The bag: The bag was traditionally made from the hide of an animal and "seasoned" with a noxious fluid to keep it airtight. Luckily today, pipers have a choice. I play on a Ross canister bag. The "skin" of the Ross bag is made from a Goretex-like material that allows the bag to be airtight but also allow the moisture from my breath to pass through the bag. Moisture and bagpipes do not go along very well. Attached to the bag are stocks, the short pipes that the blowpipe, drones and chanter fit into the bag. On an animal hide bag, these stocks are tied-in to the bag using various types of thin waxed cording like artificial sinew. On a synthetic bag, hose clamps attach the stocks, like those used on an automobile radiator.

When playing, the pressure on the bag is steady. The piper does not change the pressure on the bag to play different notes--the pitch of the note is control by the fingering on the chanter (see below). If the piper is unsteady in his blowing or squeezing, the audience may notice it. The pressure must be steady to keep the balance and tune between the drones and the chanter in check. Also, the bag must be entirely airtight. Any leak will cause the pipes to be difficult or even impossible to play.

The blowpipe: (also called the blowstick) is the tube that allows the air into the bag. It is blown by mouth (some other types of bagpipes use a bellows system) and has a valve on the end of it that keeps the air from returning back into the piper's mouth. In the old days, pipers would seal the blowpipe with their tongue, but luckily for us all those days have passed and we now have efficient valves made of either leather or rubber that do the same thing. Older blowpipes often had very narrow bores and round mouthpieces that made blowing the bagpipe quite difficult. Today, many pipers use large bore, plastic blowpipes. These blowpipes often come with more ergonomic oval mouthpieces that allow pipers to play for much longer intervals.

The chanter: The most important of all the pipes on a bagpipe is the chanter. It is the pipe that provides the melody. The chanter is a double-reeded instrument, much like an oboe or bassoon. The reed, however, is much harder and helps provide the volume that one often associates with the bagpipe. Because of the nature of the bagpipe, the sound of the chanter cannot be readily stopped. It sounds continuously. It also has no dynamic range (volume control). It is either on or off. Due to these limitations, a system of grace notes and embellishments has evolved that allow the piper to separate notes or add feeling to a tune. The highland bagpipes also has a limited range of nine notes (G, A, B, C# D, E, F#, G, A). In music theory, this scale is known as the mixolydian mode. Also, the low A of the chanter is actually sharper than B-flat, which makes it quite difficult to play in tune with other instruments. The notes of the chanter are tuned by changing the placement of the reed in its seat and by placing small amounts of tape over the holes to lengthen the distance between the reed and the opening of the hole.

The drones: these are the pipes that are the most noticeable. They stick up into the air and provide the bagpipe sound that accompanies the chanter. There are three drones--two tenor drones and one bass drone. The tenor drones are tuned an octave below low A of the chanter and the bass drone is tuned two octaves below low A. Each note of the chanter is tuned to harmonize with the sound of the drones. The drones are tuned by either lengthening or shortening the drone at the tuning pin. The drones are held together by cords--this keep them from falling down or flapping around.

The drones are all single-reeded. The reeds are either cane or synthetic. The cane reeds are known for their outstanding tone, but they are very difficult to set up and even harder to keep steady. Synthetic drone reeds (which are made of various plastics, resins or carbon-fibre) are much easier to set up and much steadier to play. Many if not most of the top pipers in the world are now using synthetic drone reeds for their convenience and steadiness.