LIVE Q&A: Plastic vs Wood, Bagpipe Buying Guide, and Tricky Tune Tips
by Jori Chisholm, Founder of BagpipeLessons.com
Last Updated: October 9, 2024
This video dives into everything you need to know before buying your first set of bagpipes! Whether you’re deciding between plastic and wood pipes, exploring top brands like R.G. Hardie, McCallum, and Naill, or wondering about mass-produced versus handmade options, this guide covers it all. Plus, you’ll get tips on how to fix tricky tune sections and speed up your playing. Perfect for beginners or seasoned pipers looking to upgrade. Check out my website for more resources and join the inner circle for weekly live lessons!
Helpful Links:
R.G. Hardie Precision-Made Poly Bagpipes: https://bagpipelessons.com/shop/product/rghardie-poly-pipes/
R.G. Hardie & Co. Twist Trap Practice Pipes: https://bagpipelessons.com/practicepipes
Watch the video and scroll down to read a summary or the full video script.
Key Points
🎨 Decorative Options: Bagpipes come with various decorative choices like imitation ivory, metal (nickel, silver), and engraved silver.
🌍 Sustainable Materials: Modern bagpipes use imitation ivory to protect elephants, while maintaining a traditional look.
🔄 Plastic vs. Wood: Affordable plastic bagpipes, like acetal, offer durability and great sound, especially in harsh weather.
💡 Recommended Pipes: R.G. Hardie acetal pipes are a top choice for value, especially for beginners or outdoor use.
💰 Buying & Budget: Bagpipes are sold as “sticks only” or fully set up with bags, reeds, and chanters. Focus on sound quality over decoration when deciding on a set.
🛠️ Top Manufacturers: R.G. Hardie, McCallum, and David Naill are leading bagpipe makers, trusted by top pipers.
🆕 New vs. Vintage Pipes: New pipes are often a better choice for reliability, while vintage sets can have issues like warping.
🎯 Fixing Tune Trouble Spots: Slow down tricky sections, simplify rhythms, and use a metronome to improve playing.
🛒 Shop & Lessons: Visit BagpipeLessons.com for pipes, accessories, and to join the Inner Circle for live classes and lessons.
Video Transcript: So if you go to some of the big bagpipe manufacturers’ websites, you’ll see lots and lots of options, and almost all of those options are related to the decorative part. That’s what people think about. Am I going to get imitation ivory mounts or wood mounts? Am I going to get metal, like nickel or an alloy, or silver? Am I going to get silver? Am I going to get engraved silver, machine engraved, or hand engraved?
For years, pipers would play African blackwood bagpipes. African blackwood is the chosen material because it’s really, really hard, and it machines nicely. It’s like ebony but even harder and more dense. We still make bagpipes out of African blackwood, but the mounts used to be ivory—actual pieces of elephant tusks—and probably some kind of metal, which could have been nickel or silver. These would be handmade, so you see a lot of beautiful old pipes with ivory mounts and hand-engraved silver.
These days, we don’t use ivory, which is great—we don’t want to hurt elephants for decorative reasons, so that’s a great change. The nice thing is, you can still get a traditional-looking set of bagpipes with imitation ivory. Now they have plastic that looks just like the real thing. It’s great, and they do that with other instruments as well, like guitars and other woodwind instruments, where you don’t have to use materials from endangered species but can still have that traditional sound and look.
So, the first thing you’re going to want to decide when getting a set of pipes is: do you want something that’s a great value, or do you want something that is the highest possible quality? That’s going to influence your budget. For a lot of bagpipers, especially when they’re first starting out, it’s about being ready to invest in the process, but they want something more affordable to get started. Then, maybe they can upgrade to a fancier, more expensive set of pipes down the road.
If you’re interested in a great set of pipes for great value, I recommend pipes by R.G. Hardie. They call them “acetal,” which is a plastic. Sometimes pipers refer to this plastic material as Delrin, acetal, or polypenco—it’s all basically the same thing. It’s a really hard, black plastic. If you have a plastic practice chanter, it’s the same kind of material. There might be some subtle differences between Delrin, polypenco, and acetal, but it’s all basically the same thing.
