Piano to bagpipe--music content reduced to essentials
To transcribe and render piano music playable on bagpipes is a challenge. Knowledge of both instruments, especially their respective musical characteristics and techniques, is necessary. Pianos can play melodies with complex chordal accompaniments. On the other hand, bagpipes are restricted to a single sustained tone produced by the drone pipes, and unison melody produced by another pipe called the chanter.
Instructions
Bagpipe Melody
1. Melody produced by the bagpipe's chanter
Prepare blank sheet music with a treble staff and key signature of two sharps, e.g., F# and C#.
2. Add a meter or time signature, usually a simple duple or triple meter, such as 2/4 or 3/4. The time signature may be the same as the original piano piece. Compound meters are also possible, such as 6/8, 9/8 or 12/8, depending on the nature of the tune being transcribed.
3. Copy the unison melody line from the original music for piano to your new sheet music. It might be necessary to transpose the melody from the original key. (See "Tips" section.) Do not write notes beyond the normal pitch range for bagpipes, which falls between G below middle C, and high A on the first ledger line above the treble staff.
4. Add grace notes. Grace notes are very quick notes--usually equivalent to a thirty-second note--that immediately precede the important notes of a melody. Make the grace notes smaller in size than a standard note. (See "Tips" section.)
Bagpipe Harmony
5. Harmony achievable with multiple instruments
Add a second staff below the first treble staff, and draw a bracket to join the two staves together.
6. Copy other melodies or counter melodies from the original music. The effect is musically better and easier to play when the second melody is parallel, or harmonizes in thirds or sixths above or below the melody.
7. Add a third treble staff, and bracket with the other staves if needed. Remember that given the limited range and melodic patterns typical of bagpipes, adding too much extra music is confusing for the players, and does not result in a pleasant sound. Use good musical judgement.
Selecting Music
8. Careful selection of music to be transcribed
Select music with a melody that can stand on its own and is clearly recognizable without an accompaniment. Melodies from the world's folk music, or based on folk music, work best. See the "Tips" section for some examples.
9. Select music that has a time signature common to bagpipe music. Simple duple or triple meters work best; but compound meters are possible. Musical forms such as marches, reels, waltzes and hornpipes are good choices.
10. Select music with simple harmony if you wish to have more than one melody with drone accompaniment. The easiest harmony to transcribe is where the intervals between notes are thirds or sixths.
