David Daye's Bagpipe Page

2011 September 24 -- Youtube Instructional & Technical Videos
2010 November 23 -- New Highland Bass Drone Project Ready

http://www.dayebagpipe.org/

My old email at osu.edu is closed. To email me click here or go to my daye1.com web site.

I've taken the new bass design as far as I can. I won't say that this beats the very best historic instruments, but it's definitely a step up from several commonly available makes I've owned. It has plenty of bass power, less noise and an appealing harmonic voice. The bore is more complex than historic Highland bores which I feel gives a maker more to work with in developing tone.

Click here for the New Highland Bass Drone Page.

Since I won't be making Highland pipes for sale, I'll be posting the design data and a very easy home-build brass tube, plumbing pipe and tape construction method here during the week ahead. I'm sure the large Highland player, maker and experimental community can get even more out of these ideas if there's more to be had.

Here's a sound sample of a prototype made outdoors at about 17 meters away, slowly moving and turning. It's early 80's concert B-Flat pitch, with Naill tenors and a War-Mac chanter. The design will scale to any pitch from folk tuning at 440 to the current contest 480's or whatever. A somewhat clearer sounding, large slow-loading version of the file in the less compressed .WAV format is here.

There's no processing of the sound except to reverse the published high frequency response boost of the microphones, and converting to the MP3 or .WAV formats.

2009 April 02 Resurrection

Over the coming days and weeks I will be repairing links and updating these pages after 11 years' neglect. At the time Ohio State University took the site offline, it was still ranking around 24 in Google among 2/3 million bagpipe sites of all categories combined, 9-10 years after my last edits. It'll never again return to a high ranking, but I get quite a few requests for it regularly so I'm restoring it to a site under my control and will keep it available for some time to come. Thank you all for your continued interest!

Click Here for David Daye's uilleann pipe making and performance site at daye1.com.

Newest Revision November 2010 marked with ***
Under the Uilleann Pipes Home Building Page

Copyright 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2009 David C. Daye

Feel free to copy any and all portions for individual desktop use and/or your individual study of piping. You may not republish all or portions of this collection in any form, or distribute it in any form, without permission. You must obtain permission for each item you wish to use even if I have already permitted any use in the past. You may establish electronic pointers or links to this page.

For info, problem reports, etc. email CLICK HERE 


Table of Contents

Top of Bagpipe Page


Youtube Video Collection

Introductory Playing Videos for Brand New Uilleann Pipers

Maintenance and Technical Instructional Videos for Uilleann and Other Bagpipes


Photo Gallery

"Yep, they're me!"

The Scottish Highland Bagpipes and the Irish Uilleann Pipes. Photos copyright 1992 Beth Ann Daye

(David in Full Dress playing Highland pipes)(David seated playing uilleann pipes)

Top of Bagpipe Page

Miscellaneous Photos

Top of Bagpipe Page


Sound files of David playing Highland and uilleann pipes

All the sound files are in Windows .WAV format, 16-bit mono sound. Several are sampled at 11 KHz, somewhat muffling the top end or treble a bit. 3 are sampled at 22 KHz because I'm trying to illustrate tone. This makes them potentially large (sorry) so I kept the durations rather short (a few bars).

Diagnostic sound samples, Highland & uilleann pipes

MIDI tunes and exercises for uilleann pipes by Robert Thorpe

Modified Highland pipes - key of A-440


Assorted Pipe and Reed Modifications

Common or Plausible Ideas

Ravings from the Lunatic Fringe

Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here


Miscellaneous Intriguing Ideas


Instructional Help for Highland & Uilleann Pipes 

Highland Pipe Self Instruction Page. 25 KB

A separate web page with extensive notes on the pitfalls of self instruction in the demanding traditional Highland bagpipe style. Discusses tools for assessing progress, ideas for practicing and improving technique, links to some of the illustrations listed below. Not a tutor, rather a guide to be used with any of the fine tutors available on the market.

Miscellaneous Diagrams and Instructional Notes


Stories -- Tall Tales from Piping's Frontier

If it didn't happen exactly as I've told it, then it should have!

Links to other Bagpipe- and Celtic-related services



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