All Object Lessons
Belief & Identity

Bagpipes: The Instrument That Is Not Just Scottish

⏱ 45 minutes 🎓 Primary & Secondary 📚 music, history, art, ethics, geography
Core question How did the same musical idea — a bag of air, a melody pipe, and one or more drones — develop independently across dozens of cultures from Scotland to Pakistan, and what does this teach us about how musical instruments carry identity?
A Catalan piper outside the monastery of Santes Creus in Spain, playing the sac de gemecs. The bagpipe is not one instrument but a family of dozens of traditions across Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. Photo: Kriegerkalle / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Introduction

A bagpipe is a musical instrument that uses a bag of air to feed several pipes at once. The piper inflates the bag (by blowing through a tube, or by squeezing a bellows under the arm). The bag is held under one arm and squeezed steadily, pushing air through the other pipes — a chanter (the melody pipe, with finger holes) and one or more drones (which produce continuous deep notes underneath the melody). The bag acts as a reservoir, allowing the piper to keep the sound going while breathing. This is the key technological idea of the bagpipe: continuous, unbroken music. Most people, when they hear the word 'bagpipes', think of Scotland. The Great Highland Bagpipe — the loud, kilted, military-marching instrument — is the most famous bagpipe in the world. But it is not the only bagpipe. It is one of dozens. There are gaitas in Galicia, Asturias, Catalonia, and Portugal (an Iberian tradition going back centuries). There is the zampogna in southern Italy (a Christmas-time instrument with deep roots in Roman and pre-Roman music). There are uilleann pipes in Ireland (an indoor parlour instrument with bellows, very different from the Scottish marching pipes). There is the tulum in the Black Sea region of Turkey. There is the mezoued in Tunisia. There is the mashak in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. There is the tsambouna in the Greek islands. There is the gaida in Bulgaria and other Balkan countries. There is the dudy in the Czech lands. There are Northumbrian small pipes in northeast England. There are many more. The bagpipe is not one instrument. It is a family of instruments, with members across Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. The deep ancestor is probably an ancient Near Eastern instrument — bagpipes appear in Roman records (Nero is reported to have played one) and in medieval European art across the continent. Different traditions developed independently from this shared root, each shaped by local music, local materials, and local meaning. The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe became famous worldwide partly because of the British Army, which used it as marching music in dozens of campaigns from the 18th century onwards. But the same instrument family is alive in many other forms, in many other places. This lesson asks what a bagpipe is, why so many cultures developed similar instruments, and what the bagpipe family teaches us about how musical instruments carry both local identity and family resemblance across distant places.

The object
Origin
The bagpipe is an ancient instrument family with no single point of origin. The earliest written reference is to the Roman emperor Nero, who is reported to have played a bagpipe (or a closely related instrument) in the 1st century CE. The instrument family is probably older still, with possible ancestors in the ancient Near East. Different bagpipe traditions developed independently across Europe, North Africa, and South Asia over the last two thousand years, often building on local skin-bag and reed-pipe traditions.
Period
Continuously played for at least 2,000 years, and probably longer. The instrument has spread, diverged into many regional forms, occasionally fallen out of fashion, and been revived. Today many traditional bagpipe forms are still played — some as everyday folk instruments, some as concert music, some as national symbols, some as military music. New bagpipe forms continue to be developed.
Made of
A bag (usually animal skin — goat, sheep, or cow — though modern synthetic bags are also used); a chanter (the melody pipe, with finger holes, usually wood); one or more drones (long pipes producing continuous low notes); and a blowpipe (through which the piper inflates the bag) — or, in some traditions, a bellows operated by the piper's arm. Reeds inside the chanter and drones produce the sound when air passes through them. Reeds are typically made of cane or modern synthetic materials.
Size
Varies enormously by tradition. The Scottish Great Highland bagpipe has drones over a metre long. The Italian zampogna has drones nearly as long. The Irish uilleann pipes are smaller and more compact. The Northumbrian small pipes are tiny — small enough to be played while sitting down indoors. Tunisian mezoued pipes are also small. The size reflects how the instrument is meant to be played — outdoor or indoor, marching or sitting, alone or with other musicians.
Number of objects
Hundreds of thousands of bagpipes are in use worldwide today. The Great Highland Bagpipe alone has hundreds of pipe bands in dozens of countries. Vietnamese, Pakistani, Indian, North African, and Eastern European pipe makers continue to produce traditional pipes. New pipe traditions occasionally appear (such as the small pipes that have been revived in England, France, and other countries since the 1970s).
Where it is now
Bagpipes are played in dozens of countries worldwide. The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe is found wherever Scottish heritage organisations exist (across the Commonwealth, the United States, and many other countries). Traditional pipes are still played in Galicia, Asturias, Catalonia, Portugal, Brittany, southern Italy, southern Tunisia, eastern Turkey, the Black Sea coast, Greece, Bulgaria, Pakistan's Punjab, northern India, Northumberland in England, the Czech lands, and many other places. Many traditional pipes have museums or living traditions associated with them. The Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and many regional folk archives hold extensive bagpipe recordings.
Before you teach this — reflect

Questions for you

  1. Most students will think of bagpipes as Scottish. How will you open up the wider picture without dismissing the Scottish tradition, which is real and important?
  2. Several bagpipe traditions are tied to political identity (Scottish independence, Northern Irish piping, Catalan and Galician regional identity). How will you handle these honestly without taking political sides?
  3. Some bagpipe traditions are mostly known in the countries where they live and may be unfamiliar even to most musicians. How will you give them the same seriousness as the famous ones?