I have these on my website, on the BagpipeLessons.com shop, and they’re a fantastic value. I have a set that I play when I don’t want to take my expensive wooden set out. Maybe it’s in inclement weather, or it’s a cold time of year when I’ll be playing outside in a parade, or for a gig like a funeral where I have to be outside. I don’t want to risk my beautiful, expensive blackwood pipes in the cold and rain, so I play these acetal pipes—these plastic R.G. Hardie pipes—and they’re fantastic. They sound amazing, they’re very stable, and they have a classic look. You have to get really close to them before you realize they’re not wood—the black plastic looks just like the African blackwood.
That’s what I’d recommend. You can get them in what’s called “sticks only,” which is just the bagpipes—three drones, a blowpipe, and stocks. It doesn’t include the bag, reeds, pipe chanter, or Tone Protector—none of the other stuff you need. It’s like people who build their own computers at home—they want to get all the parts and build them themselves. You can get the “sticks only,” or you can also get them set up with the “basics” of what you need to play, which would include the pipe bag, reeds, and pipe chanter. I can set them up that way for you. I also offer a third option, which is kind of everything—all the Tone Protectors, the Foundation reeds, the Tone Protector Reed Case, and all my accessories. Check that out in the shop—it’s a really great option.
So, plastic versus wood—that’s one big thing to think about. Another thing to consider when buying your set of bagpipes is how fancy you want to get with the decorations. I’d recommend that, whatever your budget is, prioritize getting a great-sounding set. Bagpipes are really different. The modern bagpipes being made by reputable makers these days are efficient, steady, and come with a good warranty. If something goes wrong and you get a part that warps or cracks, which can happen with wood, they’ll replace it, as long as you didn’t break your pipes yourself. If it’s a defect in the wood, those things happen, but they’ll stand behind their product.
If you get on Facebook or the internet and start researching different makes of bagpipes, you’ll find there are a lot of options—from big companies to small, boutique, single-craftsman pipe makers. You’ll also find a decision to make between getting new pipes or old pipes. If you’re going for vintage or antique sets, there are some great ones out there, but also some old sets that aren’t that good. Most pipers consider the great vintage sets to be Peter Henderson sets from 100 years ago or R.G. Hardie pipes from way back. So, there’s Hardie, Henderson, and Robertson—those are some of the great makes from the past. But a lot of those old sets aren’t that great anymore because they’ve warped, cracked, or had parts repaired or replaced.
So, I’d say, for most people—since most pipers don’t have connections to people with great old antique sets—the best option is to get a new set. Then, you need to decide where to get them. The two big manufacturers in the world are R.G. Hardie & Co. and McCallum. Those are the two big ones in Scotland, and they make a lot of sets of pipes and practice chanters. Their pipes are played by pipers of all levels, from beginners all the way up to world champions at the highest level.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that, just because they mass-produce bagpipes, their pipes are of inferior quality—that’s not true at all. R.G. Hardie makes pipes under the R.G. Hardie name, and they also own the Peter Henderson line, so Peter Henderson and R.G. Hardie are one company with two different brand names. McCallum makes bagpipes under the McCallum name. Both companies have expert bagpipers working with and for them, who are an integral part of their design, manufacturing, and quality control.
It’s pretty amazing that you’ll see the world’s top pipers, whether in pipe bands or as soloists, playing new bagpipes made by these makers. Also, another big maker is David Naill. They might not produce as many sets as the other two, but they’re still pretty prolific. I had a set of David Naill pipes that I played for years, but I don’t play them anymore.
If you’re just starting out and you think, “What about these other makers?”—I’d love to hear your suggestions and comments. I haven’t seen every set of bagpipes in the world or played all the different makers’ pipes. But if you’re new to bagpipes and you start looking online, you’ll see there’s a certain attitude out there. While a lot of what you see about R.G. Hardie, McCallum, and Naill is very positive—and it should be—you’ll also see some negativity about mass-produced bagpipes. In my opinion, there’s no merit to that. You can get bagpipes that are handmade, one at a time, by an artisan craftsman, and they can be fantastic. Maybe you want a set that’s very personal to you, with some unusual mounting, woods, or engraving—that’s fine. But you can also get an absolutely world-class instrument from one of these big companies.
