Why not try small pipes as well, like the Northumbrian pipes?
Some traditional bagpiping.
Donald Ban MacCrimmon, piper to clan MacLeod, is said to have had a premonition that he would be killed. He composed this lament for his own death in late 1745 or early 1746.
“Cha till mi tuille” - “I will return no more”
He was killed at the Rout of Moy in February 1746, the only casualty in the skirmish, shot at long range in the dark.
What about the issue that bagpipes are usually simply not tuned the same as a piano or bass? Awesome solo instrument of course
Yes, the Great Highland bagpipes are a folk instrument, and the scale for the chanter does not match the scales used for classical music and instruments. The GHB scale evolved in the wilds of Scotland, independently of classical Western European instruments. So the GHB “don’t play well with others,” to use the playground idiom.
The standard pitch for classical Western instruments is that the A above middle C is tuned to 440 Hz. On the chanter for the GHB, A is tuned to between 475 Hz and 485 Hz, depending on the preferences of the pipe major for the band, or the solo piper. The pitch has been steadily moving up over the past century to get a sharper, more carrying sound.
And then, since the GHB evolved with its own scale, the division between the notes doesn’t match that of the classical Western scale. Most of the notes follow the approximate separation in tones for the notes of the classical scale, with the exception of the C. Within the GHB scale, it is closer to a C sharp. However, by convention it’s not indicated as a C sharp in the musical notation, which can throw off a non-piper looking at the sheet music for a pipe tune.
Plus, given the oddities of the scale, the key of a particular tune may shift within the tune. Pipers don’t worry about the key, since the scale is set, but other musicians, with instruments of broader range, can find that apparent shifting of key within a tune to be … idiosyncratic.
Finally, the GHB only have 9 notes: G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G’, and A’, plus the low A’s of the drones (plus, the C is really C#, compared to the B and D) . That’s a very limited range, compared to the guitar, the piano, the violin, or other Western instruments, so it’s difficult to play tunes that were designed for those instruments.
And then there’s the fact that pipes are all melody, not rhythm. Since the air flow from the bag can’t be interrupted, there is no way to have a rest in a tune. Pipers achieve a similar effect by the very short “grace notes”, an incidental that is between the main notes of the tune, but it’s all about the ability of the piper to phrase the notes. The pipes therefore are difficult to play in unison with classical Western musical instruments.
It’s not impossible to play other Western instruments with the pipes, but it’s much more difficult than to combine guitar with violin or sax, and so on.
Note that the above comments are for the GHB. Other pipes, like the Irish pipes, have evolved to have more flexibility and are more compatible with Western instruments. The GHB, like the Scottish thistle, are proudly prickly and independent.
That’s why about the only instrument that the pipes go well with are the drums. They’re the exact opposite of the pipes: all rhythm, no melody. The strengths/weaknesses of the two instruments complement each other.
O.K. if I jazz this conversation up a bit?
Bagpipe swing with Gunhild Carling in Central Park NY - YouTube
I’m not sure that’s even possible.
Here’s Archy J (the Snake Charmer) running amuck:
"A multi cultural music video with Britain’s Castles, India’s streets, highland dancers, Bagpipes, Punjabi folk, bhangra dancers, Russian violinist and a crazy dhol player get together to showcase the amazing diversity in the world and how we all have something in common despite the distance and differences. "
Yeah, let’s rock the joint - Roy Wood and Wizzard
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My mother was a WWII British War Bride. It was difficult for her to leave her family and move to America with my dad in 1945. She was particulary close to her youngest brother, Jack, and missed him most of all.
Airfare was expensive in those days so mom could only afford to visit her British family once (in the 60’s) over many decades. They never could afford to visit us.
Jack moved to Scotland after the war. His son, Barry (my cousin) grew up and became a bagpipe player in the British Army.
After years of scrimping and saving, Jack could finally afford to visit his little sister in Florida in the mid-80’s. He brought his wife and son and his son’s wife. His son brought his pipes.
Barry gave a beautiful, heartfelt bagpipe performance for my mom lasting over an hour. I’ll never forget the tears in her eyes.
I’ve loved bagpipes ever since.
Something for those who like singing with their pipes (or vice versa), by one of my favourite groups.
Here’s a video of the funeral procession of the Queen Mother in 2002, made by a bystander in the crowd.
The massed pipes of all the Scottish regiments lead the funeral procession, with the Royal Horse Artillery escorting the coffin on a gun carriage behind, as they march to Westminster Abbey. Note the bell of the Abbey tolling at one minute intervals.
The video is pretty jerky in places, but well worth watching.
A funeral worth dying for! 
I’m close to half Scottish and I love bagpipes.
Coincidentally, I’m currently reading Chabon’s Moonglow.
Highly appropriate for the daughter of Lord Glamis (title established 1445).
From one life event to another: a popular piece of modern classical music that does (eventually) combine a full orchestra with pipes is Peter Maxwell Davies’s Orkney Wedding With Sunrise, where an increasingly riotous wedding party lasts until the dawn is piped in:
That was beautiful! Thanks.
Loved it!
“Scotland the Brave” to the driving beat of “We Will Rock You”:
Here’s some more.
Thanks!
If you want to add a little bagpipe to your life, you can download a bagpipe app. For the one I have, to make the drones sound you blow into the phone’s microphone.