Common student difficulties — tick any you have noticed

Discovery sequence
1
Imagine a Roman amphitheatre, around 67 CE. The emperor Nero — a famously erratic ruler who fancied himself a musician — has gathered the citizens of Rome to hear him perform. He plays the lyre. He sings. He gives speeches. He also, according to several Roman writers, plays an instrument called the utricularium — a bag-pipe. This is one of the earliest specific references to a bagpipe-like instrument in any written record. Nero's pipes were probably simple — a single melody pipe and a bag, perhaps a single drone. But the basic idea was there. Squeeze a bag of air. Use it to feed a reed pipe. Get a continuous sound that does not break when you breathe. The idea spread. By the medieval period, bagpipes were everywhere across Europe. Mediaeval paintings, carved church misericords, illuminated manuscripts, and tapestries all show pipers — sometimes as shepherds, sometimes as travelling musicians, sometimes as the devil himself (a 16th-century Lutheran print shows a monk being played as bagpipes by Satan). Bagpipes appear in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (the Miller, in the late 14th century, plays a bagpipe). They appear in paintings by Brueghel, Bosch, and many others. By 1500, bagpipes were one of the most widely played instruments in Europe. Every region developed its own version. The Spanish coasts had gaitas. The Italian south had zampogne. The German lands had Sackpfeifen. The Czech lands had dudy. The French regions had cornemuses. The Greek islands had tsambouna. The British Isles had several distinct forms, including the Highland pipes that would become world-famous. Why did the bagpipe spread so widely?
Points to consider (for the teacher)

Several reasons working together. First, the design is simple and robust. A skin bag, a few wooden pipes, some reeds — these materials are available in almost any culture that keeps animals and has trees. A skilled village craftsman can make a bagpipe with hand tools. Second, the instrument is loud. Bagpipes carry across fields, through trees, over the wind. They were the original outdoor amplification — a single piper can be heard for hundreds of metres without electronics. This made them ideal for festivals, processions, and outdoor dances. Third, the continuous sound, with drones underneath the melody, has a hypnotic quality that suits dancing, marching, and ceremonial music. Fourth, the instrument is portable. A piper can walk while playing. This is true of very few wind instruments. Strong answers will see that the bagpipe spread because it fitted real human needs — outdoor music, ceremonial music, dance music. Each region adapted the basic idea to its own local music. End by noting that this is true of many human technologies. The wheel, the pot, the bow and arrow, the loom — once a basic technology is invented, it tends to spread across cultures that find it useful, with local variants emerging in each place.

2
Let us look at one bagpipe in detail. The Italian zampogna is one of the great traditional bagpipes of southern Europe. It is played mostly in Calabria, Molise, Sicily, and Basilicata — the mountainous regions of southern Italy. The zampogna has two melody pipes (one for each hand) and two long drone pipes. The drones rest over the piper's shoulder. The bag is made of goatskin, with the legs of the goat still visible at the corners. The reeds are made of cane. The instrument is large and heavy — much larger than a Scottish bagpipe. The zampogna is traditionally played at Christmas. From late November through 6 January (Epiphany), zampognari — pipers — travel from village to village playing for the festivals. Often a piper plays alongside a smaller pipe called a ciaramella, played by a second musician. The two instruments together produce the music of the Italian Christmas — slow, sweet melodies over deep drones. The most famous of these melodies is the Pastorale, played for Christmas Eve. The zampogna tradition almost died in the 20th century. Industrialisation, the migration of southern Italians to northern cities and to the Americas, and the loss of village life all reduced the number of pipers. By the 1980s, only a handful of master makers remained. Then came a revival. Young Italians, sometimes the children or grandchildren of emigrants, began returning to southern Italy to learn the instrument. Italian folk music festivals featured zampogna performances. Master pipers like Alfio Antico in Sicily became internationally known. Today there are several hundred active zampognari across southern Italy, and the instrument is taught in conservatoires. What does the zampogna's history tell us about traditional instruments?
Points to consider (for the teacher)

Several things. First, that traditional instruments can be in serious decline but not necessarily dead. The zampogna nearly died but was saved by a small group of devoted musicians and the wider folk-music revival of the late 20th century. Second, that the instrument is tied to a specific context — Christmas, southern Italian villages, particular festivals. Without those contexts, the instrument loses its meaning. The revival has had to include reviving the contexts as well as the music. Third, that emigrant communities can play an important role in preserving traditions. Italian-Americans, Italian-Argentines, and Italian-Australians have kept zampogna playing alive in places far from southern Italy, and have sometimes brought it back to Italy after revivals. Strong answers will see that the zampogna's story is one model for how traditional instruments survive. End by noting that this pattern repeats with many of the world's traditional bagpipes. The Galician gaita, the Tunisian mezoued, the Pakistani mashak, the Bulgarian gaida — each has had its own near-death-and-revival story over the last century. Most have survived. Some have flourished.

