| Bagpipes existed in many forms in
many places around the world. In each country the basic instrument
was the same, a bag with a chanter and one or more drones. Some of
these were mouth blown while others used a bellows attachment to supply
the air. The bag provided a sustained tone while the musician took
a breath and allowed several tones to be played at once.
The origins of the pipes in Scotland is uncertain.
Some say it was a Roman import. Others believe that the instrument
came from Ireland as the result of colonization. Another theory
is that they were developed there independently. Historians can
only speculate on the origins of the Scottish clans' piob mhor,
or great Highland bagpipe, but the Highlanders were the ones to
develop the instrument to its fullest extent and make it, both in
peace and war, their national instrument.
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