Electronic bagpipes

Degerpipes electronic bagpipe chanter

Redpipes electronic bagpipe without blowing function

The electronic bagpipes are an electronic instrument emulating the tone and/or playing style of the bagpipes. Most electronic bagpipe emulators feature a simulated chanter, which is used to play the melody. Some models also produce a harmonizing drone(s). Some variants employ a simulated bag, wherein the player's pressure on the bag activates a switch maintaining a constant tone.

Electronic bagpipes are produced to replicate various types of bagpipes from around the world, including the Scottish Great Highland bagpipe, Spanish gaita, French cornemuse, Italian zampogna and Swedish sackpipa.

History

The history of electronic bagpipes began around the year 2000 with the electronic bagpipe emulator invented by the Spanish bagpipe player José Ángel Hevia Velasco, the software engineer Alberto Arias and the technician Miguel Dopico.

Around the same time when Hevia invented an electronic bagpipe emulator for his personal use some providers offered their own designs of practice chanters. The best-known products are the Electronic Bagpipe Chanter from Degerpipes and the Fagerstrom Technopipes.

In 2005 the German Rolf Jost invented an electronic bagpipe including a pressure-sensitive "bag", which has since been produced under the brand-name redpipes, in varieties emulating various bagpipes.

Artists using electronic bagpipes

Since electronic bagpipes have got their own designs or often do resemble the original instruments very much they can be seen on stages increasingly often. Bands and musicians playing electronic bagpipes include Eluveitie, Gaelic Storm, Red Hot Chili Pipers, Furunkulus, The Dangleberries, Seer, Peter Purvis, Hevia, and Konan.

External Links

• Review on Metal Underground magazine
• Review in the Pipesdrums online magazine