3
Now let us look at the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe — the most famous bagpipe in the world, the one that most people think of when they hear the word. The Highland pipes are not the oldest Scottish bagpipe. Several smaller and quieter bagpipe traditions existed in Scotland for centuries before the Great Highland Bagpipe became dominant. The Lowland or border pipes were a quieter, bellows-blown instrument used in southern Scotland. The Scottish small pipes were an indoor instrument. The Great Highland Bagpipe — loud, mouth-blown, with three drones — was originally a Highland Gaelic instrument, used for clan ceremonies, funerals, and warfare. The Highland pipes became famous because of the British Army. From the 18th century onwards, after the British state had broken the Highland clan system following the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745, the British Army began recruiting Highland soldiers into Scottish regiments. These regiments kept the Highland pipes as their martial music. As the British Empire expanded across the 19th and 20th centuries, Scottish regiments — and Scottish pipes — went with it. The Black Watch played pipes at the Battle of Waterloo (1815), in the Crimean War (1853-1856), at the Battle of the Somme (1916), at El Alamein (1942), at countless colonial campaigns in India, Africa, and the Pacific. The Scottish piper became an iconic image. Wherever the British Empire went, the Highland pipes went. Indian, Nigerian, Kenyan, Hong Kong, Singaporean, and many other police and military forces formed Scottish-style pipe bands, often retained after independence. The Vietnamese army adopted European-style pipes in the late 20th century. There are now Highland pipe bands in dozens of countries, from Argentina to Japan, from Brazil to South Africa. The Scottish tradition is now both Scottish and global. In Scotland itself, the pipes are central to national identity. The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association organises competitions. The City of Glasgow Pipe Band, Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, and many others compete at the highest international level. The annual World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow attracts thousands of pipers from around the world. Why did the Scottish bagpipe become a global instrument when so many other bagpipe traditions stayed local?
Points to consider (for the teacher)

Mostly because of the British Empire. The Scottish regiments of the British Army carried their pipes everywhere the empire reached. When local forces were trained by British officers, those forces often adopted Scottish-style pipe bands. After independence, many countries kept the pipe bands. The instrument has continued to spread by association with Scottish heritage — Highland Games organisations, Scottish societies, pipe band schools — across the wider world. Strong answers will see that this is partly an accident of imperial history. If the Galician gaita had been the instrument of a global empire, we might all think of Galicia first when we hear the word 'bagpipe'. End by noting that this raises a question. The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe is a wonderful instrument with a powerful tradition. But its global presence is, in some places, a legacy of colonial conquest — pipe bands in Kenya or India are partly a relic of British rule. The instrument carries this history. Some people hear in it Scottish pride. Some hear in it the sound of the empire that came to their grandparents. Both are honest readings.

4
Let us look at one more bagpipe — one that most students will never have heard of. The mashak (also called masak or mashak baja) is the traditional bagpipe of the Punjab region — found across parts of Pakistan, northern India, and the broader subcontinent. It is played at weddings, festivals, and military ceremonies. The Pakistan Army and the Indian Army both have pipe bands that play the mashak alongside the Scottish-style Great Highland Bagpipe. There is some debate about the mashak's origins. Some scholars say it is a relatively recent development — perhaps introduced through British contact in the 19th century, then adapted into local music. Others argue that bagpipe-like instruments existed in the subcontinent long before British arrival. Several South Asian instruments of the past 2,000 years have used bag-and-pipe principles, so the truth is probably mixed — South Asian pipe traditions existed but were transformed and standardised through interaction with European pipes. The mashak is mostly played outdoors. It is associated with weddings (especially in Punjab and parts of Pakistan, where pipe bands lead wedding processions) and with the military. The melodies are distinctly South Asian — using the scales and ornaments of the wider regional music tradition, not the Western tunings used in Scottish pipes. The mashak has its own famous performers, its own makers, its own repertoire, its own audiences. Most Western musicians have never heard of it. Most Punjabi people know exactly what it sounds like. The same is true of many of the world's bagpipes. What does the mashak teach us about how to think about traditional instruments?
Points to consider (for the teacher)

Several things. First, that every instrument has its own audience and its own tradition. The mashak is well-known and well-loved in the Punjab. It is unknown elsewhere. This does not make it less important. Importance is local. Second, that the global awareness of an instrument depends on cultural reach, not musical quality. The Great Highland Bagpipe is famous because the British Empire took it everywhere. The mashak is local because the Punjab is local. Both are wonderful. Third, that traditions are usually mixed. The mashak probably draws on both pre-existing South Asian pipe traditions and on European contact. Trying to separate 'pure' traditions from 'mixed' ones is usually misleading. All music traditions are mixed, all the way down. Strong answers will see that this is a useful corrective to the Scottish-bagpipe-is-the-real-bagpipe mindset. The mashak is just as 'real' as the Highland pipes. So is every other bagpipe in this lesson. End by noting that this is one of the gifts of looking carefully at any one instrument family. You discover that the world is much more interesting and diverse than you thought. Bagpipes are not Scottish. They are dozens of distinct traditions across three continents. Each is worth knowing.

