MUSIC FOR THE PIPES

The Northumbrian smallpipes developed in the middle of a musical tradition where both fiddlers and pipers were relatively common. Music was used for dancing as well as purely performance, and traditional items were mixed with whatever happened to be the 'pop' music of the day by the performers. There was an extensive repertoire available in the collective memory, much of which has been preserved and published. Since the advent of recording techniques, a positive deluge of tunes has become available to most musicians.

It is of course possible to adapt any music for any instrument, but it is part of the attraction of a regional traditional instrument that it comes with its own associated repertoire, which has evolved to enhance its particular characteristics. There is thus a divergence between those who wish to use Northumbrian smallpipes as a vehicle for music of whatever sort, and those who wish to play Northumbrian and related traditional music on one of the indigenous instruments of the tradition. There will always be players who prefer to stick to the music given by their 'teachers', whether live or electronic, as there will those whose first act is to throw it away.

Much  pre-19th century bagpipe music, playable on the plain chanters of the period, has been preserved, and in many cases, published. This includes many tunes with extensive sets of variations, which are today commonly perceived as 'difficult' by most smallpipe players. They are scattered throughout the various tunebooks available, and well repay the effort required to play them effectively.
The earliest bagpipe music manuscript in the UK, dated 1733 and containing many of these 'variation' sets, has been published. Although now in Perth library, it originated in the area west of Newcastle upon Tyne. (William Dixon - The Master Piper, pub by Dragonfly Music)
A famous collection of the early tunes, made between 1850- 1880, but relying heavily on earlier sources, was the Northumbrian minstrelsy. The original is long out of print, but a collection of the smallpipe tunes in it, (in abc format) can be found in, and extracted from, Henry Ford's home pages. The Northumbrian Pipers Society  republished these tunes in 1998, and a facsimile of the original book is also available.

Once keys were added to the Northumbrian smallpipe chanter, a vast array of material, much of it fiddle music, became available to pipers.

Scottish fiddle music and dance musicians have heavily influenced the present day repertoire of pipers. There has also been an influx of Irish tunes, and some crossover from the Highland piping repertoire, apart from the more exotic influences. It is only recently that smallpipes have been used as a dance band instrument, principally since the advent of concert pitch pipes. The traditional pitch and idiosyncratic tuning of earlier pipes effectively ruled out their use with fixed pitch instruments such as concertinas, and later, accordions.

Most inhabitants of Northumbria are reivers by nature, and a good tune can come from almost anywhere. To make it characteristically Northumbrian-style is the the task of the individual piper, and is solved in a variety of ways by the prominent performers of today.

"Ye can tak' ony tune an' bring to it your Northumbrian-ness - and then its Northumbrian".

Currently available tune books

Aimed specifically at pipers:

The NPS tune books - vols 1, 2 and 3.

The NPS duet book.

The Charlton Memorial tunebook.

A repertoire of variations.

Billy Pigg -the Border Minstrel

Smallpipe tunes from the Northumbrian minstrelsy.

Peacock's Tunes

The Clough Family of Newsham.

The Border Bagpipe Tutor

Other publishers:

Alnwick Pipers Society:

Tune books - 1 and 2.

Mostly modern, but very good, tunes by some notable local composers.

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 Published by Dragonfly Music:

The Pipers Pocket Tune Book (new edition, 1999)

- yellow and green. A collection of commonly played tunes not available elsewhere. Pipe case sized.

Produced by Rossleigh Music :

The Pipers Companion Vols 1-7.

Derek Hobbs has produced a series of books with seconds for many well-known tunes.

Jack Armstrong's tunes.

Contains all his own compositions, and a selection of the duets he played with Patricia Jennings.Also published by Rossleigh Music.

The Coquetdale Garland.

Archie Dagg's tunes. A 2nd edition of a long out of print book. Archie was a shepherd and fiddler, who in his later years turned to pipe and reed making

Other books of regional music:

 Published by Matt Seattle of Dragonfly Music :

The Border Bagpipe Book.

Music aimed at the player of Border pipes, Scottish smallpipes and half-longs. With copious notes.

Morpeth Rant.

A selection of fiddle / pipe tunes not readily available elsewhere. (Currently out of print)

William Dixon - The Master Piper.

The earliest known UK bagpipe manuscript - from Stamfordham in Northumberland. Mainly variation sets, some of which need adaptation to play on NSP.

Great North Tune Book (Vickers manuscript) Vols 1-3.

A reproduction (not facsimile) of a 1770 fiddle manuscript. New edition in preparation.

Bewick's Pipe Tunes

Tunes from the Robert Bewick MSS - a new enlarged and annotated edition

Published by Graham Dixon of Wallace Music :

Lads like Beer - the fiddle music of James Hill.

All the tunes known to be by Hill, with copious notes. About to go out of print

Remember Me - the music of Robert Whinham.

All the tunes known to be by Whinham, or thought to be, with copious notes

Other useful books:

The Fiddlers Tune Book.

Originally an EFDSS publication for dance musicians in the 1950's, now in one volume, and still useful for the novice traditional musician. Published by Dave Mallinson

Highland Fiddle Music (Ceol na Fidhle) vols 1-4.

Exactly what it says, but many of the tunes go well on the NSP too.

Ho-ro-gheallaidh, vols. 1 (black) and 2 (purple)

A book of commonly played session tunes, becoming popular on NSP

The Scottish fiddle traditions are also fertile ground for reiving by the competent piper, as is some Great Highland bagpipe music, though this will require adaptation in most cases.

This list is not intended to be complete - just a guideline for those unfamiliar with the tradition.

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Page last modified 9 Sept 2003

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