Pipes Bagpipers make music the old way
Shamrocks appeal to the sense of sight. Corned beef and cabbage appeal to the taste. But much of St. Patrick's Day revelry also revolves around music and sound.
Traditional instruments include harps, fiddles, flutes and tin whistles. But none command more attention than a well-tuned set of bagpipes.
"Bagpiping right now is more popular than it's ever been," said Ryan Stauffer, 31, of Slippery Rock, who has been playing since age 12.
As well as playing pipes, Stauffer handcrafts various styles of bagpipes at home and in his shop at the Butler County Community College Heritage School, where he is better known for teaching courses on blacksmithing.
Although bagpipes are most often associated with Scotland and Ireland, they appear in many other countries.
"Bagpipes were introduced to the British Isles by the Romans," Stauffer said, explaining how the instrument might have evolved in ancient Egypt, where reeds grew along the Nile.
Classed as aerophones, bagpipes produce sound as air causes reeds to vibrate. The process begins as a musician fills a bag with air.
The air is stored in the bag, then forced through a set of pipes that contain reeds. A pipe called the chanter contains fingering holes to create the melody. Air also passes through one or more additional pipes called drones, which create a constant melodious background hum.
Although air can come from blowing into a mouthpiece, a bellows worn under the arm is typical of Irish pipes.
"Most bagpipes you hear on St. Patrick's Day are Scottish, which I think is ironic," Stauffer said.
With a more structured style of playing, Scottish Great Highland bagpipes are most commonly used in processions.
Irish pipes are called Uilleann pipes, pronounced "ILL-in." They lend themselves to indoor playing, since they produce a quieter sound. Great Highland pipes are mouth-blown, with volumes more appropriate for playing outside.
"Great Highland pipes are designed to be heard for two miles," said Larry Morrison of Butler Township, leader of the Lion and Thistle Highlanders piping group, which formed in 2007. "The Uilleann pipes: They're the party pipes, the fun pipes — the dance pipes," he added.
Unlike their Scottish counterparts, Uilleann pipes also can traverse two full octaves, and a "closed" fingering system allows musicians to insert breaks in the music. Great Highland pipes feature opening fingering, which results in continuous sound.
"The drones are more complex on Irish pipes and the chanter is configured differently," said Stauffer, explaining how both types of pipes require skill to make and to play.
"The level of piping has gone nowhere but up. The bar is set so high," he said.
Stauffer and Morrison say a variety of pipe bands and individual players can be found in Western Pennsylvania.
"You'd be surprised how many towns and cities have their own pipe bands," said Stauffer, who played in a Grove City band in his youth. He now plays with a pipe band called The Black and Tans and plays unofficially with the Lion and Thistle Highlanders.
Both players point out that Carnegie Mellon University is known as the nation's only school to offer bagpiping as a major.
"It was last year that someone actually graduated as the first graduate with major in bagpipe," said Morrison, 55. "It's kind of a limited field, but you can have fun with it."
In less academic settings, Morrison said a bagpiping student can be playing at some level within a year, but fluency takes many more years to master."There is an old saying: For the making of a piper it takes seven years, and at the end of that time, the piper stands at the beginning of knowledge," Morrison said.According to Stauffer, making a set of pipes is at least as daunting — but offers abundant rewards."I get to work in wood, metal, cane and leather," Stauffer said recently at his shop at the Succop Conservancy in Penn Township, which houses the Heritage School.There, Stauffer was bent over a lathe, turning a dense piece of African blackwood into the hint of a chanter. Not far from the lathe, Stauffer later silver-soldered a strip of bronze into a circular piece of hardware called a ferrule.As a teacher at the conservancy, Stauffer said he initially hoped to teach a course on making pipes, but soon realized the necessary precision was unrealistic for beginning craftsmen: Pitch and volume are affected by the size and dimensions of chanters and drones. Even drilling the center hole is tricky, prompting Stauffer make or modify tools and bits."There are mathematical formulas for sound," Stauffer said. "How loud do you want it to be? What key do you want it to be in? It's almost like the pipemaker's dimensions are his fingerprint," he added."But a well-made set of pies will last indefinitely. They'll outlast their maker."Although some sets of bagpipes are available for less than $500, Stauffer recommends buying adequate equipment.
Beginning instruction can occur with a practice chanter, sold for less than $100. From there, entry level sets of pipes begin at about $1,000. Players then can graduate to half sets and full sets, which can well exceed $9,000 when created by a master maker.Even though Stauffer has been making pipes since 2001, he pegs himself as a hobbyist capable of crafting starter sets."I will never call myself a master maker," he said.When it comes to playing, both musicians cite bagpipers as a serious breed — whether they play Uilleann pipes as a social expression or play Great Highland pipes in structured competitions.In all cases, the music continues to thrive despite its ancient origin. Especially when well-crafted pipes are played by skilled musicians.According to Stauffer, those who don't like bagpipe music have not yet experienced this combination."Give them a chance," Stauffer advises. "Listen to some good players."For more information, go to www.crazypyper.com.
