Inglis Collection of printed music > Printed text > Piobaireachd [Tus is Alt a'Chiuil-Mhoir]

INTRODUCTION
Several volumes have already appeared on the history and origin of the bagpipe.
The development and evolution of the instrument itself have been traced with more
or less success ; but the art of piobaireachd, apart altogether from the instrument,
has never yet been dealt with. This is the first attempt ever made to place the
classical music of the Great Highland Bagpipe on a scientific basis ; to define its
nature and construction ; and to raise it to the high position which it undoubtedly
deserves.
It is said that unless one can speak Gaelic one can never understand or hope to
play piobaireachd. I would not like to go as far as to say that, but before anyone
could describe this ancient and powerful form of Highland bagpipe-music, he must
necessarily be born in the Highlands. Happily I was born there, where my home
was surrounded by thousands of acres of moorland and lofty mountains. I have
traversed hundreds of miles on the lonely moors, and sat in the corry listening to the
dimpling stream. I have reached the summit of many of Scotland's majestic bens,
and wandered in the green dells where the zephyrs moan, and the Chief lies cold
beneath the sod. I have lived in the glen where the peat fire burns brightly in the
humble shieling ; where the true Highlanders, both men and maidens fair, dance
merrily to the piper's magic notes ; and where the thundering torrents of the angry
Spey rush on to the sea. I have played my piob-mhor on the banks of this great
river till the notes of " Craigellachie " echoed and re-echoed from the surrounding
hills. By perseverance and earnest study I have been able to understand and
cultivate ancient piobaireachd, which has been handed down by the masters of old
who lived in the dim and distant ages of the past. The best way to understand
piobaireachd an properly is not merely to look over or learn to play them by heart,
but to copy them out. A piper may play every piobaireachd that he can lay hands
on and still be quite ignorant of their construction. A knowledge of the theory of
music is also necessary in order to be able to write tunes according to the time-
signatures and tie the notes properly. I have copied almost one thousand full pages
of piobaireachd in twelve years in my spare time. By doing so, and spending hour
after hour studying, revising, and re-revising them, I have served my apprenticeship
and gained my experience in the art of piobaireachd.