The Highland bagpipe, a cornerstone of Scottish culture and history, is slowly fading as demand declines and machine-made instruments dominate. Ruari Black, one of the last artisan makers in Edinburgh, continues to craft them by hand, preserving this vanishing tradition.
The Highland bagpipe is an integral part of Scottish culture and history, renowned for its distinctive, powerful sound that even accompanied troops landing in northern France on D-Day. However, this wind instrument is slowly growing silent as demand dwindles, with machine-made bagpipes replacing traditionally crafted ones, limiting their use to largely ceremonial occasions.
Just off Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile, which sweeps down from the city's imposing castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, sits a faded storefront sign for artisan bagpipe maker Kilberry Bagpipes. Inside, Ruari Black is one of the few remaining craftsmen in Edinburgh who knows how to make the instrument by hand.
"At Kilberry, we're one of the last artisan bagpipe makers — certainly in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland — but probably in the world," Black told AFP as he shaped a pipe with a lathe. "It's got a big sound, it'll fill a room," said Black, describing the nine stages it takes to make the intricate instrument.
After boring and shaping the pipes, they are fitted with mounts and ferrules before adding the finishing touches and assembling the components. The whole process takes around a week, with the craftsmen working on multiple bagpipes at the same time.
The finished product has "our distinct sound," according to Black. "Every set, we're striving to have that consistency to make sure they're sounding the same." Each handmade set also has "its own character, in terms of looks and feel," making it attractive to customers from around the world, he added. The current wait time for an artisan Highland bagpipe is two years, according to Kilberry's website.
Best-Known Form
"Customers come to us for a set of handmade pipes. They're generally coming for the handmade aspect," Black explained. "They want the sound we strive to produce — that's what we want to be known for." Clients include experienced pipers as well as newcomers buying their "first practice chanter," the part of the bagpipe with finger holes, where the melody is played.
While bagpipes have been recorded in Scottish history for some 600 years, their origins remain unclear. Different variations exist around the world, including the Irish bagpipe, the Northumbrian smallpipes, and the Turkish tulum. In Brittany, northwest France, a band called a bagad is composed of Breton bagpipes, or biniou, and drums.
However, the Highland bagpipe remains the best-known form and has significantly influenced the military music of Britain and Commonwealth countries. Every year, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo — a series of military musical performances featuring massed pipe bands — takes place at the top of the Royal Mile. The last song played at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in 2022 was a rendition of the lament "Sleep, Dearie, Sleep," performed by her personal piper.
'Means a Lot'
Despite its enduring cultural significance, the traditionally handmade Highland bagpipe is vanishing. Unlike Kilberry, most other producers now use machinery. However, Black said it is easy to distinguish the instruments, with machine-made ones lacking the "hand-turned" shapes and decorative designs of his bagpipes.
Despite having fewer workers and taking longer to make each bagpipe, Kilberry "tries to keep the cost down for customers to still have a handmade instrument," said Black. "So it's kind of up to the customer to choose us over mass-produced."
Some mass-manufactured bagpipes can also be identified by their use of imitation ivory for the mounts, according to Black. The artisans are trying to be more sustainable without compromising quality.
For Black, there is no substitute for making bagpipes by hand. "Keeping it handmade means a lot to me — it's the way it's always been done. It just feels right," he added. "For something that's completely dying out, it's not nice to be one of the last... but it's nice to be carrying that on."
With AFP
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