GB2401474A

GB2401474A - Highland session pipes

Info

Publication number: GB2401474A
Application number: GB0305639A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Nigel Richard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-03-12
Filing date: 2003-03-12
Publication date: 2004-11-10
Anticipated expiration: 2023-03-12
Also published as: GB0305639D0; GB2401474B

Abstract

A set of mouth-blown bagpipes having means to filter liquid and non-liquid particles from the breath of the player before it enters the bag 1, the filter assembly 11 being removable for cleaning purposes through the blowstick stock 5 without having to open the bag. Since the filter assembly 11 restricts the free flow of air into the bag, the player would have to work significantly harder to achieve the operating pressures required by the standard cane reeds normally used in Highland bagpipes. To overcome this problem, the bagpipe of this invention employs a cane chanter reed 4 of lighter construction and lower operating pressure of the type similar to those used in the bellows-blown Border pipes. The filter assembly may be attached to the base of the blowstick stock 5 via a tube 10 and may be fully enclosed within the bag. The tube 10 may contain absorbent material 12 to catch condensed vapour before it enters the filtration assembly 11.

Description

1 2401474

HIGHLAND SESSION PIPES

The invention relates to a mouth blown set of bagpipes designed to be played at an acoustical volume which makes them compatible with most other musical instruments, and at a pressure which makes it possible to play these bagpipes with comfort for a longer period of time than is the case with Highland bagpipes.

The characteristics of the "Great Highland Bagpipe" are well known, as are to a lesser extent the similar ones of its close relatives such as the "Three quarter size Highland Bagpipes", or " Half size Highland Bagpipes" sometimes referred to as "Reel pipes". All these bagpipes - hereinafter referred to simply as Highland pipes - share to a large degree the same disadvantages, particularly when playing with the vast majority of other musical instruments, firstly a playing pressure which restricts the length of time during which they can be played with comfort, and secondly their relatively loud acoustical volume. The cane chanter reed is generally recognised to be one of the parts most responsible for the characteristic tone of the Highland Bagpipes. Chanter reeds made from synthetic materials are used in many different sorts of bagpipes, these reeds perform differently in a number of ways, this application pertains specifically to bagpipes with cane chanter reeds. Highland Bagpipes reeds, if played regularly, often have an active life of less than six months despite their relatively robust structure, this is widely believed to be brought about by contact with human exhalation. Bagpipes which operate at a lower pressure and volume, such as the bellows blown "Border pipes" have cane chanter reeds of lighter construction than the Highland pipes. The two cane "blades" are thinner, and it is evident that the same absolute quantity of damage brought about by contact with human exhalation would proportionally damage these reeds to a greater extent. It has therefore previously been considered to be impractical to make a set of mouth blown bagpipes with a low pressure reed of the sort referred to, because the active reed life would be expected to be considerably less than that of the Highland pipes.

The object of this invention is to provide a set of mouth blown bagpipes, which retain as far as possible the tonal characteristics of the Highland bagpipes, particularly those associated with it's cane chanter reed, but operate at a lower pressure and volume. Various systems already exist for reducing humidity in mouth blown Highland pipes, the system proposed here differs in certain respects.

Accordingly this invention provides a set of mouth blown bagpipes incorporating, in particular, two parts, one being a conical bore chanter fitted with a cane chanter reed of a design which allows the bagpipes to be played at a significantly lower pressure than Highland bagpipes, the other being a device which provides a means of filtering out to a certain extent particles present in human exhalation deemed to be damaging to the said reed to the extent that they shorten its effective life. This device is positioned so that the air from the players mouth travels through it before entering the main body of the bag, and the restriction to the airflow caused by the filtration process gives rise, when in combination with said lower pressure reed, to an overall playing pressure such that it is still possible to play the instrument without stopping, and without discomfort, for a significantly longer period than would be possible with the Highland pipes, with the additional benefit that pitch fluctuation is minimised. An advantage of this system is that a proportion of the unwanted particles from human exhalation are trapped in the filtrate and other parts of the device linking it to the origin of the exhalation, and can be removed from the bag where the device assembly can be cleaned out or replaced, thereby avoiding the situation in which, as in the case of some other known humidity control devices, exhalation travels more directly into the main internal area of the bag where, whether a filtration device is fitted or not, such particles can accumulate, and can ultimately pass to the reed. Use of the proposed filtration system is made possible because of the lower operating pressure of the chanter reed, whereas such a system would not be suitable in the higher pressure Highland pipes because the additional restriction would add to the already considerable physical effort required of the player.