I’ve heard fantastic-sounding bagpipes over the last few years, and they’re using the standard setup you can get—McCallum, Hardie, Peter Henderson, EZeedrone reeds—the standard stuff. When I was first coming up, as a young piper, this wasn’t an option. It was all about trying to find a vintage, antique set from way back, and testing them out. The problem with older sets is that there’s no warranty—they’re 50, 70, or 100 years old—and old bagpipes have problems, like damage and warping.
It’s a fantastic time to play bagpipes. You can order a brand-new set at a great value, with a world-class sound, and they’ll never hold you back. They look great and feel great to play. That’s fantastic.
If you have specific questions about bagpipes, put them in the chat or comments, or email me through my website. I’m happy to share my thoughts.
One more common question I get is how to fix trouble spots in tunes. Maybe you’ve got a tune like “The 79th’s Farewell to Gibraltar,” and that last line or part is hanging you up. Or maybe it’s a part in one of your jigs. How do you fix those tricky parts, and how do you get it up to speed? Often, the issue is: I can figure this out at a slow tempo, but my pipe major wants me to play it faster. How do I get these tunes I’ve been working on at a slow tempo up to speed?
I started putting together a list of ideas for a student, and it actually got pretty long—maybe I’ll make a whole video just about this topic. But here are a few things you can do:
- Slow it down When you slow things down, it gives your fingers a chance to play it right, and your brain a chance to figure out what needs to happen in a step-by-step fashion.
- Take out the technique Remove the gracenotes and doublings, and just focus on the main notes and the timing. Give yourself a chance to practice it that way, and then put the gracenotes and doublings back in.
- Simplify the rhythm If it’s a dot cut rhythm, take out the dot cuts and play everything even. Then, put the dot cuts back in.
The idea is to identify your trouble spots, focus on them, and find ways to simplify those sections so you can work on them. Over time, you’ll build skill and confidence, and get closer to playing that tricky part consistently and correctly at speed within the flow of the tune.
Sometimes, you can really zoom in—maybe it’s not just the fourth part or the last line that’s tricky. Maybe it’s just the middle of the second bar of that last line. Focusing in on those details might reveal a tricky finger movement or something else that needs work.
Once you’ve identified the trouble spot, drill it. Find exercises to focus on that specific technique. For example, in the last line of “The 79th’s Farewell to Gibraltar,” the B to A taorluath can be tricky for some pipers. So, work on that, but also work on similar techniques like other taorluaths, because what we know is that working on similar things, not just the one tricky part, helps improve overall skill.
Another thing you can do is record yourself. Use your phone to record audio or video, and if you have a phone with slow-motion video, use that to troubleshoot fingering or timing issues.
Playing with a metronome is also a great tool. It helps with tempo, steadiness, and can reveal spots in your tunes that aren’t as smooth as they need to be. Sometimes, trouble spots are obvious, but other times, you might notice a slight unsteadiness in your playing. The metronome can show you where you’re speeding up, slowing down, or getting tight in certain sections.
Even though timing issues may seem to be the problem, the root cause might be something else, like tight hands or unfamiliarity with that part of the tune. The metronome helps diagnose these issues, even if they’re not directly timing-related.
Alright, I’ll wrap it up here today. Thanks to everyone watching live, and if you’re watching on the replay, thank you! Check out the BagpipeLessons.com YouTube channel—hit subscribe, hit the bell. I’ve got lots of videos there, and I’m going to keep adding more. I appreciate all of you who are watching, commenting, liking, and sharing—it’s a great way to communicate and stay in touch with pipers around the world.
We’re coming up on 25 years of BagpipeLessons.com. In the early days, it was just basic websites and email, and now we have amazing, full-resolution video that broadcasts out to the world from my home studio. Thanks for being part of it.
Check out my shop for Tone Protectors, Foundation reeds, InTune Mics, and everything else at BagpipeLessons.com/shop. And if you like this and want to learn from me, I’d love for you to join my Inner Circle. I do weekly live online classes via Zoom for my members, and you get access to a huge lesson library with hundreds of videos, tunes, lessons, downloads, and product guides on every piping topic. Check that out at BagpipeLessons.com/membership. I’d love to have you there.
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We’ll see you next time. All the best. Mahalo!
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