bagpipes - celtic songs

can any celtic songs be played well on bagpipes? anyone heard any?

 

Good question. Not that I can think of off the top of my head. Thats not to say they couldn't be. I suppose with the predominantly Irish influence of our history it might be a good idea to adapt something to the Uillean pipes. Also, the low D whistle would suit this. The trick would be to find somebody who had a background in celtic (as in ethnically speaking) folk music, who would then adapt it to a proper Celtic song rather than an Irish or Scottish folk song. As much as I like The Wolfe Tones, their folk songs are definitly better than their Celtic ones! And I've never heard of Charlie & the Bhoys using the pipes.

Somebody like Luke Kelly could have been good at this. Possibly The Chieftains...or The Fureys....

Also, remember any purely Celtic songs you hear can never be older than late 19thC at the most and will probably have originated on the terraces by urban-dwelling fans.

Still think its a nice idea though.

 

Well, one thing you have to remember about the bagpipes is, that they are tuned to one key and can only play in that key. They can't have accidentals (meaning sharps or flats) so that kind of influences what one can play.

Many times, bagpipe players will go ahead and play whatever they want, ignoring that they don't have the needed accidentals to properly play a song. Perfect example= O Flower of Scotland. The phrase in question is "Tae think again" In the vocal version, its in a minor sounding interval, whereas because of the bagpipes limitations, its played with a major sounding interval.

So yes, Celtic songs can be played by bagpipes, it just might not sound the way you want it to