From Oct 4 to 13, I was in the Czech Republic. I traveled with David Millstone and fellow dancers for a tour of the country and attendance at a Country Dance Festival.

One evening a local group of dancers treated us to a program of traditional music and dance. While they said they were only amateurs, their presentation was polished and professional. They danced and sang with a traditional band; which consisted of 2 clarinets, a fiddle, a Czech bagpipe, and a string Bass.

I had always thought that accordions were the traditional instruments, but I was mistaken. In Bohemia, the southern part of the Czech Republic, clarinets and bagpipes are the traditional instruments. The clarinets are Bb and Eb, tuned so that they can play harmonies, often in thirds. The bagpipe is bellows pumped and also tuned in Eb.

Later in the tour, we went to Strakonice City for a lecture demonstration by a very famous 85 yr old piper. The town hosts an international bagpipe festival each year. The piper took his pipes apart to show how they attach to each part, played some tunes, and answered questions via an interpreter.

The pipes have a single reed, tuned to Eb, one scale, one drone. Unlike the Highland pipes and small pipes which have a straight chanter, the Czech chanter ends in an up-curved bell (like a saxophone). It is made from a cow’s horn and the end is brass. The bag is usually made of goat skin. The opening where the chanter attaches is carved into a little goat’s head with brass eyes and horns. The single drone is draped over the player’s right shoulder so it hangs down and also ends in a larger up-curved bell that is made of cow horn finished off with brass.

The Dudy is used with clarinets and for accompanying singers. I really enjoyed its cheery tone. We had learned a short song and we all sang it to the piper while he played.

Here is a You Tube link that shows a piper playing a Dudy.
–Sylvia Miskoe