DNA and the bagpipe

Quite often after playing the bagpipe while practicing in a park or after a performance, I am asked if I have Scottish or Irish ancestry. My response is that yes, there is some in my family history, but I do not think that matters much. To everyone’s surprise I relate that one of the finest pipers in Baltimore can trace his ancestry to Poland.

The bagpipe as we know it, is named The Great Highland Bagpipe. It comes from Scotland and is played and enjoyed the world over. This occurred because of the expanse of the British Empire. Follow along with me and I will explain.

Hundreds of years ago, England was the super power of its time. Its industrial and military might found itself in India, the Middle East and just about all lands in between. Employment in Scotland was scarce for a number of reasons. Scottish men flocked to the British Army for good pay, full employment and the right to retain all Scottish units.

The Great Highland Bagpipe found its home wherever those units landed. It was said that “the sun never set on the British Empire” which explains the expanse of the might and power projected. Wherever the Scottish units were stationed, along came their national musical instrument. Here then, is a brief world tour of lands far away whose inhabitants also love the Scottish bagpipe.