What this object teaches

The bagpipes are a family of musical instruments that share a common technological idea — a bag of air feeding several pipes at once, allowing continuous music without breath pauses. The bag is held under the piper's arm and squeezed steadily. The chanter (melody pipe) is played with the fingers. The drones (one or more long pipes) produce continuous low notes underneath the melody. The bag is inflated either by mouth (through a blowpipe) or by a bellows under the piper's other arm. Reeds inside the chanter and drones produce the actual sound. The instrument family has been continuously played for at least 2,000 years — the earliest specific reference is to the Roman emperor Nero, who is reported to have played a bagpipe in the 1st century CE. By the medieval period, bagpipes were widespread across Europe, appearing in many paintings, manuscripts, and church carvings. Each region developed its own version. Scotland has the Great Highland Bagpipe and several smaller traditions. Ireland has the uilleann pipes (a bellows-blown indoor instrument). England has the Northumbrian small pipes. Galicia, Asturias, Catalonia, and Portugal have gaitas (a major Iberian tradition). Italy has the zampogna (associated with Christmas). Tunisia has the mezoued. Turkey has the tulum, particularly in the Black Sea region. Greece has the tsambouna in the islands. Bulgaria has the gaida. The Czech lands have the dudy. Pakistan and northern India have the mashak. Many other forms exist. The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe became globally famous because the British Army carried it everywhere the British Empire went. Scottish regiments played pipes in dozens of campaigns from Waterloo to El Alamein. After independence, many former colonies retained pipe bands. The Vietnamese army adopted European-style pipes in the late 20th century. Today there are Highland pipe bands in dozens of countries. But many of the other bagpipe traditions are still local — well-known in their own regions, unknown elsewhere, often only just rescued from near-extinction by the folk revival movements of the late 20th century. The bagpipe is therefore a particularly good example of how a single musical idea — bag, chanter, drones — can develop into dozens of distinct traditions across different cultures. The instrument carries both family resemblance (every bagpipe shares the basic technology) and intense local meaning (each tradition has its own music, its own occasions, its own players, its own audience).

NameRegionDistinctive features
Great Highland BagpipeScotland (and worldwide via the British Empire)Loud, mouth-blown, three drones, marching and ceremonial use
Uilleann pipesIrelandBellows-blown, indoor, sitting; complex chord-producing regulators
Northumbrian small pipesNortheast EnglandBellows-blown, very quiet, intricate keyed chanter
GaitaGalicia, Asturias, Catalonia, PortugalMouth-blown, single drone (usually), bright tone; played for processions and festivals
ZampognaSouthern ItalyTwo melody pipes plus drones; associated with Christmas; played with companion ciaramella
MezouedTunisiaSmall, mouth-blown; central to mezoued music genre in modern Tunisian popular culture
TulumBlack Sea Turkey (Pontic Greek and Laz peoples)Two chanters, no drones; played for circle dances
MashakPunjab (Pakistan and India)Played at weddings and military ceremonies; South Asian scales
GaidaBulgaria and other Balkan countriesGoatskin bag, single drone; central to Bulgarian wedding music
Key words
Drone
A pipe that produces a continuous single note, usually a low note, underneath the melody played on the chanter. Most bagpipes have one or more drones. The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe has three drones — two tenor drones tuned an octave below the chanter, and one bass drone tuned two octaves below. The continuous drone sound is one of the defining features of bagpipe music.
Example: When you hear a bagpipe play a slow tune, the deep humming sound underneath the melody is the drone. The drone never stops while the bag has air in it. The piper does not finger or articulate the drone — it just plays its single note continuously while the chanter does the melody on top.
Chanter
The melody pipe of a bagpipe, played with the fingers. The chanter has finger holes that the piper covers and uncovers to produce different notes. Different bagpipe traditions use different chanter scales — Scottish pipes use a specific nine-note scale; gaitas often use different scales; mashak pipes use South Asian scales. The chanter is where the actual tune is played.
Example: On a Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe, the chanter has eight finger holes (seven on top, one underneath for the thumb). The fingering is similar to but not the same as a recorder. Pipers practise the chanter alone, without the bag, on a practice chanter — a small mouth-blown pipe without the drones.
Reed
The small vibrating piece inside the chanter and drones that actually produces the sound. When air from the bag passes through the reed, the reed vibrates and produces a note. Reeds are usually made of cane (a tropical grass), though modern synthetic reeds exist. The reed is the most delicate and most important part of any bagpipe — a good reed produces a beautiful sound; a bad reed makes the instrument unplayable.
Example: Pipers spend a lot of time managing their reeds — adjusting them, drying them, replacing them. A reed can be affected by humidity, temperature, and how recently it was played. Many pipers carry several spare reeds with them to performances. The making and fitting of bagpipe reeds is a craft in itself, with specialist makers.
Uilleann pipes
The traditional bagpipe of Ireland. Smaller and more complex than the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe. Bellows-blown (the bellows is squeezed by the piper's right arm) rather than mouth-blown. Played sitting down, with the chanter resting on the piper's knee. The uilleann pipes include three additional pipes called regulators, which the piper can press with the heel of the right hand to add chord accompaniment. The name 'uilleann' is Irish Gaelic for 'elbow' (after the bellows).
Example: Uilleann pipes are central to Irish traditional music. Famous players include Liam O'Flynn (of the band Planxty), Paddy Keenan, Davy Spillane, and Ronan Browne. The instrument was used by the composer Bill Whelan in Riverdance. The pipes are softer and more melodic than the Scottish Highland pipes, suited to indoor sessions and recordings rather than outdoor marching.
Folk revival
The wider 20th-century movement to recover, document, and continue traditional folk musics across Europe and North America. Many traditional bagpipes were in serious decline by the mid-20th century (the Italian zampogna, the Spanish gaita, the Bulgarian gaida, and others) and were saved partly by the folk revival. Folk revivalists collected old recordings, learned from elderly master pipers, established teaching programmes, and brought the instruments to wider audiences.
Example: In Galicia, the gaita revival of the 1970s and 1980s saved the tradition. Major players like Carlos Núñez and the group Milladoiro brought Galician music to international audiences. In Italy, Alfio Antico and others revived the zampogna. In Brittany, Alan Stivell's revival of the biniou (the Breton bagpipe) sparked a wider Celtic revival. Each tradition has its own revival story.
Family resemblance
A philosophical concept (associated with Ludwig Wittgenstein) describing how members of a category share overlapping features without any single feature being common to all. Bagpipes are a textbook example. There is no one feature that all bagpipes share apart from 'has a bag and at least one pipe'. Some are mouth-blown; some are bellows-blown. Some have drones; some do not. Some are loud; some are quiet. The category is held together by overlapping similarities rather than a strict definition.
Example: A Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and a Northumbrian small pipe are both bagpipes but they share very few features beyond the basic technology — the Highland pipes are loud, mouth-blown, with three drones; the Northumbrian pipes are quiet, bellows-blown, often with intricately keyed chanters. They are family members rather than identical instruments. This is true of musical instrument families generally.
Use this in other subjects
  • Music: Play recordings of different bagpipe traditions side by side — Scottish Great Highland, Irish uilleann, Spanish gaita, Italian zampogna, Tunisian mezoued, Pakistani mashak. Discuss what is similar and what is different. The drones are usually similar; the melodies are completely different. The bagpipe family is held together by technology and pulled apart by local musical traditions.
  • History: Build a map of bagpipe traditions across Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. Mark Scotland, Ireland, England, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, the Czech lands, Tunisia, Turkey, Pakistan, India, and others. Discuss: why is the bagpipe family so widely distributed? Trade routes, migration, military history, shared technology. The bagpipe map is also a map of European and Mediterranean contact.
  • Science: Investigate how a reed produces sound. Demonstrate with a simple straw cut to make a reed, or with a recorder. Connect to the physics of vibrating air columns. Bagpipes work on the same principles as oboes, clarinets, and bassoons — a reed vibrates, an air column resonates, the listener hears a note.
  • Geography: On a world map, mark where each tradition is alive today. Discuss the role of migration. Italian-Americans have kept the zampogna alive in some parts of the United States. Scottish-Canadians have hundreds of pipe bands. Punjabi-British communities have brought the mashak to the UK. Music travels with people. Today's bagpipe map is partly a map of the diaspora.
  • Ethics: The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe was the music of British imperial conquest. Pipe bands played at battles, at colonial parades, at the suppression of resistance. Discuss: how should we think about an instrument that carries this history? Most Scottish pipers today have nothing to do with empire — but the instrument was used in that way. Be careful and honest about both the beauty of the music and the history it was sometimes used for.
  • Language: The names of bagpipes are a tour of European and South Asian languages. Gaita (Galician, Asturian, Portuguese, Catalan, Spanish), zampogna (Italian), cornemuse (French), Dudelsack (German), gaida (Bulgarian), tulum (Turkish), mezoued (Arabic), mashak (Punjabi). Each name is a clue to local history. Bagpipe vocabulary is itself a small language atlas.
Common misconceptions
Wrong

