The Bagpipe Society

Calling all Cornish Pipers

Developing a new instrument is only the first step. The second step comes when the player starts to explore its possibilities. My Cornish Double pipe is based on a fine carving in Altarnun church on the edge of Bodmin Moor. When I completed its design in 1991, I had no idea of its potential, and it was only when I heard other pipers play it that I began to appreciate what an intriguing and challenging bagpipe I had somehow created. They remain one of the most popular bagpipes in my range, and I have made over 100 sets with customers scattered throughout the world. When performing with these pipes I always relish that moment when I break out from playing just the melody and add a harmony or counter melody. This is the time when some pipers get curious, and often captivated, by their potential. One such piper was Steve Bliven, who I met at a piping week in Vermont USA in 1994. Happily, he became so fascinated by them that he ordered a set, which I completed in 1999. His enthusiasm for playing them led him to want to know what other pipers were playing and after successfully contacting many of my customers he turned the result of his investigations into the loose-leaf book Handbook for Cornish Pipes, published in 2000, with financial assistance from The Bagpipe Society. In 2011

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