A second recorder is then installed as a drone, which produces the continuous harmonizing note typical of bagpipes. A pair of pens are used to create the blowpipe which supplies air to the instrument.

The Highland bagpipe is a part of Scottish culture and history, famous for its distinctive, powerful sound that even accompanied troops as they landed in Normandy on D-Day during World War II.

Suggestions on online bagpipe forums for home-made seasoning ... reed which is made of cane or increasingly a synthetic plastic material. The smaller the reed the louder the sound it creates ...

1. The Scotsman newspaper warns that bagpipes face an ‘existential threat’. Their poor sales last year found them in the bottom three worst-selling instruments in the UK, along with the kazoo ...