Bagpipes are Scottish.

Right

The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe is one of many bagpipes worldwide. Bagpipes exist in dozens of distinct traditions across Europe, North Africa, and South Asia — Spanish gaita, Italian zampogna, Irish uilleann pipes, Tunisian mezoued, Pakistani mashak, Greek tsambouna, Bulgarian gaida, English Northumbrian pipes, and many more. The Scottish bagpipe is famous because of the British Empire, not because it is the only or the original bagpipe.

Why

The Scottish association is so strong in English-speaking countries that the wider bagpipe family becomes invisible. Most music teachers, even, are unaware of how widespread the instrument family is.

Wrong

All bagpipes are loud and meant for outdoor marching.

Right

Many traditional bagpipes are quiet indoor instruments. The Irish uilleann pipes are bellows-blown and played sitting down. The Northumbrian small pipes are very quiet. The Scottish small pipes and Lowland border pipes are indoor instruments. The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe is the loudest member of the family, designed for outdoor military use, but it is not typical of all bagpipes.

Why

The Highland pipes dominate the global image of bagpipes, hiding the many quieter and more intimate bagpipe traditions.

Wrong

The bagpipe has a single origin in Scotland or Ireland.

Right

The bagpipe family probably originated in the ancient Near East and was already widespread across the Roman Empire by the 1st century CE. The Roman emperor Nero is reported to have played a bagpipe. By the medieval period, bagpipes were everywhere in Europe. Different regional traditions developed independently from this shared root. Scotland is one of many places where the basic idea took its own form.

Why

Cultural attribution often follows fame rather than historical fact. The Scottish bagpipe is famous; the deeper history is less famous; so the Scottish version becomes mistaken for the original.

Wrong

Traditional bagpipes are dying out.

Right

Many traditional bagpipes were in serious decline by the mid-20th century but were saved by folk revival movements from the 1960s onwards. The Galician gaita, the Italian zampogna, the Bulgarian gaida, the Tunisian mezoued, the Breton biniou, and others are now actively played, taught, and recorded. New bagpipe traditions occasionally appear (the small pipes movement has spread to several countries). The bagpipe family is doing reasonably well.

Why

It is common to assume that traditional instruments are inevitably dying. Many were nearly lost but have come back. Pessimism about traditional music sometimes underestimates the resilience of the people who care about it.

