used. Basically, it was more economical to use the Highlands for farming sheep than have people subsistence farming on it. Thousands of people were forced off the land as leases ran out and many went to the Americas or Australia in search of a new life.

The Empire strikes a chord

So why didn’t the Great Pipes get assigned to history then and there? Ironically, it was the British army that saved them. During the clampdown that followed the defeat of Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden, independent Companies of Highlanders were raised from clans that had been loyal to the Crown. They were charged with policing the area and keeping the Highlands under control. The most famous was the Black Watch who were formed in 1715 after the first Jacobite rebellion. 

But how did it become commonplace for Bagpipers to be part of regiments in the British army? Wasn’t the instrument outlawed after all? One explanation is that it came down to spelling. Yep. You see, there were already Drum and Fife bands in the army. (A Fife being a kind of small Recorder/Flute like instrument.) Apparently, some Officers (no doubt of Highland stock) mistook the word Fifes for Pipes and thought they were allowed to recruit Bagpipers into the ranks! (I don’t know if that’s definitely true but it’s too good a story to not mention.) However it came about, the Great Highland Pipes were once again an instrument of war. Scottish regiments saw service in the French and Indian Wars in North America in the 1770s, in Egypt and Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, in the Crimea and India in the 1800s and in the First and Second World War in the 20th century. And at the very front in all these campaigns was the regiment’s pipers. This could explain why so much of the world has a mental link between the Bagpipes and Scotland, rather than say, France. “Here come the British! What’s that noise??!!!”

To conclude…

So there you have it. The Scots might not have invented the Bagpipes but they seem to have done it better and louder than anyone else. At some point, the collective psyche of not just Scots, but the rest of the world, started identifying the image of the Highlander with Scotland in general. And the Highlanders, as we now know, took the Bagpipes and made them the Great Pipes which were taken around the world by the invading British armies. 

Sources for this article

‘The evolution of the Great Highland Bagpipe’ Robert Worral (hendersongroupltd.com)

‘Bagpipe History’ John White

‘Scottish Highland Bagpipes in the British Isles’ (highlandbagpipe.com)

‘The Piob Mhor, or the Great highland Pipes’ Ben Johnson (historic-uk.com)

‘History of the Scottish Clans’ (rabbies.com)

‘The Cland System’ (scotclans.com)

‘Interview with Donald Lindsey’ (youtube)

‘Story of Scottish Piping in 17th century. Lowland and Highland Pipes with Stuart Letford’ (youtube – James Rattray)

‘The Highland Clearances’ (Stuff you missed in history class – podcast. Holly Frey and Tracey Wilson)

‘The truth about bagpipes’ (bethroars.com)

nam.ac.uk/explore/jacobites