Northumbrian Pipes Busker

It was a pleasure to brave some Northumberland Street shopping when accompanied by the jolly reels played on the Northumbrian small pipes by this busker. I was more than happy to add to the coins in his bag - he'd not done very well, despite his skill. The small pipes differ from bagpipes in that there's no drone pipes and it's pumped by the arm, not blown by mouth. The music seems lighter, and at a very fast tempo. Whereas the bagpipes have drama in the outdoors, the small pipes are very much suited to indoors, (though they are lovely outside too).

Our village has a traditional music festival in July, with dialect poetry, dancing, fiddling and piping competitions. Despite being over the border, we have a village pipe band (bagpipes and drums) which also performs.

Sent from my iPad