Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe , Northern Africa , Western Asia , around the Persian Gulf and northern parts of South Asia.
The term bagpipe is equally correct in the singular or the plural, though pipers usually refer to the bagpipes as "the pipes", "a set of pipes" or "a stand of pipes". A set of bagpipes minimally consists of an air supply, a bag, a chanter , and usually at least one drone. Many bagpipes have more than one drone and, sometimes, more than one chanter in various combinations, held in place in stocksβsockets that fasten the various pipes to the bag. The most common method of supplying air to the bag is through blowing into a blowpipe or blowstick.
In some pipes the player must cover the tip of the blowpipe with the tongue while inhaling, in order to prevent unwanted deflation of the bag, but most blowpipes have a non-return valve that eliminates this need.
In recent times, there are many instruments that assist in creating a clean air flow to the pipes and assist the collection of condensation.
The use of a bellows to supply air is an innovation dating from the 16th or 17th century. In these pipes, sometimes called " cauld wind pipes ", air is not heated or moistened by the player's breathing, so bellows-driven bagpipes can use more refined or delicate reeds.
