The overwhelming majority of people have a stereotype that the bagpipes are the property of the Scots. But it is not so. Many peoples of the Earth have been familiar with this instrument throughout their history.
Historians suggest that the bagpipes were originally not a Scottish instrument. It has a very ancient origin. The bagpipes came to the British Isles … from the Middle East. Yes, yes, her sounds were known in ancient Egypt, Assyria and Sumer. And, when the inhabitants of the great at that time Roman Empire set off to conquer Europe, the bagpipes ended up in the country, whose visiting card it is today along with the kilt - a men's plaid skirt. The bagpipes were also known to other peoples of Europe, including the Slavs.
Bagpipes can have different nationalities and names, but they all have one thing in common - the very principle of playing the instrument. A bagpipe is a reservoir of air to which tubes are attached. The reservoir, or, more simply, a bag (which is why a bagpipe in English is called a bagpipe, from the word bag - a bag) was sewn from animal skins. Therefore, there is a version that the Russian word "bagpipe" came from the word "ox" - wind instruments were made from the skins of these animals or from a bubble.
The musician directs air into the bag either with the help of bellows, or simply breathes into one of the tubes. Having filled the entire volume with air, he begins to squeeze the bag with his elbow, and the air comes out back, but through other tubes that have a certain musical structure. There is also a tube with valves, which can be clamped to play a melody. In this case, each of the remaining pipes will monotonously emit a note.
The sound of the bagpipes resembles any reed instrument, for example, the Armenian duduk or the Slavic zholeika (the great-great-great-grandson of which is, for example, the modern saxophone). But, unlike them, the sound is not interrupted on the bagpipes. It is enough for a musician only sometimes during a game to supply air to a reservoir, from where it constantly exits under pressure through the playing pipes.