512 - How to Convert Bagpipe Tuning to Concert Pitch (Dojo Conversations Episode 163)

Most pipers know that bagpipes don’t always play nicely with other instruments. But why is that? And is there actually a simple way to fix it?  

This week, Andrew and Jim revisit how to tune bagpipes to other instruments, diving back into 'just' vs 'equal' temperament to explain why the Great Highland Bagpipe sits so far away from concert pitch, and what that means when you try to play with guitars, pianos, or other instruments.  

Exploring everything from the physics of pitch and the history of how the bagpipe ended up being called an “A” instrument, to pitch creep, B-flat chanters, and practical ways to bridge the gap, they discuss the idea that playing with other musicians is really just a matter of understanding the “currency conversion” between bagpipe pitch and the rest of the musical world.  

Here’s what we cover in this episode: 

• 00:00 – Why don’t bagpipes sound good with other instruments? The pitch problem explained 
• 01:43 – The drone dilemma – why the bagpipe is locked into its harmonic world 
• 02:56 – The 40 Hz gap – how far the GHB sits above concert pitch 
• 06:26 – Why is the bagpipe called an “A” instrument anyway? 
• 07:36 – Angus Mackay, Highland Societies, and the story of written piping music 
• 12:47 – Historical pitch and why the bagpipe was probably never really at concert A 
• 20:08 – Pitch creep – how competition culture pushed the pipes higher 
• 22:52 – The B-flat chanter experiment – and why the drones complicate things 
• 25:26 – The core problem: the bagpipe A isn’t the same A as everyone else’s 
• 27:24 – How to make bagpipes work with other instruments: the practical solutions 
• 31:55 – Guitar hacks, capos, and meeting the pipes where they are 
• 33:14 – Digital pianos, transposition, and instant pitch adjustments 
• 34:54 – Thinking in B-flat: translating bagpipe music into concert language 
• 39:25 – How to transpose bagpipe scores for other musicians 
• 41:37 – Backing tracks, DAWs, and Andrew’s favourite workflow 
• 44:39 – The currency conversion analogy – understanding the exchange rate 
• 47:14 – Could we just go higher instead? The case for B and beyond 
• 48:25 – The big takeaway: communicating pitch is the real unlock 
• 50:32 – Just intonation vs equal temperament revisited