The Bagpipe Society

Guide to the Cornemuse du Centre

The Cornemuse du Centre is one of the most commonly encountered French bagpipes on the contemporary French folk scene. It is based on a traditional design, strongly influenced by the bagpipes of Josef Bechonnet (1890s), but fitted with a chanter created in the 1980s by Bernard Blanc and Remi Dubois. The Cornemuse is usually mouthblown, pitched in G, has two drones, one of which is set in parallel to the chanter. The chanter’s range is usually one and a half octaves and virtually chromatic, with the use of cross fingering.