The Bagpipe (photo) (audio)

One of the oldest wind instruments is the Bagpipe.

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The simplest type, from which all other subsets are made from is composed of three parts: an airtight bag that holds the wind, the chanter or a tube which has eight finger holes,

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and another tube with a valve that prevents the backflow of air. Early instruments were made of sheepskin or goatskin or of a stomach of a larger animal. Today, most bags are made of sheepskin which is refined, refurbished sewn and rubberized. The musician can either blow into the instrument or by operating a small set of bellow with his arm which blows in artificial air.

Bagpipes were used and known in ancient Greece, Rome and Persia. Different versions of the Bagpipe were made in nearly every country. Today, the Scottish Bagpipes are most widely known and used. In Ireland there exist both a war Bagpipe, which receives its air from the player's mouth, and a union Bagpipe, whose air supply is a set of bellows. In France the bellows-blown instrument is known as the musette, the mouth-blown version as the cornemuse. Italian Bagpipes include the zampogna and the piva; in Romania the instrument is named the dutka; in Spain, the gaita; and in Egypt, the zummarah.