Teaching this with care

Treat all bagpipe traditions with the same respect — the famous and the obscure. Pronounce 'bagpipes' as 'BAG-pipes'. Pronounce 'gaita' as 'GAI-ta' (rhymes with 'wider'). Pronounce 'zampogna' as 'zam-PON-ya' (Italian). Pronounce 'uilleann' as 'IL-yun' (Irish Gaelic). Pronounce 'mezoued' as 'meh-ZWED' (Arabic). Pronounce 'tulum' as 'too-LUM'. Pronounce 'tsambouna' as 'tsam-BOO-nah'. Pronounce 'mashak' as 'mah-SHAK'. Pronounce 'gaida' as 'GAI-da'. Pronounce 'dudy' as 'DOO-dee' (Czech). Pronounce 'Northumbrian' as 'nor-THUM-bree-an'. Be careful about Scottish identity politics. Scotland is currently part of the United Kingdom but there is a significant and serious Scottish independence movement. The Great Highland Bagpipe is one of the central symbols of Scottish national identity, used by independence campaigners and unionist defenders of the Union alike. Treat the instrument with respect; avoid taking political sides; acknowledge that the same instrument carries different meanings for different Scots. Be careful about Northern Ireland. Bagpipes are played in both communities in Northern Ireland — Catholic uilleann pipes are part of the Irish nationalist tradition, while Highland pipes are played in some Protestant and Orange Order contexts. The Troubles (1968-1998) involved real violence over symbols and identity. Treat both piping traditions in Northern Ireland respectfully and do not reduce either to a political stereotype. Be honest about the British Empire. The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe was the music of imperial conquest. It was played at battles in India, Africa, the Caribbean, and many other places where British forces fought local resistance. It was played at the suppression of the Maori Wars, the Anglo-Zulu War, the Mahdi War in Sudan, the Boer War, and many colonial campaigns. Most Scottish pipers today have no connection with empire — but the instrument was used in that way. The lesson should be honest about this without making it the only thing students remember. Be careful about Pakistani and Indian piping. The mashak's origins are debated — some scholars emphasise its pre-British roots, others emphasise the British contribution. The truth is mixed. Be honest about the mixing. The mashak is now thoroughly Punjabi (and Indian and Pakistani), regardless of how it came to be that way. Be honest about regional politics. Several bagpipe traditions are tied to regional identity movements — Galician and Asturian gaitas to the Spanish regional autonomy movements, Catalan sac de gemecs to Catalan identity, Breton biniou to Breton identity. Treat these movements respectfully without taking political sides. Be careful about the term 'folk music'. The word 'folk' carries assumptions — that the music is rural, traditional, perhaps less sophisticated. None of these assumptions is reliable for bagpipe music. The Irish uilleann pipes are technically demanding instruments played by virtuoso musicians. The Galician gaita has been featured on rock and pop records (Carlos Núñez's collaborations with The Chieftains, with rock bands, etc.). 'Folk' is not 'simple'. End the lesson on the present. All these traditions are alive today. New pipers are being trained. New music is being made. The bagpipe family is one of the most vigorous and diverse musical instrument families in the world. The story is not closed.

Check what students have understood

Answer each question in one or two sentences. Use what you have learned about bagpipes.

  1. What is a bagpipe, and what is its basic design?

    A bagpipe is a musical instrument with a bag of air feeding several pipes. The piper inflates the bag (by blowing through a tube or by squeezing a bellows under the arm), squeezes the bag under the other arm, and uses the air to play a chanter (the melody pipe) and one or more drones (continuous low notes). The bag acts as a reservoir, allowing continuous music without breath pauses.
    Marking note: Award full marks for any answer that describes both the bag-and-pipes design and the principle of continuous sound. Strong answers will mention chanter and/or drone.

  2. Where do bagpipes come from?

    The bagpipe family is ancient and widely distributed. The earliest specific reference is to the Roman emperor Nero playing a bagpipe in the 1st century CE. By the medieval period, bagpipes were widespread across Europe. The instrument probably originated somewhere in the ancient Near East and spread along trade and migration routes. Today there are dozens of distinct bagpipe traditions across Europe, North Africa, and South Asia.
    Marking note: Strong answers will mention both the antiquity (Roman or earlier) and the wide distribution (across multiple regions). Either alone earns most marks.

  3. Name three bagpipes other than the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and say where each is from.

    Many possible answers. Examples: the Irish uilleann pipes (Ireland), the Spanish gaita (Galicia, Asturias, and other parts of Iberia), the Italian zampogna (southern Italy), the Tunisian mezoued (Tunisia), the Pakistani mashak (Punjab in Pakistan and India), the Turkish tulum (Black Sea region), the Greek tsambouna (Greek islands), the Bulgarian gaida (Bulgaria), the Czech dudy (Czech lands), the Northumbrian small pipes (northeast England).
    Marking note: Award full marks for any three distinct bagpipes correctly paired with their regions. Award partial marks for fewer or for partially correct answers.

  4. How is the Irish uilleann pipe different from the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe?

    The uilleann pipes are bellows-blown (the bellows is squeezed by the piper's right arm) rather than mouth-blown. They are played sitting down, indoors. They are quieter than the Highland pipes. They include three additional pipes called regulators that can add chord accompaniment. They are designed for indoor music and sessions, not for outdoor marching.
    Marking note: Strong answers will mention at least two of the differences (bellows vs mouth, indoor vs outdoor, sitting vs standing, quiet vs loud, regulators).

