The Scottish Smallpipes are a type of bagpipe which were very popular during the 1700's and 1800's when people began moving their celebrations indoors, but dissappeared for the most part during the last century. Hamish Moore, who made my two sets of bellows blown smallpipes, was a leading figure in the revival of the smallpipes in the 1980's.

Shuttle pipes are a special type of smallpipe which were very popular throughout Europe during the 1600's and originally employed a bellows to provide the air. Shuttle Pipes are unique in that the drones are not the normal tube-like drones of most bagpipes, but instead they are all together in a single housing and tuned by means of sliders or "shuttles". By the twentieth century, the Shuttle Pipes had virtually disappeared. In the 1990's, John Walsh, who made both of my sets of Shuttle Pipes, totally reinvented this wonderful instrument and used the Highland fingering so that any Highland bagpiper could instantly play the instrument.

Scottish Smallpipes are perfect for performances where the volume of the Great Highland Bagpipe would be overwhelming. If the bagpiper needs to play inside, especially if the room is small, then the smallpipes may be the perfect alternative. The smallpipes are also quite effective for those times when you want a softer bagpipe sound for your event, for example during Communion or a meditation.

The Smallpipes have a completely different sound than the Highland Bagpipes. The sound of the Smallpipes is gentler, lower pitched, and less piercing. The Scottish Smallpipes use the same fingering as the Highland Bagpipes which means that any tune that can be played on the Highland Bagpipes, can also be played on the Smallpipes.

The Smallpipes may need to be miked if the room is overly large or if there will be a constant level of background noise (e.g. a party). The Smallpipes are perfect, however, during those quiet moments during a wedding or church service.