Topmusicanswers
If bagpipers used the equal temperament scale the drones would sound out of tune for every note but the As, although B, D, and E might be close enough. C#, F#, and G would be way off; hence why we need to beauty of the just intonation scale.
- What should bagpipes be tuned to?
- Why is just intonation bad?
- Is just intonation better?
- Do bagpipes need tuning?
What should bagpipes be tuned to?
(Please note that most bagpipes today tune at 476 to 480 Hz! This is roughly halfway between B-flat and B. Setting up a concert B-flat bagpipe can be challenging.
Why is just intonation bad?
Just intonation is extremely impractical for instruments that play chords (guitar or piano), or any instrument with fixed pitches which cannot bend, such as vibraphone or marimba. How many keys do you want in an octave on your keyboard? In the Baroque period, 12-tone equal temperament had not yet been invented.
Is just intonation better?
“Better sharp than out of tune.” Just intonation is, many believe, a more “pure” way of tuning and offers greater timbral and sonic possibilities than equal-temperament—the de facto form of intonation in Western music today. ...
Do bagpipes need tuning?
The good news is that a bagpipe chanter normally needs to be tuned only to itself (or to other bagpipe chanters, as in a band), and that the bagpipe itself contains the necessary equipment to achieve this - its own drones. With practice, most people can eventually do a decent job of it.