  5. Why did the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe become globally famous?

    Mostly because of the British Empire. Scottish regiments of the British Army carried the Highland pipes everywhere the British Empire reached — to India, Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, and many other places. Local forces trained by British officers often adopted pipe bands. After independence, many countries kept the bands. Today there are Highland pipe bands in dozens of countries worldwide.
    Marking note: Award full marks for any answer that mentions the British Empire / British Army as the primary reason.
Discuss together

These questions have no single right answer. Talk in pairs or small groups, then share your ideas with the class.

  1. The Scottish bagpipe is famous worldwide; the Tunisian mezoued is famous mainly in Tunisia. Both are wonderful instruments. Why is one famous and the other local?

    This is a question about how fame works. Strong answers will see that fame is not the same as quality. The Scottish bagpipe became famous because the British Empire carried it across the world. The Tunisian mezoued has stayed local because Tunisia has not been a global power. The musical merit of the two instruments is not really comparable — they do different things in different musical languages — but the global awareness of them is wildly different. Strong answers will see that this is true of many cultural products. American pop music is famous because the United States has been culturally and economically dominant for most of the last century. Korean pop music has spread more recently because of the rise of South Korea. French food, Italian fashion, English literature — each is famous partly because of the historical reach of the home country. End by saying that one of the gifts of looking carefully at the world is realising how much is hidden by global fame. The mezoued, the mashak, the gaida, the zampogna — all are full traditions with their own histories, their own masters, their own audiences. They are not less valuable for being less famous. They are simply less reached.

  2. The Scottish bagpipe was played at many battles of the British Empire. Most Scottish pipers today have no connection with empire. How should we think about an instrument with this kind of history?

    This is a question about how objects carry history. Strong answers will see that the answer is similar to the pith helmet question — symbols are made by use, and the same object can carry many meanings at once. The Highland pipes are loved by Scots as a national symbol, played at weddings, funerals, and celebrations across Scotland and the diaspora. They are also remembered in some former colonies as the sound that accompanied conquest. Both readings are honest. Strong answers will see that the instrument does not become bad because of how it was used by some — Scottish music is not the British Empire, and it is unfair to reduce Scottish identity to imperial history. But the connection is real and should be acknowledged. End by saying that this is true of many musical instruments and traditions. The piano was played at colonial governor's mansions across the world. The trumpet was played at military ceremonies in many empires. The drum was central to many armies. Music has been used to organise human power in good ways and bad. The bagpipe is one of many instruments that carry this complicated heritage. The honest task is to enjoy the music while remembering the history.

  3. Why might so many different cultures have independently developed instruments that share the same basic technology (a bag of air feeding pipes)?

