Soft Pipes

Praetorius, in his Syntagma Musicum, depicts small bagpipes called Himmelchen (bumblebee). My interpretation is a soft, sweet-sounding pipe which balances recorders and makes a good "apartment" pipe. Its chanter is fingered like a tenor recorder and its one drone is adjustable to match the tonic of the melody.
Gamut: c-d"

Custom Design

The iconographic evidence demonstrates the great diversity of bagpipes, so please contact me about making pipes to cater to your needs. For example, I have made pipes inspired by the illuminations in the Cantigas de Sancta Maria manuscript, complete with chanter and drone speaking through steer horns. In another special project, a teacher of Catalan bagpipes in Barcelona wanted me to make pipes for his students to practice at home since the actual bagpipe is very loud. I designed a chanter at the correct pitch that "fingers" like the real thing.

Details

All pipes are offered in a variety of woods, with ornamental mounts (real or faux horn) at extra cost. The bag is cow or goat leather. While cane reeds can last a long time if kept happy through regular daily playing, I am also developing plastic substitutes.

Bagpipe links

For information about the Catalan medieval ensemble SENDEBAR, featuring my bagpipes, please visit http://www.sendebar.org