Bagpipes | Thomforde Woodcraft

Smallpipes

Scottish Smallpipes are much quieter than their Highland cousins. The mellow, buzzy tone is perfect for playing indoors with other instruments or by themselves.

My chanters are designed to use a plastic reed which sounds great and is impervious to moisture.

Iain MacHarg plays a couple of tunes in the kitchen.

Smallpipe Drone Tuning

My 3 drone sets tune to the following:

Tenor: a/b or g/a
Baritone: e/d/f#/g
Bass: a/b/c

The baritone tuning pin extends the range of your baritone (e/d) drone to include f# and g. This drone configuration gives you enough options for most/all tunes on an A chanter while also being lighter and more cost effective than most 4 drone sets.

I play a couple of tunes in front of the fireplace.

Parlour Pipes

Scottish Parlour pipes have a sweet and mellow sound like smallpipes while maintaining the look and feel of traditional Highland bagpipes. These pipes can be traced back to at least the 1850's. Price sheets from makers including Alexander, Thomas, and David Glen all offered some form of "miniature" pipe.

These versatile pipes are tuned to concert A, which makes them perfect for playing with fiddles, flutes, and other session instruments. Parlour pipes are ideal for those gigs where it is important to have the look of Highland pipes and an indoor volume. They are light and easy to play for hours on end.

The transition from Highland pipes to Parlour pipes is simple. No need to fuss with bellows.

A quick parlour pipe demo in my studio.

Highland Bagpipes

My drones have a robust, clear tone and will compliment any Highland chanter. Perfect for solo playing or band work. Each piece of wood has been carefully selected, seasoned, and hand turned. All of my bagpipes are made slowly and carefully with meticulous attention to detail.