Piping Books

Instructional Books, CDs and DVD For Practice Chanter and Bagpipes; Books of Tunes, Maintenance of the Pipes

New! BB12. DVD, Learn To Play The Bagpipe. Seven lessons on practice chanter and then seven lessons on the bagpipes. The lessons incorporate many well-known tunes, including Amazing Grace, Scotland the Brave and the Skye Boat Song. Bonus material: a short worldwide history of the origins of the bagpipe up to the modern day, with 5 minutes of excellent background material. Suitable for all ages.  $29

College of Piping Bagpipe Books

The College of Piping series of books and recordings is published by the College of Piping in Glasgow, Scotland. Probably the best-known chanter/bagpipe method in the United States, the series is written to be useful both for students studying with a teacher and also for those of you who study the practice chanter/pipes on your own.

BB1. Highland Bagpipe Tutor Part 1 (green book) plus CD-ROM. The 72-page book is a playing manual for beginners. Information on the practice chanter, holding the chanter and playing the scale (with clear drawings), grace notes, throws and doublings, other techniques of playing, reading music, graded tunes with playing instructions, history of the bagpipe. The accompanying CD-ROM has two tracks on it - the audio/visual track shows the pieces in Part I being played and the other track plays as a standard audio CD. We recommend getting both book and CD-ROM, especially if you are going to work on your own without a teacher. Book/CD-ROM set $32.
BB1A. Book only $20
BB1B. CD-ROM only $12

BB2. Highland Bagpipe Tutor Part 2 (red book): This is a book on the bagpipes themselves, not a playing instruction book. It covers the parts of the pipes, the bag itself (function, materials, making a bag, choosing, tying on, seasoning a bag), blowpipe and valve, the pipe chanter, the drones, pipe chanter reed (making, choosing, setting, blowing in), choosing a bagpipe, posture, marching, and advice on lessons. 64pp. $20

BB3. Highland Bagpipe Tutor Part 3 (blue book): More advanced lessons on playing (this book picks up where Book 1 leaves off). Eighteen tunes with instructions on how to play them and exercises on special features of the tunes. 79pp. $20

BB4. Highland Bagpipe Piobaireachd Tutor Part 4 (yellow book) plus CD. This is a tutor book for piobaireachd music, also called ceol mor (big music). This is the real bagpipe music, almost the only pipe music played up into the early 19th century, as opposed to the dances and other light music most commonly played on the bagpipes these days. It is assumed that you know the basics of playing the bagpipe, and are quite good at it, before attempting this book (that's why it's number four in the series). The book is by Seamus McNeill, revised and produced by Robert Wallace. Angus MacLellan and Robert Wallace sing and play each lesson from the book on the accompanying CD. Set of book and CD: $33

The Shepherd Book and CD

BB10. Learn to Play the Bagpipe: A New Method of Practice Chanter Tuition by Pipe Major R. T. Shepherd, book and CD. If you have little background in music and will be working on your own, we recommend that you start with this book. (No, we don't call it "Bagpipes for Dummies" because we don't think that our customers are dummies.) This book moves slowly, with many photographs. The practice chanter, bagpipe scale, finger position, step-by-step instruction on blowing the notes properly, time signatures and how to count, exercises, grace notes, skip notes, dotted notes, embellishments, melodies, compound time, dancing tunes. The music is played on the CD. Published by The Tartan House, Ohio, 1984. 8 1/2 x 11", 82pp. Set $20
BB10A. Book only. $10
BB10B. CD companion only $12
BB10C. Cassette companion only. We have just a few of the cassettes, and are selling them off at $5.

Piping Method by Bagpipes of Caledonia

BB11. CD pack, The Caledonia Bagpipe Tutor: Learn to Play the Highland Bagpipe. The Caledonia Bagpipe Manual by Fraser McNaughton. This CD/leaflet pack guides the beginner through the tuition process on the practice chanter with seven bagpipe lessons from first principles and plays the music pieces that are printed in the pack. Based on the method of the late Captain John A. MacLellan. Note that practice chanter and chanter (of bagpipes) tend to be used interchangeably. Published in 1994 Scotland, this reprint 1996. 8 1/4 x 5 3/4", 64pp. Sale! Only $15 while they last.

Other Piping Manuals

BB20. The Bagpipe: A Complete Tutor With a Selection of Forty-Six Irish and Scottish Tunes by Pipe Major Bill Cleary. Unlike the others on this page, this pipe tutor includes Irish as well as Scottish tunes. However, beginners working on their own might want to get a more detailed tutor book for beginners in addition to this one. After giving the fingering chart for the chanter or practice chanter, this book goes straight to grace notes, which are covered in considerable detail over several pages; also there is information on the bagpipes throughout.  The tunes are graded in three groups: elementary, intermediate and advanced. These include The Wearing of the Green, Eileen Aroon, The Skye Boat Song, and Scotland the Brave. Includes some historical notes on the bagpipes. Published by Walton's in Ireland. $15

BB23. Medieval Bagpipes: A Manual for Two-Drone and Other Medieval Smallpipes. Contains 20 medieval songs, and includes an audio CD of the songs. By Dr. Paul Fehrenbach. $30. For a more detailed description of this book, see our medieval bagpipes page.

