Pastoral Pipes

Instrument
August 18, 2024

The Pastoral pipes were an 18th-century predecessor to the Uilleann pipes, played with both a bellows and a chanter that could play a full chromatic scale.

They were primarily used in England and Ireland before evolving into the modern Uilleann pipes.

The pastoral pipe (also known as the hybrid union pipes, organ pipe and union pipe) was a bellows-blown bagpipe, widely recognized as the forerunner and ancestor of the 19th-century union pipes, which became the uilleann pipes of today.

Similar in design and construction, it had a foot joint in order to play a low leading note and plays a two octave chromatic scale.

Pastoral or New Bagpipe

There is a tutor for the “Pastoral or New Bagpipe” by J. Geoghegan, published in London in 1745

Download

You can download the “Pastoral or New Bagpipe” by J. Geoghegan PDF here.

J. Geoghegan Video

Jimi McRae

Bagpiper

In 1999 street piper Jimi McRae and Offbeat Scotland music producer Iain McKinna teamed up to produce Jimi The Piper's debut solo album. In 2001 the follow up album Earthdance, co-written by Jimi and Iain was released. Following a successful solo tour of the west coast of the USA, they then formed a band to promote the albums. In it's present line up the band has been gigging extensively since 2003. Now with the release of their latest album Kick Out The Ghosts, Pipedreams are increasingly bringing their unique and intoxicating brand of contemporary Scottish pipe based music to an appreciative and ever widening audience, both throughout the UK and beyond. Pipedreams work with many top agents and promoters and are currently available for festivals, tours and supports, TV and radio sessions, corporate events and overseas engagements. Jimi McRae : Highland, Lowland, Border, Arabic & Electronic pipes Jimi McRae was for many years Edinburgh's best known street busker at his pitch at St Giles in Edinburgh's Royal Mile and was known originally as the Biker Piper. A road accident in 1994 put him out of action for two years, but in 1999 a fortuitous meeting with top Scottish record producer Iain McKinna of Offbeat Scotland led to an exclusive deal with the label. Two highly acclaimed albums were released - Pipedreams (1999) and Earthdance (2001) - to rave reviews in the music press. American and European tours followed, and a legion of devoted fans has grown internationally. As a solo artist Jimi has been to the West Coast of USA twice and has created a groundswell of interest selling thousands of albums following solo live and radio performances in Seattle and San Francisco. As well as being the official piper for The Claymores, Scotland's national American football team, he has also performed solo at a multitude of gigs including Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Murrayfield Stadium, Stirling Castle, ICC Birmingham, Edinburgh International Conference Centre, and Hampden Park.