The Bagpipe Society

Estonian Bagpipe Patterns

Creating an album to which brings to life the motif-based musical thinking of old bagpipe players

Spectogram of the tune 'Bride March' by Jan Pulk Allikmäe

Different Roman and Greek sources dating back to 5th century BC suggest that the bagpipe might have been of Sumerian or Chinese origin. The first archeological finds date back to 1st century AD, and this instrument spread all over Europe in the 9th century (Holmes 2013). Little is known about the history of bagpipes in Estonia, because we were oppressed as slaves for about 700 years to different rulers. Our music was distant as well as uninteresting to record in scriptures for the nobility.

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