Books of Pipe Music

BB30.The Regimental Pipers of the Scots Guards Present A Collection of New Tunes for the Highland Bagpipe. Book I. Over 50 tunes composed by pipers of the Regiment, past and present, in the tradition of other Scots Guards music books. A brief history accompanies each tune. 32 photos. $32

BB31. Caledonia Cathedral: Hymns for the Bagpipe. Arrangements of forty-two hymns for church, weddings, Christmas and other events arranged by Alasdair Trotter for bagpipes. Amazing Grace, Abide With Me, and many other well-known hymns, many rarely heard on the bagpipes. The words are included (as many as seven verses). Published by Bagpipes of Caledonia. $24
BB31A. Accompanying CD. The hymns are all played by Piper Alastair Trotter on the CD of the same title. $22

BB32. Music Book for Beginners: this little booklet contains tunes for beginners to play. Includes Amazing Grace, For Auld Lang Syne, Heyken's Serenade, Miss Kirkwood, Morag of Dunvegan, Mrs Elder, The Bluebells of Scotland, The Day is Ended, The Herding Song, The Pride of Scotland, The Skye Boat Song, Will Ye No Come Back Again. $4

BB33. Music for the Great Pipe: Pipe Major Peter Hewlett's Collection. This is a collection of light music for the bagpipe; about half is Scottish and half is Irish. 13 marches, 2 strathspeys, 21 reels, 19 jigs, 2 hornpipes, and 4 slow airs. Out of stock.

BB34. The Cairngorm Collection of Highland Bagpipe Music: Book 1. A collection of the works of Pipe Major George S. McLennan 1884-1929. Thirteen 2/4 marches, eight  6/8 marches, eight reels, five strathspeys, four slow marches, five retreats and three jigs. Pub. Exile Publishing. $20

BB35. The Cairngorm Collection of Highland Bagpipe Music: Book 2. Fifty-five classic 2/4 marches from various sources, chosen by the publishers as "a legacy to current generations from fellow pipers of old," music that has stood the test of time. This book is reviewed in the Summer 1999 issue of The Voice; "many of these tunes are in books now out of print...if you want top-of-the-range 2/4 marches, buy this book..." Pub. Exile Publishing. $20

BB36. The Cairngorm Collection of Highland Bagpipe Music: Book 3. The classic strathspeys and reels, 60 special selections. $20

BB37. Christmas Songs for Bagpipes, 100 songs arranged by Paul Fehrenbach. Each song appears twice, once as a GHB arrangement with gracings and notation, and the second time for smallpipes in D, uilleann pipes, flute or whistle (these are in key of G or D) along with chord symbols for guitar or other accompaniment. These are mostly carols, but some are not ("There Was A Pig Went Out to Dig"). The author's description of the songs is as follows: "Some of the songs are traditional Christmas songs, others are found in collections of Celtic music, and others from other European sources. Some are modern and others very ancient. All are songs that fit the great Highland Bagpipe fingering and scale with little or no modification of the melody line." Plastic comb binding, lies flat. $21

Pipes Maintenance and Tuning

BB40. Highland Bagpipe Tutor Part 2 (red book,also listed above): This is a book on the bagpipes themselves, not a playing instruction book. It covers the parts of the pipes, the bag itself (function, materials, making a bag, choosing, tying on, seasoning a bag), blowpipe and valve, the pipe chanter, the drones, pipe chanter reed (making, choosing, setting, blowing in), choosing a bagpipe, posture, marching, and advice on lessons. Published by the College of Piping. 64pp. $20

BB41. Sale! Basic Maintenance of the Scottish Bagpipe by Dave Wardell and Neil Manderson. This booklet, published by Kilberry, is especially intended for new owners of highland pipes and smallpipes. Was $11, now $8.

BB42: The Notation and Tuning of the Highland Bagpipe by Captain John A. MacLellan. This entire booklet is devoted to the subject of reading bagpipe music and tuning the pipes. It is useful for anyone wishing help on the subject of reading bagpipe music, and for those who wish to understand the tuning of the pipes. 9 1/2 x 7", published by Pipingtape. Now back in print again. $8.

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BB22. The Great Highland Bagpipe Tutor. Book plus CD-ROM. This book is designed for teaching yourself how to play, even if you have no prior musical knowledge. Pictures and diagrams are included, plus 18 tunes graded in difficulty. The 30-minute CD-ROM tutor video is for both PC and Mac. Produced by Bagpipes Galore! Set of book plus CD-ROM Out of stock.