    This is a question about how technology spreads. Strong answers will see that there are several possible explanations. First, the bag-and-pipe idea may have a single origin (probably ancient Near East) and have spread along trade and migration routes — so it is not really 'independent' development but rather diffusion. Second, the basic idea is genuinely simple — a skin bag, some wooden pipes, some reeds — so it is plausible that more than one culture invented it independently. Third, the human need for continuous outdoor music with drone-like accompaniment is widespread (dance music, ceremonial music), so once a few cultures had the bagpipe, others found it useful and adapted it. Strong answers will see that the most likely explanation is mixed — a deep origin somewhere in Eurasia, gradual spread along trade routes, local adaptations everywhere, and some genuinely independent invention. End by saying that the bagpipe family is a good example of how human cultural traditions are usually mixed — neither pure local invention nor pure imports, but a blend of both. This is true of food (pizza, tea, sugar, chillies), of language (every modern language has borrowed words from many others), of clothing, and of music. The bagpipe is part of a long story of human cultural exchange.
Teaching sequence
  1. THE HOOK (5 min)
    Play 30 seconds of Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe music. Then play 30 seconds of Italian zampogna. Then play 30 seconds of Pakistani mashak. Ask: 'What do these three pieces of music have in common?' Take answers. Then say: 'All three were played on bagpipes. The instrument is not Scottish. It is a family of instruments played across Europe, North Africa, and South Asia. Today we are going to meet the family.'
  2. HOW A BAGPIPE WORKS (10 min)
    Draw a simple bagpipe on the board — bag, chanter, drone, blowpipe. Explain how the piper inflates the bag and then squeezes it to push air through the pipes. The bag acts as a reservoir so the sound never stops while the piper breathes. Mention that all bagpipes share this basic technology, even though the specific designs vary enormously.
  3. A TOUR OF THE FAMILY (15 min)
    Quickly introduce six or seven traditional bagpipes from around the world — the Spanish gaita, the Italian zampogna, the Irish uilleann pipes, the Tunisian mezoued, the Pakistani mashak, the Bulgarian gaida, the Northumbrian small pipes. For each, mention where it comes from, what it sounds like (play a clip if possible), and one distinctive feature. Make sure students see that the bagpipe family is much wider than Scotland.
  4. THE SCOTTISH STORY (10 min)
    Now tell the Scottish story. The Great Highland Bagpipe is one member of a much wider family but became globally famous because of the British Army and the British Empire. Scottish regiments carried the pipes everywhere — to Waterloo, to the Crimea, to the Somme, to El Alamein, to many colonial campaigns. After independence, many former colonies kept their pipe bands. Today there are Highland bands in dozens of countries. This is an accident of imperial history, not a sign that Scottish pipes are uniquely good.
  5. CLOSING (5 min)
    Ask: 'Why does it matter to know that bagpipes are not just Scottish?' Take answers. End by saying: 'Knowing the wider bagpipe family is part of seeing the world more accurately. The Scottish bagpipe is a wonderful instrument. So is the Italian zampogna. So is the Tunisian mezoued. So is the Pakistani mashak. Each carries its own music, its own history, its own meaning. The world is bigger than the famous parts of it. The bagpipe family is one small example. Most things are like this — much more diverse than the first impression suggests.'
Classroom materials
Bagpipe Listening Library
Instructions: Build a playlist of one short clip (about a minute each) from at least six different bagpipe traditions — Scottish, Irish, Spanish, Italian, Bulgarian, Tunisian, Pakistani, English (Northumbrian). Play them in turn without naming them. Have students try to guess which is which. Then reveal the answers and discuss what made each distinctive.
Example: In Ms Kelly's class, students played a guessing game with six clips. The teacher said: 'You have just listened to six different bagpipe traditions from four continents. You probably found some unfamiliar. That is part of the point. There is more in the world than the famous parts. Each of those clips is a window into a music tradition that has been alive for centuries. Most of them have masters today, performing and teaching. None of them is the real bagpipe — they are all real.'
Build a Simple Reed
Instructions: With a drinking straw, cut a flat reed at one end. Show students how to flatten the cut end and blow through it — a buzzing reed sound emerges. Connect this to the principle of bagpipe reeds. The reed vibrates; the air column inside the chanter resonates; the listener hears a note. Discuss: this is the same principle used by oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and bagpipes.
Example: In Mr O'Brien's class, every student made a straw reed and tried to play a note. The teacher said: 'You have just demonstrated the principle that every bagpipe in the world depends on. The reed vibrates. The air column resonates. Now imagine a wooden chanter with finger holes, a leather bag holding extra air, and one or two drones underneath. You have built a bagpipe.'
Mapping the Family
Instructions: On a world map, mark the home regions of six to ten different bagpipe traditions. Galicia, Catalonia, Brittany, Northumberland, Scotland, Ireland, Calabria, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Tunisia, Turkey, the Punjab, and others. Draw lines connecting the regions to show possible trade and migration routes. Discuss: the bagpipe map is also a map of European, Mediterranean, and South Asian cultural exchange.
Example: In Mrs Costa's class, students mapped twelve bagpipe traditions across Eurasia and North Africa. The teacher said: 'You have just mapped one of the great instrumental traditions of the Old World. The bagpipe is everywhere from the Atlantic to the Indus, from the Sahara to the North Sea. Different forms in each region, but the same basic idea. This is what cultural diffusion looks like — one good idea, many local versions, spread across millennia.'
Where to go next
  • Try a lesson on the cuatro for another instrument central to a national identity.
  • Try a lesson on the steel pan for another instrument that started local and became global.
  • Try a lesson on the abacus for another technology that took independent forms in many cultures.
  • Connect this lesson to music class with a longer project on traditional instruments of one region — for example, all the bagpipes of Iberia (gaitas of Galicia, Asturias, Catalonia, Portugal) or all the bagpipes of the Balkans (gaida of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Romania).
  • Connect this lesson to history class with a longer project on the British Empire and music. The pipe band is one of many British military traditions that were exported across the empire and then took on new lives in independent countries.
  • Connect this lesson to ethics class with a longer discussion of how musical instruments can carry both beautiful traditions and difficult histories. The same is true of many objects we have looked at.
Key takeaways
  • A bagpipe is a musical instrument with a bag of air feeding several pipes. The piper inflates the bag, squeezes it under one arm, and uses the air to play a chanter (the melody pipe) and one or more drones (continuous low notes). The bag acts as a reservoir, allowing continuous music while the piper breathes.
  • Bagpipes have been continuously played for at least 2,000 years. The Roman emperor Nero is reported to have played a bagpipe in the 1st century CE. By the medieval period, the instrument was widespread across Europe.
  • Bagpipes are not just Scottish. They are a family of dozens of distinct traditions across Europe, North Africa, and South Asia — including the Spanish and Portuguese gaita, the Italian zampogna, the Irish uilleann pipes, the Tunisian mezoued, the Pakistani mashak, the Greek tsambouna, the Bulgarian gaida, the Northumbrian small pipes, and many others.
  • The Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe became globally famous because of the British Empire. Scottish regiments of the British Army carried it everywhere from Waterloo to El Alamein. After independence, many former colonies kept their pipe bands.
  • Each bagpipe tradition has its own music, its own occasions, its own players, its own audience. The Italian zampogna is associated with Christmas; the Pakistani mashak with weddings; the Tunisian mezoued with popular music; the Irish uilleann pipes with indoor sessions. The instruments share family resemblance but each tradition is distinct.
  • Many traditional bagpipes were in serious decline by the mid-20th century but were saved by folk revival movements from the 1960s onwards. The bagpipe family is one of the most vigorous and diverse musical instrument families in the world today.
Sources
  • Bagpipes — Wikipedia (2026) [encyclopedia]
  • The Bagpipes — Hugh Cheape (2008) [book]
  • Bagpipes of the World — Anthony Baines (1995) [book]
  • Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (Bagpipe Music Collection) — Smithsonian Institution (2024) [institution]
  • The Galician Gaita: A Living Tradition — Real Banda de Gaitas (2018) [institution]