In this design the filtering device is removable from the bag through a fixed stock without the need for the bag to be opened in any other manner.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: FIGURE 1 shows a longitudinal section of the bagpipes without all details such as internal air passageways being delineated.

FIGURE 2 shows on a larger scale a longitudinal section through the filtration chamber.

As shown in figure 1, The bagpipes comprise a bag 1 having attached through its wall a chanter stock 2 holding a chanter 3 with reed 4, and also a blowstick stock 5 and drone stock 6. The drone stock 6 holds the drone 7 shown in part here, and would normally be one of three drone stocks holding three drones, one only being shown here for the sake of clarity.

The blowstick stock 5 holds the blowstick X to which the mouthpiece 9 is attached. The blowstick is fitted with a standard bagpipe non return valve which is not shown here. A tube 10, made from a suitable material, to which a filtration chamber l I is removeably attached, has its other end attached to the end of the blowstick, from which it can also be removed. The tube contains a piece of absorbent material 12 to catch condensed vapour before it enters the filtration chamber. The air passes through the tube and filtration chamber before entering the main body of the bag 13.

Figure 2 shows the filtration chamber 1 1 removeably attached to the tube 12. A number of radially spaced air holes 14 allow air into the chamber and out of the chamber through the holes in the chamber sides at the far end. A removable cap 16 is fitted which also has a number of radially spaced air holes. The filtrate (not shown) fills the internal part of the chamber 17.

Claims

CLAll\IS 1. A set of mouth blown bagpipes incorporating two parts in

particular, one being a chanter fitted with a cane chanter reed of a design which allows the bagpipes to be played at a significantly lower pressure than Highland bagpipes, the other being a device which provides a means of filtering out to a certain extent particles present in human exhalation considered to be damaging to the said reed to the extent that they shorten its effective life; said device being positioned so that the air from the players mouth travels through it before entering the main body of the bag, and the restriction to the airflow caused by said filtration process giving rise, when in combination with said reed, to an overall playing pressure which makes it possible to play the instrument without stopping, and without discomfort, for a significantly longer period of time than would be possible with the Highland pipes.
2 A set of mouth blown bagpipes as claimed in Claim 1 where the chanter is a conical bore chanter of the "Highland" type but which is of a modified design to enable, in combination with said cane chanter reed referred to in Maim i, the instrument to be piayco al said lower prissy e Flu at act acoustic volume closer to that of the large majority of other western orchestral and folk music instruments, than the Highland bagpipes.
3. A set of mouth blown bagpipes as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, where the filtering device is removable from the bag through a fixed opening without the need for the bag to be opened in any other manner
4. A set of mouth blown bagpipes as claimed in any of the previous claims, where the apparatus through which the human exhalation passes before entering the main body of the bag, has present a substance or substances which will reduce the quantity of water in liquid or vaporous state travelling into the bagpipes.
5.A set of mouth blown bagpipes as claimed in any of the previous claims, where the apparatus through which the human exhalation passes, has present a substance or substances which will reduce the potentially harmful effect on the reed of any non water particles present in said exhalation.
6. A set of mouth blown bagpipes as claimed in any of the previous claims where the filtration device is attached either directly or indirectly to the part or parts of the bagpipe into which the player initially blows air, and may lie inside the body of the bag itself.
7. A set of mouth blown bagpipes which is substantially as described herein, and illustrated in the accompanying c rawmgs.