Each type of bagpipe is built and optimized for a very specific purpose. Of course, every musician would prefer an instrument with which he can play music from a wide variety of musical cultures – but this is not easy with bagpipes – and unfortunately not possible at all without compromise!
Prospective buyers should start by giving some basic thought to which bagpipe is most likely to suit them and the music that will be played. These pages are designed to help you with these considerations.
On the basis of a few questions and the corresponding answers we will try to give you an orientation with which instrument you can start playing the bagpipes.
Read the following questions and then follow the appropriate links that will give you detailed information about each type of bagpipe:
| Basic initial questions | Possible answers | Clicking in this column will take you here to more information and pages about the types of bagpipes in question |
| What volume may the instrument have? | The bagpipe should/may Be very loud | Great Highland Bagpipes |
| The bagpipe shall be clearly audible | The big buck Gaita Shepherd whistle | |
| The bagpipe should/must Be quiet | Hümmelchen & Dudey Scottish Smallpipe | |
| What kind of music should be played? | Scottish bagpipe music | Great Highland Bagpipe Scottish Smallpipe |
| Dance music (from D, F, A, CH, I …) | Gaita Shepherd whistle | |
| Early music Renaissance, Baroque, Middle Ages | Hümmelchen & Dudey The big buck | |
| Medieval market music | ‘Medieval bagpipe | |
| What keys must be on the Bagpipes be playable? | Scottish keys (A = 476 Hz.) | Great Highland Bagpipe Scottish Smallpipe |
| G / C | Gaita Shepherd whistle | |
| F / C / d minor | Hümmelchen & Dudey The big buck | |
| no matter | All bagpipes |
PLEASE NOTE: This information is provided as a suggestion to first address some important initial questions.
It is not possible to answer all possible questions here – please feel free to call us with further questions about our instruments.
