The Highland Bagpipes
The pipes in Scotland seem to have earliest dating records around the world and are a landmark feature of Scottish heritage. In Scotland each clan would have its own piper who would compose their own music which would be played for events in the clan such as battle, births, deaths and marriages. It was not until the 1800’s that the Scottish bagpipers began to record their music compositions by writing them down in a standard notation, prior to that the piper would create his own notations for his music.
Much of the older Scottish bagpipe music features elements of the warring Scottish clans with compositions such as ‘the Campbell’s are coming’ and ‘the march of the Cameron men’. A traditional accompaniment to the bagpipes in Scotland was introduced during the Napoleonic wars and was the Drums. Today marching Scottish bands are based around the bagpipes and the drums.